Smidgaf - video - would you report this

[gb155]

I do that same roundabout going both ways on my commute gaz and it is pretty sh*te during peak times with continuous traffic flow from all directions. As has already been said, probably best not to try and negotiate it by the rules of what 'should' happen but to simply make sure you get across it safely. Not worth a trip to A&E to make your point!

It's even worse when it rains as a large 5-6ft wide puddle forms at the left side and because I am going left (as seen from your POV) I have to move to the right of the lane when there is a queue of cars & trucks trying to keep me pinned in to the kerb and then getting confused, so trying to undertake me as they think I am going right (despite signalling left!).

Just keep your wits about you and get home safely

Agreed it shitty and worse in the rain - I do that roundabout both ways daily now too, might see ya

 

[Norm]

Norm

No, no head light ( only just using a helmet but that's another day ) it's a good point and something I'll look into , how many $'s are we looking at ?

That depends on how many $s you want to spend?

Mine is a Exposure Joystick, lots of money (around £150) but some significant benefits too. It's a very light self-contained unit, the battery lasts well over 20 hours on low power, which is what I use 95%+ of the time, you can get a Red Eye Micro so it also gives you a powerful rear light on your head and a tenner gets you a headband so it can be worn without a helmet. I don't like attaching things to my helmet, for many reasons, so this last one makes all the difference, I can, and do, use the Joystick every ride whether or not I'm wearing a lid.

As for the general benefits of any headtorch:

• the different height makes it easier to separate you from traffic
• lighting where you are looking is invaluable if you ever ride off road or if you have tight corners, as you can see stuff long before your bars are pointing in that direction. And head-height low twigs and branches are illuminated.
• "Glancing" at a driver will get their attention in ways that you just cannot emulate with bar-mounted lights, whether it's to try and prevent a SMIDSY or to let them know you are there so they dip their own headlights.
• On a night-time road ride on unlit tarmac, you will see all sorts of stuff (wildlife etc) happening in the hedges and woodlands beside the road.
• Looking into parked cars lights them up so you can see if they are occupied and about to pull out on you.
• Should you get a problem with your bike, you have a powerful light on whatever you are doing but with free hands

The main downside is that the light is very close to your eyes, so you don't get the depth perception from shadows that you get when there's a 2ft parallax offset from a bar-mounted light.

 

[Nebulous]

i've been using a 1 watt led headlight from TKMaxx for less than a fiver. They had a lot of cycling stuff in over Christmas. It has a fairly focused beam with half power, full power and flashing modes. I tend to only use it when its properly dark, but it definitely makes a difference in how cars respond.

 

[Norm]

i've been using a 1 watt led headlight from TKMaxx for less than a fiver

Yes, I should have pointed out that there are many benefits, IMO, from a head-mounted light but they do vary between lit / urban and unlit / rural riding.

For unlit rides, to get a torch which you can use to see with, you are looking at, IMO, £50+ but there are many possibilities, from TK Maxx, Millets, Maplin, Robert Dyas etc for considerably less than that if you just want to catch the attention of other road users.

In your video, for instance Gaz, a head torch would have been above the roof of the car you were following and easily seen by the bus driver. If you had been wearing one and he still pulled out like that, at least you would have been more certain that he was driving like a cock rather than a SMIDSY.

 

[Crackle]

Mini rdbts are poo. People pull out on you if you're driving a tank, car, bike, riding a camel or dressed in full cowboy gear on a mustang and lit up like a xmas tree, it doesn't matter. Gaz said it all, we can only re-inforce the mesage to expect the unexpected or as Donald would say, the expected, unexpecteds.

 

[PpPete]

There's mini roundabout that I have to go through on a regular basis, but usually only in daylight. I expect to get carved up in similar fashion to the OP on every trip through it. My hands are covering the brakes every single time. I've yet to hit a car but it's been close on several recent occasions and I had a major shock the other day.... a WVM actually stopped and gave way to me ! Nearly fell off in surprise !

 

[HLaB]

Let it Go; I usually give more leeway to buses as I rather have one them with half a dozen passengers than 6 extra cars on the road.

 

[Thomk]

It's likely that busses do this to cars as well as bikes there since, as gaz said, it's probably nearly impossible for them to get out otherwise. I've slowed down many times for busses & Lorries on roundabouts (while in my car) even when I have priority. As long as it's not dangerous and just falls into the "irritating" category it seems fine to me.

 

[col]

He was actually already moving across the roundabout before you got to him. You should have given way, instead of posting this vid and trying to make something out of nothing.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Your approach into the roundabout was too fast.

(21 years driving, two lots of advanced driving instruction from the i.a.m and no accidents/convictions to my name).

 

[Thomk]

Approach speed seemed fine to me.

(28 years driving, advanced ADI driving and theory instruction from the DOT and no fault accidents/convictions to my name. 25m front crawl and best at marbles in my class, reception & year 1).

 

[zizou]

IMO the bus looks to be moving onto the roundabout before you were.

Even if that wasn't the case it is very marginal anyway really not worth reporting or complaining about - if you are to complain about all "incidents" of this magnitude you'll never be doing anything other than filling out complaint forms!

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Approach speed seemed fine to me.

(28 years driving, advanced ADI driving and theory instruction from the DOT and no fault accidents/convictions to my name. 25m front crawl and best at marbles in my class, reception & year 1).

I'll re-phrase:
Your approach into the roundabout was too fast, you need to be more prepared to deal with other peoples mistakes by reducing speed.

 

[col]

It's likely that busses do this to cars as well as bikes there since, as gaz said, it's probably nearly impossible for them to get out otherwise. I've slowed down many times for busses & Lorries on roundabouts (while in my car) even when I have priority. As long as it's not dangerous and just falls into the "irritating" category it seems fine to me.

Most dont realise that some busses cant accelerate very quickly, very slowly actually.

 

[Thomk]

I'll re-phrase:
Your approach into the roundabout was too fast, you need to be more prepared to deal with other peoples mistakes by reducing speed.

Did you watch the vid? Any slower and he would have been going backwards. He dealt with the "mistake" of the bus driver perfectly safely and properly.