Should I have indicated?

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garrilla

Senior Member
Location
Liverpool
I was hit in the rear last night by another cyclist.

I'm unsure who was to blame...

6pm, I was riding (here S>N) in commuter traffic. I was in secondary between flowing traffic and stationary parked cars with no gaps. I was planning to turn right. Instead of taking a primary position and holding up the traffic that was going in my direction, I slowed down, while constantly checking for oncoming traffic and from behind to look for an opportunity to make the turn. However, none came so I slowed to stop before the junction, but still in secondary with the intention of letting the traffic calm from the regulation of the lights further along.

A cyclist, coming from behind, went straight into me. I had not seen him when I was looking back at the traffic so I don't know how close he had been. But I didn't come to an abrupt halt or anything, so its surprising he didn't see me - hiz vizzed up, etc.

He must have seen me as he moaned that he was unsure what I was doing. I certainly didn't indicate, but I would have thought it was obvious from my slowing down and persintent checking over my shoulder that I would be turning. But maybe not? I don't think I made my intention clear, but I didn't come to an abrupt stop either.

Should I have indicated? Could I have done something different?
 

Mike!

Guru
Location
Suffolk
In a car if you are hit from behind it's always the followers fault - same applies to a bike IMO!
 
Location
Midlands
If you had not made the turn then no - If you were turning and not in a right turn position then yes but the Geezer behind should of been using a bit more caution

We do not do I am slowing down stopping signals in this country but as the number of cyclists start to increase then it will become necessary -

What the signal should be I have no idea - there was an old arm twirling thing but I have not seen anyone do that in decades - if we are going european maybe the Danish raised arm bent elbow palm forward
 
OP
OP
garrilla

garrilla

Senior Member
Location
Liverpool
Mike! said:
In a car if you are hit from behind it's always the followers fault - same applies to a bike IMO!


Ironically, at that very junction I was hit from behind by a car that was travelling at 30mph, but I was standing in primary, signalling while waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic. She was trying to squeeze between me and the cars....
 

chevron

New Member
Location
Bristol, UK
You should have signalled but it was not your fault the guy hit you from behind. If you are in secondary, signal earlier and usually a car will slow to let you across by the time the turning comes.

As for slowing down signals, I use a tried and tested 'reverse pedalling' technique. Seems to work as it looks like you are trying to 'go backwards' even though it's obviously the brakes that are actually slowing you down.
 

gaz

Cycle Camera TV
Location
South Croydon
If you want to signal your slowing down, you should stick your right arm out as if your indicating and move it up and down. That is the standard from the highway code.

I would personally indicate right and move into the lane and then cycling just past primary and wait for a gap on the other side of the road to swing around and then take your now left turn. Obviously this depends totally on the road and traffic conditions, it may well not be safe to do if the traffic is fast flowing.

At the end of the day, if you didn't come to an abrupt stop, then it's hard to point the blame on you, although i would have moved closer to the gutter.
 
Location
Rammy
psmiffy said:
If you had not made the turn then no - If you were turning and not in a right turn position then yes but the Geezer behind should of been using a bit more caution

We do not do I am slowing down stopping signals in this country but as the number of cyclists start to increase then it will become necessary -

What the signal should be I have no idea - there was an old arm twirling thing but I have not seen anyone do that in decades - if we are going european maybe the Danish raised arm bent elbow palm forward

There is no way I can signal and manage to stop at the same time!

wichman centre pull brakes from the 60's aren't powerful enough.
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
things go worong when you try to do too much too quickly

I'd get over early with a nice clear signal and if necessary wait on the centre line, if the lane is too narrow that wait in a more primary position

if it's dangerous then try a different route, I've always tried to avoid static right turns, they're inherently dangerous
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Tynan said:
things go worong when you try to do too much too quickly

I'd get over early with a nice clear signal and if necessary wait on the centre line, if the lane is too narrow that wait in a more primary position

if it's dangerous then try a different route, I've always tried to avoid static right turns, they're inherently dangerous

+1..I was going to suggest the same thing...next time try and get out in the middle much earlier...your choice if you want to signal when doing that (I'm not getting into that agin?!!?).

But either way, the rider behind probably should not have been either so close or so fast when so close...what if a dog or child (or sheep....ask Mag's) had run out and you just had to stop quickly?
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
I had similar concerns on the way home turning right off a 2 lane main road,have now re-routed to a much easier way which misses out 2 or 3 dodgy RAB's and means I have 1 much easier right turn although it has increased the trip by half a mile.
Coming home on late shift I just go the direct route as it's very quiet at 10.30pm:smile:
 

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
If using a filter lane to turn theres no obligation to signal, but I find as a cyclist signalling draws attention to you. In normal roads with no turning lane I will sit in the right of the lane and signal some 20 or 30 metres before stopping near the turn, and shoulder check before I signal, and just before I stop.

If I feel its getting tricky or I dont trust the motorist/road user behind me I'll sometimes get off and walk across

It all depends on the situation. Quite easy to say do this, do that after some plonker has gone into you, but as long as you take the basic precautions usually you're fine.
 

buggi

Bird Saviour
Location
Solihull
Er... no... the other guy is in the wrong. If you hadn't signalled, why would he expect you to have moved out? as for giving the signal to slow down... seems to me that you were in slow moving traffic and hands on brakes, so it wouldn't be safe for you to give that signal so close to the junction.

the guy is a dick... if he wasn't sure where you were going, he should have approached you with more caution rather than just presuming.
 

Yellow Fang

Legendary Member
Location
Reading
Sounds like a dodgy junction, but I don't think you did anything wrong with regards to the other cyclist. He wasn't cycling defensively. If you were looking around he should have noticed. You can't really be expected to make weird slowing down signals while trying to navigate traffic on a busy road.
 

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
The old slowing down hand signal is so forgotten its virtually useless. Perhaps we need a campaign to remind everyone of them (even drivers sometimes need to use them - my brother used them about 5 years back when his motor broke down and the indicators failed - other drivers game his a load of s*** even though he used Highway Code authorised hand signals)
 
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