Navigating Vauxhall gyratory

[Tynan]

and that picture of a crumpled bike was a bit of cheap shot, bikes get crushed by trucks all over London, often on the most innocuous bits of road

 

[stowie]

and that picture of a crumpled bike was a bit of cheap shot, bikes get crushed by trucks all over London, often on the most innocuous bits of road

There is clustering of KSI cyclist accidents around Vauxhall Gyratory which indicates a specific design issue. It is always difficult to ascertain because, thankfully, cyclist KSI is a rare enough event to make random clustering of accidents possible. But the numbers at Vauxhall seem to point to something else problematic happening. I have ridden through the junction on occasion and it is doable for someone taking the lane assertively and riding quickly, but it certainly wasn't particularly pleasant which leads onto the general theme that subjective safety is important if we don't want to put up physical barriers to general cycling.

What I found disconcerting at Vauxhall was that there simply no wiggle room for error. You pick a lane and aggressively try to hold it, but the widths and number of lanes means that drivers can undertake and overtake at speed. Also, drivers are cutting in and out of lanes, and I was always concerned that a driver would swap lanes quickly and side swipe me. Nothing much you can do about that if the driver is staring at the sat-nav / street signs instead of the road. On a confusing and fast gyratory, I think this possibility becomes more likely than on a slower, more straightforward bit of road.

 

[Tynan]

I freely admit to planning commuter routes to avoid junctions and roads I find dangerous, usually it's a long quick downhill with too many dodgy side roads (Ferry Lane in Wlathamstow) or tricky right hand turns or roads with cars going too fast and too close

it does sound poor but surely there's a reasonable alternative if OP is unhappy riding it?

 

[stowie]

I freely admit to planning commuter routes to avoid junctions and roads I find dangerous, usually it's a long quick downhill with too many dodgy side roads (Ferry Lane in Wlathamstow) or tricky right hand turns or roads with cars going too fast and too close

it does sound poor but surely there's a reasonable alternative if OP is unhappy riding it?

Yes, there is a bypass, which I have also used when it is going in the right direction for me.

Out of interest, how do you avoid Ferry Lane?

 

[theclaud]

I've done Vauxhall blind drunk. It probably doesn't make it safer, but it makes it a lot more fun.

No flippancy is intended.All routes should be safe for people who have no idea what is going on.

 

[fossyant]

The answer is. Ride the long way round. All cyclists do this. My missus thinks I am weird.

 

[Tynan]

I use Lea Bridge Road, I suppose if I needed to head through Finsbury Park going W then that might not work.

I still use Ferry Lane sometimes for a change going into London as its more or less uphill but I had too many iffy incidents with people turning into and out of L turns while going quick broadly downhill heading E ish

 

[Tynan]

'All routes should be safe for people who have no idea what is going on' that's simply unrealistic

Every right turn and roundabout other then first exit and slip road exits are instantly dangerous

 

[theclaud]

'All routes should be safe for people who have no idea what is going on' that's simply unrealistic

Every right turn and roundabout other then first exit and slip road exits are instantly dangerous

You're taking me a bit too literally, if you don't mind my saying so. However, most typically dangerous situations are only as dangerous as they are because of the speed and volume of motor traffic - there's nothing inherently terrifying about turning across or joining traffic, as long as it's taking care not to hit you.