Poor riding

[swee'pea99]

I'm regularly baffled by some other riders' apparent total lack of 'feel' for anyone else's perspective, and the danger that results for them.

Classic example this morning. Following a bloke about to turn left to join a road which shortly afterwards becomes a pinch point over a bridge...car approaching quite fast from the right. 'Ah,' thinks I, 'here comes a boy racer. Best slow down a sec, let him proceed and go about his business.' But no - there's just enough room to get out ahead of him, which sunshine ahead of me proceeds to do.

Boy racer slows down behind him...but sitting right on his back wheel, obviously all gung ho and writhing with gnarl. Not right, not excusable...but hardly unpredictable either.

Then sunshine suddenly decides to turn right - signals and starts moving across, without so much as a glance. Very nearly gets hit by boy racer, who is still too close. It would have been mostly BR's fault - driving too close, too aggressively. And sunshine would doubtless have been overflowing with furious indignation. But really. How could he be so oblivious?

Without excusing BR and his type, it does surprise me the number of cyclists I see who crank up the risk to themselves by what looks to me like a terminal inability to see situations from any perspective but their own.

Here endeth today's rant.

 

[XmisterIS]

I concurr!

How hard can it be to do a lifesaver before you change your position in the road? When riding a motorbike, a lifesaver is essential and is so named because it might just save your life! You will fail a motorbike test if you don't do lifesavers - my instructor was incredibly hot on them and kept shouting "lifesaver!!" at me whenever I forgot!

 

[Halfmanhalfbike]

[quote name='swee'pea99'] obviously all gung ho and writhing with gnarl..[/QUOTE]

 

[Wheeledweenie]

I know what you mean. I avoid cars that look like trouble (blacked out windows that tend to restrict driver vision, those thumping out loud music, ones weaving so much you wonder about the drivers' sobriety, and large 4x4s whose drivers can barely see over the steering wheel), but I am often left in open jawed horror at the attitude of some other cyclists who seem to actually want to wind these people up.

Much as we want people to cycle, the fact is that some drivers are more dangerous than others. Leave them alone and wait an extra 30 seconds. Chill out people.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Probably had earphones in.

 

[Amanda P]

I believe pilots call it "situational awareness". Some people just don't have much of it. I know some such people, and always try to avoid being in a car with them driving.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I believe pilots call it "situational awareness". Some people just don't have much of it. I know some such people, and always try to avoid being in a car with them driving.

yes, that's horrible. When You can see a situation developing half a mile up the road and it's quite obvious that the person driving has no inkling of it ...