Near misses am or pm

[ren531]

I was very dangerously close passed yesterday morning, the driver sped past oblivious to my presence and soon after weaved over the white line on the other side.
When these things happen I always analyse to make sure I do everything I can to make sure I minimise it in the future, but one thing occurred to me is most all these events seem to happen in the morning and less so going home, to the point I've modified my ride in lots over the years but my ride home remains the same, is this others experience too , I know there's factor's such as more traffic therefore slower speeds in the pm but could there be more incidents in the am , I be interested what others have experienced.

 

[Sharky]

The week before Christmas is one to miss.

 

[ianrauk]

Over the past 20 years of cycle commuting, I have 4 collisions, 2 of them pretty bad. 2 were in the morning, 2 were in the evening.
The morning traffic here in the SE of London is far busier then the evening.

 

[ren531]

Over the past 20 years of cycle commuting, I have 4 collisions, 2 of them pretty bad. 2 were in the morning, 2 were in the evening.
The morning traffic here in the SE of London is far busier then the evening.

My morning commute 7.00am ish so before rush hour , less traffic with more speed ,going home more traffic less speed , it's very dependent on times of travel and it will be a far busier environment for you as well.

 

[ianrauk]

My morning commute 7.00am ish so before rush hour , less traffic with more speed ,going home more traffic less speed , it's very dependent on times of travel and it will be a far busier environment for you as well.

It's busier here early mornings mainly due to the sheer amount of school run traffic. Rush hour starts at about 6am. By the evenings, school run traffic has died down.

 

[MontyVeda]

I was very dangerously close passed yesterday morning, the driver sped past oblivious to my presence and soon after weaved over the white line on the other side.
When these things happen I always analyse to make sure I do everything I can to make sure I minimise it in the future, but one thing occurred to me is most all these events seem to happen in the morning and less so going home, to the point I've modified my ride in lots over the years but my ride home remains the same, is this others experience too , I know there's factor's such as more traffic therefore slower speeds in the pm but could there be more incidents in the am , I be interested what others have experienced.

When my morning commute took me to White Lund via the Shrimp roundabout, it was certainly a lot easier before 7am than after due to traffic volumes. Just getting across the roundabout was a nightmare if i was running (riding) slightly late. The only modification really was to hit the roundabout no later than 6.50am.

 

[ren531]

When my morning commute took me to White Lund via the Shrimp roundabout, it was certainly a lot easier before 7am than after due to traffic volumes. Just getting across the roundabout was a nightmare if i was running (riding) slightly late. The only modification really was to hit the roundabout no later than 6.50am.

Ah yes the wall of death roundabout, my admiration goes out to you for even attempting it, too many entries and exits and all going too fast .

 

[Pat "5mph"]

When my morning commute took me to White Lund via the Shrimp roundabout, it was certainly a lot easier before 7am than after due to traffic volumes. Just getting across the roundabout was a nightmare if i was running (riding) slightly late. The only modification really was to hit the roundabout no later than 6.50am.

My commute is only 3 around miles.
On my way into work I ride a big wide main road, only 2 sets of lights to my destination.
Like @MontyVeda I noticed that if I leave home at 6.45 it's all plain sailing, while 10 min later the white van men are out in force, speeding for their morning tea (I presume)
I get to work at 7, but I start at 8 much safer commute though.
On my way back I would never ride that road, I tried a couple of times, far too busy, I just go a slightly longer segregated route.

 

[ren531]

My commute is only 3 around miles.
On my way into work I ride a big wide main road, only 2 sets of lights to my destination.
Like @MontyVeda I noticed that if I leave home at 6.45 it's all plain sailing, while 10 min later the white van men are out in force, speeding for their morning tea (I presume)
I get to work at 7, but I start at 8 much safer commute though.
On my way back I would never ride that road, I tried a couple of times, far too busy, I just go a slightly longer segregated route.

Yes , this is exactly what I've always done, modified the route according to risk and I guess many others do the same. As you say 10 mins can make all the difference to going from an appceptable level of risk to feeling threatened, my route mods have always been about removing risk and these mods take more time but well worth it .

 

[T4tomo]

I was very dangerously close passed yesterday morning, the driver sped past oblivious to my presence and soon after weaved over the white line on the other side.
When these things happen I always analyse to make sure I do everything I can to make sure I minimise it in the future, but one thing occurred to me is most all these events seem to happen in the morning and less so going home, to the point I've modified my ride in lots over the years but my ride home remains the same, is this others experience too , I know there's factor's such as more traffic therefore slower speeds in the pm but could there be more incidents in the am , I be interested what others have experienced.

probably checking his phone for emails and whatsapps etc....

 

[Binky]

I was very dangerously close passed yesterday morning, the driver sped past oblivious to my presence and soon after weaved over the white line on the other side.
When these things happen I always analyse to make sure I do everything I can to make sure I minimise it in the future, but one thing occurred to me is most all these events seem to happen in the morning and less so going home, to the point I've modified my ride in lots over the years but my ride home remains the same, is this others experience too , I know there's factor's such as more traffic therefore slower speeds in the pm but could there be more incidents in the am , I be interested what others have experienced.

First thing is good job you are OK. Secondly get a camera on your bike and record your rides. Any close passes etc submit footage to Operation Snap* and let the police deal with driver.

Hopefully in time if enough cyclists do this then eventually dangerous drivers will get message that endangering vunerable road users has consequences.

*Only operating in England and Wales, Scotland don't have this apparently.

 

[fossyant]

Morning worse usually. Hence a quiet route. Take more of a road route on the way home as the quiet route gets scallywags on it at 5pm who want to rob your bike (saw aftermath of one, colleague was attacked a while back, and four of them tried to get me in September.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I used to find that mornings were the worst generally. People are more likely to be rushing, coupled with the fact that they're not as alert and probably more grumpy. Evenings it was more commonly oopsie moments that were not necessary aggressive or dangerous, but more absent minded

 

[ren531]

probably checking his phone for emails and whatsapps etc....

Definitely wasn't driving the vehicle, that was way down the list of priorities.

 

[ren531]

First thing is good job you are OK. Secondly get a camera on your bike and record your rides. Any close passes etc submit footage to Operation Snap* and let the police deal with driver.

Hopefully in time if enough cyclists do this then eventually dangerous drivers will get message that endangering vunerable road users has consequences.

*Only operating in England and Wales, Scotland don't have this apparently.

I have to say this is a very rare event for me it's been a good while since anything as bad as this happened and my usual approach is finding a better route, but this is one very short section of main road that's hard to avoid.
Getting a camera would be last resort for me, too many bikes and too infrequent incident's and my alternative route's over the years are far more pleasant riding than the direct route and I'm happy for it to take a bit more time.