Oh. My. God! Who's to blame?

[Rhythm Thief]

We have a classic junction with a pinch point so it's important to be as far over to the right as is possible, it's not a very hard concept to understand. There are junctions up and down the land like this. People get it slightly wrong all the time and a lot of the time it amounts to nothing. Other times there are a lot of near misses (see it often enough). The pick up truck should have been slightly further forward and definitely slightly further to the right. It's difficult to get right, we don't know why he was positioned like that. He did have his indicator on, unlike the bus, which is why I gave him 10% blame. He obviously wasn't overtaking anything or undertaking anything. It seems a fair assessment of the portion. 10% is not very responsible.

Well, it's more responsibility than I'd have allocated to him, given that he's innocently sitting there waiting to turn right when some twonk rides into his rear nearside. He's not positioned badly at all, he's just in the right turn lane.

The bus was both undertaking the taxi and cyclist who collided and trying to overtake other cyclists.

Now this I am baffled by. I suspect we might be watching different videos, to be honest. The only taxi I can see in that clip is immediately behind the bus; the only cyclist I can see near the bus is the one who tries his hardest to crawl under the rear wheel of it. Where is the taxi the bus is undertaking? and where are the cyclists that the bus is overtaking? You certainly can't see them on the video.

I know why the bus driver did what he did, and he knew a cycle lane started on the other side of the junction and 2 standard lanes become one so he'd have to move further over to the right. It still counts as an overtaking manoeuvre and a change of course though and he is partially to blame. That he waited a few seconds and did it at low speed (sensible as a lot to take in at the junction) I have assigned 25% to the driver

I know why the bus driver did what he did, too. It's because the lights changed, he did a quick mirror check and off he went. Straight on, so no indication necessary. He doesn't move over, he doesn't pull out to overtake anything and he doesn't undertake anyone. All that happens to make this different from thousands of similar manoevres carried out every day is the cyclist appears at warp factor 5 going for a gap which isn't there.

You haven't explained why you think the bus did nothing wrong, you just said so by reference to the cyclist. Well yes that's fine, but I'm not very interested in trivial solutions, even more so when they are actively so disagreeing with someone else.

I don't really understand this. The whole incident is caused by the cyclist (at least, without him there is no incident, just a bus pulling away from some traffic lights); with reference to what else would I be discussing it? What "trivial solutions" are you on about? Solutions to what?

... it's you being rumbled for your bad behaviour on a number of occasions.

Only by you, though. No one else has ever said anything.

P.S. thank you for the strawman and colourful language.

Colourful language, yes (though I think you'll agree "cocksponge" is a masterly insult) but I'm struggling to see where I've made a strawman.

 

[Tynan]

and you've never done this? Never shot through between two buses as the light turned green?

I recall getting a tow from a bus on Brixton Road and using the speed to attempt an undertake on the truck to my right. Then, all of a sudden, the bus driver stopped at a bus stop! WTF was the man on - didn't he realise that he was serving a Higher Purpose? Abort undertake, brake like crazy, big, big skid, hit back of bus, rotate forward and give myself a heck of a bang on my (helmeted) head.

Now, all I'm saying is that I would rather have had that happen than not. I would rather have gone over the top of a cab travelling at right angles to me in Pimlico (the traffic light was out) than not. It's all part of that happy library of cycling memories, including sensational slaloming downhills, that will warm the cockles of my heart if I ever get to my old age. I might just miss out on the busted hip, but, then again, I was racing a man half my age and winning.....

Maybe, Tynan, you've never done this stuff and don't fancy giving it a try. Fair enough - you're a better, more sobersided man than I. But I don't intend changing........(other than when leading extremely respectable rides, of course)

Serious?

I've had a couple bad smashes from riding too fast to read the road ahead well enough, mostly when younger and foolisher, so these days I don't push my luck, I'd never ever have ridden into that 'gap' between those two vehicles, that was death with a billboard inviting someone in to die

I still like to go as fast as I can but not through spaces that I can't rely on to stay wide enough and not when I don't know what's going on at the other end of the space, ie peds stepping out or another vehicle pulling out in the certain knowledge that nothing can be coming

Anyone that wants to do that sort of thing is welcome too but it's still reckless and imho to do that in London rush hour traffic means they won;t still be riding after a few years

 

[JonnyBlade]

A need for patience will preserve life

 

[dellzeqq]

Serious?

not really

 

[Norm]

not really

That's a shame, I was going to use some of that, with minor amendments, in the firearms thread.

The cyclist was 100% in the wrong, unlike Marinyork who is only 35% in the wrong.

IMO.

 

[Borbus]

I love how another cyclist goes through the gap afterwards...

I think we know what's going be at number 1 in the next episode of Silly Cyclists!

 

[Adasta]

The most chilling part of this video is the reaction from the pedestrian who thinks she has just witnessed somebody die.

Of all the things to be levelled at wreckless cyclists, I think the impact their wrecklessness wreaks on others is of paramount concern. Why should anyone have to stand at the side of the road and bear witness to something like that?

 

[fossyant]

Cyclist is a twit. Had he scratched my nice pick up I might have driven it over his head for being such a fool. Stupid cycling full stop - he was lucky not to be killed

 

[Bman]

I wouldnt "blame" anyone there except the cyclist, but the two other vehicles involved could have been positioned better, to allow other road users (cyclists mainly) to get past.

The cyclist just did the foolish thing by going for the gap. He should have waited. The second cyclist to go through that gap probably saw the gap open up and saw the road ahead (of the bus and black truck) clear. Still, I wouldnt have done that!

Lucky, lucky man.

 

[400bhp]

Cyclist is a complete twat. Talk about asking for it!

If there was such a thing as a 'cycling license' he would deserve to loose it for that.

And lose it too.

 

[400bhp]

Cyclist is a twit. Had he scratched my nice pick up I might have driven it over his head for being such a fool. Stupid cycling full stop - he was lucky not to be killed

Absolutely.

See how he swerved earlier in the vid.

Nice to see the camera operator just ride off London's great innit.

 

[400bhp]

wreckless cyclists, I think the impact their wrecklessness

Bloody hell, is the W key stuck in the "on" position.

 

[400bhp]

25% bus driver, 10% pick up, 65% cyclist.

Ah, another Columbus on the site.

 

[fossyant]

Bloody hell, is the W key stuck in the "on" position.

Are you Jonathan WRoss ?

 

[yello]

How anyone can apportion blame to anyone other than the cyclist is beyond me. Whatever you may think of the positioning of the pick up and/or bus, it is a completely separate issue that the cyclist didn't need to involve himself in. The cyclist slowed, looked and decided to head for the smallest of gaps. Whether that gap should have been bigger,smaller, not there at all, whatever is beside the point. The cyclist needn't have involved himself in that equation at all. That he did is completely down to him imo.