Nearly squashed by a lorry

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Matthames

Über Member
Location
East Sussex
I nearly got taken out by a lorry driver with poor spacial awareness skills and a poor general standard of driving. I say poor general standard of driving as he tailgated the poor driver who was in front of me at the time after he performed an ill advised overtake. After the silver rover had overtaken me I had started to move out to a primary position to discourage any overtaking as I tend to hit speeds of 25mph or more going down that hill, that stretch of road is a 30 limit, so anybody overtaking would have to do well over the speed limit to clear me safely. As I could see he was cutting in I had to get hard onto the brakes to avoid going under his wheels.

Anyway watch:


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfk7Aba8dZk
 
Location
EDINBURGH
Lee if you check the vid again you can see he was catching up with the Rover at the point the lorry passed and then had to brake to avoid rear ending the car, the truck driver is a numpty.
 

dondare

Über Member
Location
London
I think that the overtake was badly timed because oncoming traffic meant that he had to move in too soon.
 

Plax

Guru
Location
Wales
I had the same with a tractor on the way home today. I had to use my "gutter space" up as an escape route to avoid getting squished. I was so angry I nearly caught him up but it was uphill and I started flagging.
 
User3143 said:
1) You were not doing 25mph

2) There was no need to be in that position that you was in.

3) The lorry driver gave a lot more room then most motorists would do there.

My advice to get upto speed then move out. TBH I have not got a clue what you was trying to achieve as your OP certainly does not match the vid.:tongue:

Having watched the vid, I happen to agree with the OP. This response to his post is rather baffling to say the least. Not only that, but the grammar is as odd as the views expressed.
 
OP
OP
Matthames

Matthames

Über Member
Location
East Sussex
User3143 said:
1) You were not doing 25mph

2) There was no need to be in that position that you was in.

3) The lorry driver gave a lot more room then most motorists would do there.

My advice to get upto speed then move out. TBH I have not got a clue what you was trying to achieve as your OP certainly does not match the vid.:thumbsup:

So were you there then?

1) I didn't say I was doing 25 at the time, but quite often I get up to 25 on that particular stretch.

2) Actually there was a need to be in that position, also if you watch very closely I tend to go across to the middle of the lane about the apex of the corner. At that particular point I am probably getting close to 20 mph going on the road noise.

3) And you ride that particular section of road everyday? That driver gave me no room at all. I had to make room for my own safety, you can actually hear in the clip my back brake briefly as it squeals like anything despite numerous adjustments to get it set up right. You only hear it briefly because the back wheel locks up because of the heavy braking.
 

dondare

Über Member
Location
London
Perhaps Matthames should have been faster or slower or further in; but he wasn't. In the circumstances the lorry driver did not have time to overtake safely. Either he misjudged it or didn't care.
Also he does appear to be tailgating the car in front following the overtake.
 
OP
OP
Matthames

Matthames

Über Member
Location
East Sussex
User3143 said:
So what you are saying is that you had adopting the primary position whilst doing only 66% of the speed limit - not exactly smart.

At 0.11 you could have easily moved back over to the left leaving enough room for the truck to overtake. If you can't follow a line through a corner then I suggest you practise.

If you read the situation properly you will know why I moved over to primary. Watch how I start to catch the silver rover, if you are catching the traffic ahead then usually it is a good idea to move over to primary what ever speed you are doing as the space in front is fast becoming unavailable for anybody else to use. It is something called forward clearance and can be easily anticipated.

I couldn't of easily moved back over because there was no room for the truck to overtake, had I moved over I would of almost certainly have been squashed. Take a good look at 0.08, what do you see?

edit: btw I can follow a line through a corner, pretty accurately as it happens.
 

wafflycat

New Member
It really doesn't matter one hoot what position the OP was occupying on the road, that does not give the driver the ok to perform a dangerous overtake.

Next time I get in my car and I see a cyclist on the road but in a place on the road I don't like, shall I overtake him/her anyhow, even if usafe to do so, be it, traffic queue, oncoming traffic, junction... whatever? No, of course not. The onus is on the person doing the overtake to do it safely - not do the 'cyclist... must overtake... must overtake..' routine. To suggest that it's the fault of the cyclist for being in the wrong place at the wrong time is pathetic.
 
Thanks, Wafflycat, for saying exactly what sprung to my mind. I've seen an increasing number of drivers not prepared to play the ball as it lies. Cyclist in the way? Shove them out of it? Pedestrian crossing? Intimidate them back. It's horrible.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
Cyclist's view:-

Bloody truck driver. Stupid manouver. He's a numpty.


Truck driver's view:-

Bloody cyclist. In the middle of the lane. He's a numpty.


Policeman's view:-

Truck driver in a hurry. Was he speeding?

Its a fact of life. You'll have to learn to live with it.

This kind of thing, I'm afraid, is a daily occurance the whole length and breadth of the country.

Was there anyone injured?
 
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