Nervous

[Sandra6]

Since my close call recently on a RAB on my homeward journey I've been increasingly nervous when cycling in the dark, and especially on that RAB. It's like I'm just waiting for somebody to hit me.
I don't feel the same edginess during my daylight cycling, just after dark -was particularly bad last night as it was raining too.
There was a car to my left on the RAB, same position as the idiot woman who drove straight at me, and I almost stopped half way over because I was so convinced he was going to drive straight at me.
How do I get my nerve back???

 

[byegad]

Have you read Cyclecraft? Lots of good tips in there. Take things steady and if you are really unhappy about that particular RAB why not get off and walk it? If you can get there at a slack time in traffic (Maybe on your day off?) ride it a few times and try to work out what went wrong and how to avoid the same issue again.

 

[BSRU]

I can only see three options
1) forget about it and move on
2) get off and walk
3) find an alternative route.

I had a couple of very close near misses earlier in the year but as they were due to driver muppetry with little I could have done, I just forgot about them and kept on riding the same way.

 

[Sandra6]

I've put cyclecraft on my christmas list.
I ride across the RAB earlier in the day and it doesn't worry me at all - no more than any other point on my route anyway.
I guess I'll have to choose option 1 from BSRU's list. I would feel a right muppet getting off and walking lol, although I do see quite a few cyclists pavement hopping to get over it.

 

[BSRU]

I've put cyclecraft on my christmas list.
I ride across the RAB earlier in the day and it doesn't worry me at all - no more than any other point on my route anyway.
I guess I'll have to choose option 1 from BSRU's list. I would feel a right muppet getting off and walking lol, although I do see quite a few cyclists pavement hopping to get over it.

It does seem harder to forget the rare bad driving but it is essential to to remember all the trouble free miles and interactions with other road users vastly outnumber the bad incidents.
All you can do is ride positively but defensively.

 

[amelia-jane]

I had the same problem at a roundabout on my way home. I'm also travelling in the dark and earlier this year had two very near misses in one week with drivers coming onto the roundabout failing to stop.

At first i decided the roundabout was just too dangerous and used to get off and go via the pedestrian crossing. Nothing wrong with doing this. You have nothing to prove.

After a while the nervousness wore off a little and i started to tackle the roundabout again but only if it was very quiet. I've gradually built up my confidence and now very rarely get off, even in the heaviest of traffic. In fact the heavy traffic is safer as it's slower.

I do still sometimes get nervous with cars aproaching from the left. Especially if there's no other traffic - the drivers will then sometimes try to out race me to avoid having to stop just for a bike .

I just stay well away from where their lane enters the roundabout, keeping in the correct lane - this gives them every chance of seeing me and gives me more room to take evasive action if they really don't stop and I stare really hard and confidently at the driver - daring them not stop - can't see 'em in the dark but they can see you and it's much harder to flatten someone you're having eye contact with! If you watch the approaching drivers you can usually spot the ones who are going to try to pretend they didn't see you and fly straight through.

The cycle craft book is really good.

 

[doddy73]

I completely understand your feelings as, having been hit by a 4WD on a RAB last week, I seemed to have the same hesitation for a few days …. It’s as if I was reliving the incident on approach or expecting it to happen again.
As for options…. well, it was dark yes (always dark commuting hours at this time of year) however, decent lights on the front (2 x cree 1200l), hi-viz jacket, holding primary in my lane, moving at a fair pace (yet still got smacked side on when he pulled out)…. all I could do to avoid this is use the pavement or reroute …. neither of which are practical options. My area is a “new” town so it’s polo mint city and the mostly cracked pavements are littered with cloaked, ninja pedestrians.
Good news is, the more I have riden, the more my confidence has come back… so it looks like the “get over it and move on” option is a winner for all of us.
As pointed out on the forum several times…. If they ain’t looking they won’t see you. So… I shall keep to the original route, shine my lights even brighter, look them in the eye and hover over the brakes expecting the unexpected. The barstewards ain’t gonna get me down!!!

 

[fossyant]

'Eff off Big lights' and a little luck.

 

[jonny jeez]

Do you have a ride buddy or someone who you can ride with (same thing I know).

Sharing the ride with someone who rides like you is a great way to diffuse tension and potential fear. plus it provides two pairs of eyes.

hope it all comes back to you soon.

 

[Saluki]

Sorry to be really thick, but what is a RAB please?

 

[musa]

Sorry to be really thick, but what is a RAB please?

Roundabout

 

[ohnovino]

I've changed my route home since it got darker so as to avoid a roundabout. The thing that worries me is that I can't see driver's faces in the dark, so I find it harder to know they've seen me and won't pull out.

 

[Davidc]

Roundabouts are vile things. There are a few where I get off and walk, nothing to be ashamed about.

Cyclecraft is excellent on the subject, but some road designers can defeat its good advice.

On some roundabouts I wish I could get out and walk when I'm in the car. There's one near here where I've seen drivers panic and freeze with near disastrous results. Fortunately it's well bypassed with a separate road for cyclists.

 

[lulubel]

I just stay well away from where their lane enters the roundabout, keeping in the correct lane - this gives them every chance of seeing me and gives me more room to take evasive action if they really don't stop and I stare really hard and confidently at the driver - daring them not stop - can't see 'em in the dark but they can see you and it's much harder to flatten someone you're having eye contact with! If you watch the approaching drivers you can usually spot the ones who are going to try to pretend they didn't see you and fly straight through.

That's exactly what I used to do when I worked as a postwoman based at the East Reading sorting office. It is/was on an industrial estate/business park just off the main road (A4?) into Reading. The main road was dual carriageway at that point, and heading towards Reading, I had to take the 3rd exit. It was downhill on the approach to the roundabout so you could get up a fair speed, and I used to get in the right hand lane and take the same line as I would have in a car, glaring at drivers approaching on the main road from the other direction. No-one ever tried to pull out in front of me. I think they knew the kind of damage those Royal Mail bikes could do to a car!

 

[marshmella]

I've resorted to using my magicshine clone on the lowest setting which is still very, very bright as well as my cateye on flashing mode when i approach a roundabout on the way home, if drivers can't see that then they simply don't want to. Together with reflective clothing and spoke reflectors there's little more you can do.