Oddly sweet

[Ravenbait]

I was followed into the car park this morning by a bearded chap in a dark blue Vauxhall hatchback. While I was locking up he wound down the window and proceeded to tell me how shocked he was to see me being cut up by drivers at the junction just before the roundabout.

See here.

I'll wait for you to take a look. It'll make more sense.

Ready?

At the end of that road is a roundabout, from which the second exit is the bus&bike-only entrance to the Park & Ride. This is a short-cut for cyclists going to the north end of the research park. Most motor vehicles at that time of the morning are going left.

Behind where the cyclist is there is a bus lane that used to be rush hour only but is now pretty much all day including commute hours. Drivers still haven't quite got to grips with this, not that it would make a lot of difference.

The problem, as I'm sure you've guessed, is that drivers are so hell bent on overtaking they forget that they have to filter left at the end (there's an island separating left filter from the other lanes) and so it's all-too common for one to overtake a cyclist who is going straight on into the P&R before hooking left immediately, at high speed (it's a 40 limit there, but no one pays attention). It can be a bit heart in mouth at times although I'm fairly used to it now.

The chap this morning came into our car park to tell me he had seen this happen to me twice this week, and one time it was so close he found himself actually yelling in shock. I can't even remember this happening, it's so par for the course, although I've been cut up a lot this week and a couple of instances stand out so they must have been even worse.

Bless him. That was really sweet. He followed me in to our car park just to express sympathy at how crap the drivers were. He'd never really noticed how inconsiderate drivers are towards cyclists before. Maybe this will make him even more aware of cyclists. That would be nice.

Oh, and no need to dish out advice on lane positioning, signalling etc etc. I'm quite aware of how to ride in traffic, thanks. Unfortunately no amount of assertive positioning can render one completely immune from the truly idiotic who comprise a significant sub-section of the motorist population.

Sam

 

[magnatom]

I have a section of road similar to that, in that drivers will overtake on the outside lane (or sometimes in my lane) only to then cut across to go into a filter lane that takes them to the left. I have plenty of videos of this particular section, although in general I cope with it much better now than I used to.

Like you, you just have to put up with it, although that doesn't stop me posting videos of it. Here is my collection of videos from this section.

First
Second
Third (slightly different, but same place)
Forth
Fifth
Sixth

Until I listed these I didn't realise how many there were!

 

[HLaB]

I have a section of road similar to that, in that drivers will overtake on the outside lane (or sometimes in my lane) only to then cut across to go into a filter lane that takes them to the left. I have plenty of videos of this particular section, although in general I cope with it much better now than I used to.

Like you, you just have to put up with it, although that doesn't stop me posting videos of it. Here is my collection of videos from this section.

First
Second
Third (slightly different, but same place)
Forth
Fifth
Sixth

Until I listed these I didn't realise how many there were!

I had forgotten you had so many incidents there I find in general I get more room on urban dual carriageways you just have to be alert for entrances and exits and give and take a little. I do tend to stick away from the out of town ones like Ravenbait posted.

 

[magnatom]

Ravenbait, I know you didn't want to discuss road position, but I am sure you probably do the same as me, and hold a strong primary on approach to the junction. That's what improved things for me, apart from the trailer chap!

As you say, there is no way of preventing this completely, you just have to be aware of it, and aware of the traffic behind you.

 

[Ravenbait]

Oh, it's not that I mind discussing it, it's more that I've experienced having a gripe about moronic driver behaviour only to have people pile in with "take a stronger position" "start signalling earlier" "pull out earlier" as if they have some sort of psychic ability to judge my cycling aptitude without witnessing it first hand. I have a particular bugbear about the tendency to respond to poor driver behaviour by suggesting the cyclist is doing something wrong. I thought I'd nip that in the bud before it started so as not to subject myself to the annoyance.

Sam

 

[nasserblue]

To move that discussion on a bit, there's not much we can do on this forum to affect driver or pedestrian behaviour, we can only influence our own, which is possibly why this kind of posts render the kind of replies they receive.

