Nearly SMIDSY'd a motorcyclist

[swee'pea99]

A sobering reminder of how easily it can happen. I wasn't being any more dozy than usual, and I'm still not sure how I failed to see him. The roads are quite narrow, lots of parked cars, visibility's restricted, but even so...

I just started pulling out at a crossroads, having done all the usual checks, and was halted by a blare of horns from my right. Looked round to see an understandably peeved looking guy on a bike, headlight on, not doing an excessive speed, as far as I could see at a glance. He was just - there. When he hadn't been. Eesh.

Take care out there folks - the roads are full of gormless old farts...

 

[growingvegetables]

You're not the only one - I've done it too.

Reading the article linked in this was sobering, and has made me a LOT more careful. My son now has a laugh at me for being so deliberate in looking around me when I'm driving; he has ....... chosen not to absorb the lessons ; my daughter, however, copies my style of driving .

 

[mjr]

Why do you think it is? I think motorbikes having their headlights on make it much more difficult to spot motorbikes on sunny days: they sort of merge more into the bright scene behind them. But my eyesight's not exactly normal so maybe for each one of me that finds it harder to see them, two people find it easier. I don't seem to find always-on car lights make as much difference, but they're a much smaller proportion of a car's frontal area.

Reading the article linked in this was sobering, and has made me a LOT more careful.

That linked article is scary, but fortunately only contains a hint of facts among its handwaving.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@swee'pea99 I did similar last year, at a junction I ride across every day.
Did not see the car slowly approaching: now I look twice there.
I think what happened in my case was that the car was parked when I first looked, in motion when I started to cross. Maybe I missed his indicators, maybe he did not indicate. Got a fright!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Your not the only one, this junction here https://goo.gl/maps/bMHZumSAu3B2 a couple of years ago, I'd checked everything was clear and started to move, when my Good Lady said motorbike, and there was one coming from the right and I stopped for him to pass. Since I came back to driving in 2012 I've encouraged anybody who's in the car with me regularly to look round at junctions and let me know what they see, I recon an extra pair of eyes should reduce the likelihood of us missing something.