Near Death Experience with vehicle counters

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Poggs

New Member
Location
Upper Holloway
I appreciate the irony in this - I was brought to a nearly unpleasant interaction with the road earlier this evening by one of the rubber strips of a vehicle counter.

[media]http://journal.poggs.com/2010/10/21/vehicle_counter.jpg[/media]

The loose strip was laying loose diagonally across the carriageway with absolutely no sane way to avoid it. Pedal pedal pedal... hit, lose control, brake, swerve, get off the road ASAP, swear, take a photo, check my bike's OK and then cycle slowly the last 200m home. I've reported it to TfL Streets already.

That's my second Near Death Experience. I would say I'm lucky, but I put it more down to being on constant caution and alert on the roads, expecting the unexpected.

Now time for a sweet cup of tea.

To lighten the mood, what NDEs have you had that you walked away from without anything more than a surge of adrenaline?
 
Learn to bunny hop, This will save you most of the time if you can react quick enough.
 
This is a new one to me, we often have census counters but they're always laid square across the road, so no problem. Unless one gets dislodged, that is. I suppose the answer is, always be sure you can see any kind of obstruction on the road in good time...

I have had gripes about the power cables feeding temporary lights at roadworks, sometimes I've found them laid across the road at an angle. But I believe they are being used less often, the TTLs nowadays tend to be battery-powered with a radio link to control the phases.
 
OP
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Poggs

New Member
Location
Upper Holloway
Was this going up highgate hill, down archway road, or are there more of the poorly tethered buggers to look out for?

This is up Holloway Road from approximately Liverpool Road to Upper Holloway station.

My commute home tonight will be even more cautious than usual :smile:
 
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Poggs

New Member
Location
Upper Holloway
This is a new one to me, we often have census counters but they're always laid square across the road, so no problem. Unless one gets dislodged, that is. I suppose the answer is, always be sure you can see any kind of obstruction on the road in good time...

I do that normally, in addition to remembering the raised/sunken manhole covers and potholes (reporting them to FillThatHole). It's very tricky to avoid an obstruction across the entire lane where your normal "just go around it" method won't work.
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I was innocently cycling home from the shops yesterday when a sniper opened up on me from one of the blocks of flats. I couldn't see which floor the shots were coming from but luckily it was only a flesh wound. Phew!
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
I was innocently cycling home from the shops yesterday when a sniper opened up on me from one of the blocks of flats. I couldn't see which floor the shots were coming from but luckily it was only a flesh wound. Phew!


Blimey, :eek: Was it mac1 do you think, suddenly flipped ;) ?
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
I appreciate the irony in this - I was brought to a nearly unpleasant interaction with the road earlier this evening by one of the rubber strips of a vehicle counter.

[media]http://journal.poggs.com/2010/10/21/vehicle_counter.jpg[/media]

The loose strip was laying loose diagonally across the carriageway with absolutely no sane way to avoid it. Pedal pedal pedal... hit, lose control, brake, swerve, get off the road ASAP, swear, take a photo, check my bike's OK and then cycle slowly the last 200m home. I've reported it to TfL Streets already.

That's my second Near Death Experience. I would say I'm lucky, but I put it more down to being on constant caution and alert on the roads, expecting the unexpected.

Now time for a sweet cup of tea.

To lighten the mood, what NDEs have you had that you walked away from without anything more than a surge of adrenaline?


That cable/wire is actually really dangerous. Who installed it? The local Council / Plod? Where there is blame there is a claim ;) .
 
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