Have you tried moving out into the outside lane? (sorry just had to say it..)

 

[400bhp]

That looks dangerous.

It's one of "them" type of roads. DC but not DC but everyone treats it like DC.

Can you go an alternative route?

 

[Ravenbait]

To move that discussion on a bit, there's not much we can do on this forum to affect driver or pedestrian behaviour, we can only influence our own, which is possibly why this kind of posts render the kind of replies they receive.

Possibly, but the implied assumption that the complainant is somehow to blame because he's doing it wrong is nevertheless insulting -- that is not an accusation, by the way. I know I have fewer than 200 posts to my name: post count doesn't necessarily reflect cycling experience. While not a parent, never mind the parent of a parent, I am adequately versed in the consumption of chicken periods sans mastication, thank you. Unless there is some evidence to suggest that the complainant in such matters is incorrect in his approach, suggesting he change is behaviour is irritating and people who make that suggestion irritate me, occasionally beyond all reason.

Have you tried moving out into the outside lane? (sorry just had to say it..)

That's fine. It's a suggestion for a course of action I am not currently taking.

The outside lane is for turning right or for going into the outer lane straight ahead, one round from my exit. That is the 4th exit or the 3rd. Not the second. I ride towards the outside of the middle lane in the approach to the junction to give some indication to following drivers that I am not filtering to the left so they can bloody wait. However, this does not stop drivers overtaking in the outside lane and then diving across to the left. Sometimes, of course, they leave it too late and have to go around the outside of the filter island. Bless.

That looks dangerous.

It's one of "them" type of roads. DC but not DC but everyone treats it like DC.

Can you go an alternative route?

It's not dangerous. It can occasionally be unsettling. The behaviour of drivers around that junction can be hazardous because it's a wide road with relatively good sight lines so they forget about why there might be a 40 limit there and treat it like a motorway slip road. There isn't an alternative route -- I work on the other side of the roundabout from the park & ride. I could use the canal path, but I mean. FFS. That's so not me, dahling. I have a philosophical objection to segregated paths, particularly those narrow ones covered in wandering peds and dogs and joggers and pootlers that come with a sharp drop to water on the side.

I should reiterate that I'm become inured to this, largely, and am not all that bothered by it, except in that it's somewhat annoying at times. I can see it putting off less confident and experienced cyclists, though. They're the ones that use the canal path, so all is well.

Sam

 

[400bhp]

It's not dangerous.
Sam

Really?

The chap this morning came into our car park to tell me he had seen this happen to me twice this week, and one time it was so close he found himself actually yelling in shock. I can't even remember this happening, it's so par for the course, although I've been cut up a lot this week and a couple of instances stand out so they must have been even worse.

 

[Arch]

Bless him. That was really sweet. He followed me in to our car park just to express sympathy at how crap the drivers were. He'd never really noticed how inconsiderate drivers are towards cyclists before. Maybe this will make him even more aware of cyclists. That would be nice.

Indeed! Even better if he tells one or two other people about it - because as a driver, some folk might pay more attention to him than if he was a cyclist....

 

[John the Monkey]

Indeed! Even better if he tells one or two other people about it - because as a driver, some folk might pay more attention to him than if he was a cyclist....

Let's hope so.

I dunno what to add really, Sam. If more people were like the good ones, everyone would get where they're going about the same time, with less stress for all concerned. One day, eh?

 

[Eoin Rua]

Use this road pretty much every day cycling out to uni - I tend to sit in the middle of the bus lane, mainly to avoid the pothole about halfway up that stretch, generally have no problem with that.

What I dont like is being overtaken on the corner at the roundabout - where you're going straight, I'm going left so no problems with getting cut up as such but plenty of drivers will try and overtake on that bend

 

[Ravenbait]

Really?

Yes. Remove the drivers and the road is completely non-hazardous. What is dangerous is when some toerag with more bhp than brain cells decides he can't wait 3 seconds and cuts in so close your breath mists his bumper.

But you can't see that happening on Google Streetview.

Sam

 

[400bhp]

Remove the drivers and the road is completely non-hazardous.