'OK' for car to hit cyclist outside cycle lane

[BentMikey]

Without excusing the lunacy (IMO) of both the taxi driver and the police, that cyclist could have been in a much better position. Either more out, owning the whole lane, or more left. He's in a waffly unassertive position on the CCTV images.

 

[mr_cellophane]

Look on the bright side, now you don't have to weave round all those peds in the road/on cycle paths. You can just push them out of the way.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

Why didn't he use the cycle lane to allow the taxi to pass?

 

[Notsoblue]

The most surreal moment was when the paramedics kicked me out of the back of the ambulance and the plod took off, probably to mop up some tw@t-induced pileup on the M3 - who offers me a lift? Only the chap who just smacked into me.

Jesus Bollo, thats terrible.

A pedestrian walked out in front of me on Cannon Street (London) one morning causing a nasty accident. The police ended up screwing me over but the paramedics were great. I had a facial injury and was pretty shaken up but nothing too serious. Was taken to the Royal London and treated well.

 

[TwickenhamCyclist]

Just found this example of one of questions on the written part of the driving test in Cambridgeshire.

Q47. You approach a road narrowing and there is a cyclist in front of you. There isn’t room for both of you. Do you;

• Slow down a little, and wait until it is safe to pass
• Go up really close behind and beep your horn whilst ranting about road tax
• Simply run them over because the police will accept that you were hemmed in (even though you have breaks) and didn’t want to damage the bollards.

According to the police “c” is the correct answer, but entrants who answer “b” should be awarded half a mark.



This one has peed me off all day

 

[Night Train]

It should have been the driver's responsibility to assess the position of the road user in front, regardless of whether that road user is positioned correctly or not, using the road safely or legally or not.

The cyclist could have been unicycling backwards while juggling pots of honey and it still wouldn't be correct for the driver to intimidate or make vehicular contact!

What if the cyclist was instead road sweeping vehicle, a wheel chair user, a pedestrian or a truck pulling out from the loading bay? Would it still have been legal for the car driver to make vehicular contact?

This has peed me off today too!

 

[snorri]

Why didn't he use the cycle lane to allow the taxi to pass?

IMO
The cycle lane was quite short, entering and merging at the end of the cycle lane presents a greater hazard to a cyclist than maintaining a straight route through the pinch points.
In or out of the cycle lane is irrelevant, it is just plain wrong for one road user to collide with another road user whilst overtaking.

 

[Mr Pig]

Without excusing the lunacy (IMO) of both the taxi driver and the police, that cyclist could have been in a much better position. Either more out, owning the whole lane, or more left. He's in a waffly unassertive position on the CCTV images.

I totally agree. Don't get me wrong, I think the taxi driver should've been charged with careless driving, but the cyclist is in a stupid position. He could've ducked into the cycle lane but even if he'd moved over to the left slightly the car would've been able to pass easily. He's riding right down the middle of the lane for no reason.

 

[snorri]

He's riding right down the middle of the lane for no reason.

Surely he is in the middle of the lane in order to prevent himself being squeezed at the approaching pinch point. This seems like sensible defensive cycling to me.

 

[wafflycat]

I totally agree. Don't get me wrong, I think the taxi driver should've been charged with careless driving, but the cyclist is in a stupid position. He could've ducked into the cycle lane but even if he'd moved over to the left slightly the car would've been able to pass easily. He's riding right down the middle of the lane for no reason.

Is the wrong answer. Go get a copy of Cyclecraft, the book which reflects the National Cycle Training Standards and read up on the primary position.

 

[BentMikey]

I totally agree. Don't get me wrong, I think the taxi driver should've been charged with careless driving, but the cyclist is in a stupid position. He could've ducked into the cycle lane but even if he'd moved over to the left slightly the car would've been able to pass easily. He's riding right down the middle of the lane for no reason.

You're not agreeing with me at all. I want the cyclist to be further out in the middle of the lane, not left in the IMO dangerous cycle lane. Out in the lane because of the parked car, and because of the approaching pinch point. The driver shouldn't be attempting to overtake here, he should wait until after the pinch point and a safer location.

 

[srw]

The cyclist overtook the parked car too close. He then didn't signal his intentions clearly to the driver. Was he trying to overtake the other rider? Turn right? I'd expect a hand-signal at least, and preferably a clear look over the shoulder, especially since he could no doubt tell there was a car behind him. I'd also expect a quick dart to the left when he realised the car was trying to overtake.

The taxi driver is at fault (though the evidence might not be strong enough for prosecution) for attempting to overtake unsafely and not reading the road. It's impossible to tell whether he saw the cyclist in time or what speed he was going at. He has clearly braked sharply.

The CCTV manager is being a plonker for offering an opinion and should be disciplined. The police are probably bored by someone they feel has a bee in his bonnet about a particular road and is making political capital out of a momentary mistake by two road users, one of whom was slightly hurt.

One would hope that the "liaison officer" of a campaign group would have built up contacts that would enable him to sort things out even when he himself was involved. Obviously not.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

IMO
The cycle lane was quite short, entering and merging at the end of the cycle lane presents a greater hazard to a cyclist than maintaining a straight route through the pinch points.
In or out of the cycle lane is irrelevant, it is just plain wrong for one road user to collide with another road user whilst overtaking.

True but he might have saved himself a lot of aggro had he moved left. Sorry, but the sanctamonious 'Cyclecraft' bollocks gets my goat sometimes. It makes cyclists look like arrogant twats and aggitates other drivers (99.9% of whom have no idea what the hell Cyclecraft is). Use it when it's sensible to do so but it seems to me that some cyclists quote 'Cyclecraft' to excuse their inconsiderate cycling and the hazardous situations they get themselves into.

*Dons flame-proof underpants and pulls up a chair*

 

[TwickenhamCyclist]

True but he might have saved himself a lot of aggro had he moved left. Sorry, but the sanctamonious 'Cyclecraft' bollocks gets my goat sometimes. It makes cyclists look like arrogant twats and aggitates other drivers (99.9% of whom have no idea what the hell Cyclecraft is). Use it when it's sensible to do so but it seems to me that some cyclists quote 'Cyclecraft' to excuse their inconsiderate cycling and the hazardous situations they get themselves into.

*Dons flame-proof underpants and pulls up a chair*

Bit OTT there Goat
Doesn’t appear to me that he was an inconsiderate cyclist – look at it from the driver’s point of view – you’re approaching a road narrowing where there won’t be enough room to overtake – there are TWO cyclists in front of you – they aren’t using the facilities – you’re too inpatient or incompetent to cope – so you run one of them over and then blame them for being in your way.

I drive and cycle – if another road user is doing something in front of me that I don’t like, or feel is even against the law , I’d still never, ever think it was ok to run them over – you’re in charge of what amounts to a potential lethal weapon – so I think there are some responsibilities that go with it – one of which is restraint.

If you can’t cope with perceived errors from other road users without feeling it’s ok to kill them then you shouldn’t be allowed to drive.

If you think what the driver did was ok then you’d have to stick up for the boy racer that rams a mum and kids off the road because she isn’t driving at the speed limit…. There is a difference between arrogance and assertiveness….

Sorry old Goat – nothing personal – but I think your post is total bollocks mate.

 

[Carwash]

...Sorry, but the sanctamonious 'Cyclecraft' bollocks gets my goat sometimes....

So... you're a goat who owns another goat? No wonder one of you is disgruntled! It's like something out of Narnia!