Primary or secondary

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goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
When the road's long, straight and there are no obvious obstacles, I'll slot into secondary. Never had any problems with idiots in those situations.

Recently though, I've been finding that sometimes primary isn't even defensive enough for my own safety. Just outside work, on the access road between the car park and the entrance onto the main road, I'm being overtaken by idiots as the road bends left. For some reason they all seem to want to get to the roundabout ahead a few seconds before me. And they're overtaking when I'm in primary, on a corner, and leaving me with inches. As I try to move left before they make contact as they swerve in early, they keep moving closer until they almost have me against the kerb and I'm forced to slam on the brakes to avoid death.

Stupid woman in a people-carrier the other day was the latest offender. She pretended not to even see me when I pulled alongside her at the entrance to the roundabout and we waited for a gap and I shouted "That was a very stupid move - you nearly hit me !"

I need a camera so I can tell myself the reg number like Magnatom, and then report them at work the next day for the disciplinary offense of driving dangerously on company premises...
 
goo_mason said:
When the road's long, straight and there are no obvious obstacles, I'll slot into secondary. Never had any problems with idiots in those situations.

Recently though, I've been finding that sometimes primary isn't even defensive enough for my own safety. Just outside work, on the access road between the car park and the entrance onto the main road, I'm being overtaken by idiots as the road bends left. For some reason they all seem to want to get to the roundabout ahead a few seconds before me. And they're overtaking when I'm in primary, on a corner, and leaving me with inches. As I try to move left before they make contact as they swerve in early, they keep moving closer until they almost have me against the kerb and I'm forced to slam on the brakes to avoid death.

Stupid woman in a people-carrier the other day was the latest offender. She pretended not to even see me when I pulled alongside her at the entrance to the roundabout and we waited for a gap and I shouted "That was a very stupid move - you nearly hit me !"

I need a camera so I can tell myself the reg number like Magnatom, and then report them at work the next day for the disciplinary offense of driving dangerously on company premises...
I find this quite a bit or they want to get to the red light or traffic jam a couple of seconds before me, I think their rationale is the cyclist willl hold them up at the roundabout, etc, quite often its the reverse.
 

JamesAC

Senior Member
Location
London
On a one-way-street crowded with parked cars, I almost always pull into any gap there is and let following car(s) pass.

Then I catch them up and leave them standing at theT junction at the top of the road. Sometimes I permit myself a little smirk.
 
Tynan said:
mix it up all the way in, strong secondary where it's safe, primary where's it not safe to do otherwise or where I'm traveling fast enough to blend with traffic, gutter where I need to pass slow or stopped traffic, right side where I think it's safe (ish) and lane splitting where I'm going faster than moving traffic, usually Nags Head to Finsbury Park, that's one quick piece of my route

ASL when I can get to them without bother, especially if there's traffic wanting to turn left, I'll start in lane where it suits

Sensible post.
 

Flying_Monkey

Recyclist
Location
Odawa
The main problem I have, and this is quite rare anyway, is with people cutting in sharply after overtaking - primary or secondary, it makes little difference, in fact if anything, riding primary can lead to even sharper pulling from further out by the drivers involved.

I used to try to confront drivers a lot, but I've found that being less angry, cycling positively and not getting involved in confrontations has meant I am very rarely inconvenienced let alone put in danger. Sure, some drivers do stupid things, but I don't let it raise my blood pressure. There you go, make of it what you will.
 
OP
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magnatom

Guest
Flying_Monkey said:
The main problem I have, and this is quite rare anyway, is with people cutting in sharply after overtaking - primary or secondary, it makes little difference, in fact if anything, riding primary can lead to even sharper pulling from further out by the drivers involved.

I used to try to confront drivers a lot, but I've found that being less angry, cycling positively and not getting involved in confrontations has meant I am very rarely inconvenienced let alone put in danger. Sure, some drivers do stupid things, but I don't let it raise my blood pressure. There you go, make of it what you will.

I know for a fact, that if I had been in the primary here he would not have had enough space to get past me. It is very very rare for a driver to try and muscle his way through when there is no space at all.

I do confront drivers, but I try to keep it calm. Knowing I have it on video helps. It doesn't raise my blood pressure at all. If I did nothing about it I think I would get worked up. Videoing creates my little zen bubble.

Two other things FM. Did you ever hear back from your lawer friends about the legality of vidoeing? Also in another thread you suggested that I go over the top a little (you didn't reply to my following comment). No offence taken, but I just wondered in what way you thought I went over the top?
 
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OP
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magnatom

Guest
Thanks Mike. I only have time to look at one forum these days, so I probably miss a lot that goes on elsewhere.

What concerns me slightly is when I stop to have a 'chat' with someone. Does that still count as being public? I usually mention that I am filming, but often I forget or don't have a chance.
 
Flying_Monkey said:
The main problem I have, and this is quite rare anyway, is with people cutting in sharply after overtaking - primary or secondary, it makes little difference, in fact if anything, riding primary can lead to even sharper pulling from further out by the drivers involved.

.
Dunno if its that rare, seems to be most commmon overtake mistake around here. I think its a lack of appreciation on just how fast a bike can travel. Obviously not with me pedaling it though ;)
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
HLaB said:
I find this quite a bit or they want to get to the red light or traffic jam a couple of seconds before me, I think their rationale is the cyclist willl hold them up at the roundabout, etc, quite often its the reverse.

I find this fairly regularly and take a certain delight in proving them wrong.

Having passed the same car several times, I generally get to know the point at which I will pass them for the last time and give then a wave bye-bye before leaving them stuck in a stationary line of traffic.... ;)

The funnest one was a WVM who tried to race me away from the lights and lost:evil: He learned the hard way that cyclist dressed in lycra are generally fairly fit and can put on a surprising turn of speed (for a short distance):thumbsup:
 

Flying_Monkey

Recyclist
Location
Odawa
magnatom said:
Two other things FM. Did you ever hear back from your lawer friends about the legality of vidoeing? Also in another thread you suggested that I go over the top a little (you didn't reply to my following comment). No offence taken, but I just wondered in what way you thought I went over the top?

Oh, yes. Apparently filming in public by private citizens is not illegal. However you wouldn't think so given some of the rather violent reactions from the various 'plastic police' and security guards to people taking pictures in public. The few people I have asked don't seem to know if there has ever been a test case about the storage of video images by private citizens and whether data protection law then applies...

And don't get too worried about what I said. I was just voicing some vague worries. I generally think you do a good job in highlighting poor driving and bad treatment of cyclists. I just think that sometimes you appear to get worked up by things that, when I watch the videos, I'm just thinking that I wouldn't be and which appear to be relatively mundane. But then, I wasn't there and the films don't always show things 'accurately'. And, as I've said, I'm not sure trying to confront people in the street is necessarily productive or enlightening for the driver concerned as it tends to be treated defensively. I have no idea what 'the answer' is though...
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Flying_Monkey said:
I just think that sometimes you appear to get worked up by things that, when I watch the videos, I'm just thinking that I wouldn't be and which appear to be relatively mundane. But then, I wasn't there and the films don't always show things 'accurately'.

I was thinking this yesterday - I videod my commute in, and reviewing it, there were 3 cars that passed me and on the video that looked very close, whereas in reality, I didn't feel that any of them were. I mean they weren't ideal, give-you-a-nice-wide-berth overtakes, but none of them made me swerve or jump or anything like that. Perhaps because I knew they were there with my hearing and peripheral vision?
 
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