SMIDSY....

[661-Pete]

Nothing serious, just the classic motorist shoots-out-onto-the-roundabout-when-I'm-already-on-it, sort of thing.

He stops in time. I stop in time.

I come to a standstill right in front of his bonnet. I shout "OI!!!". Window winds down. "Sorry Mate...."

I wait for it. Yessss!!!

"....I Didn't See You". Word-for-word!

I say, in as calm a voice I can muster: "I accept your apology, but you didn't look did you. (pause). I repeat, you didn't look did you. OK forget it." Window winds up. We both go on our way.

I'm so glad I didn't give him the "what the **** do you think you are ***** about you ****** ******....?" sort of stuff...

Job done.

 

[BSRU]

I would have used a little more colourful language, even though I know I shouldn't.

 

[Moodyman]

Good restraint shown there Pete.

Though, I would have said 'It's okay mate no harm done'

Spready a little love.

 

[HLaB]

I didn't quite stay as cool in a similar situation (ps if you've got speakers this is NSFW). Give the bloke his due though, he followed me into the side of the road to apologise; it wasn't a SMIDSY; it was a SMINSM (Sorry Mate I Nearly Sh@t Myself)

 

[CharlieB]

A couple of weeks ago on the way home from work, someone pulled out into my path on a roundabout. Trying to pull an emergency stop, the road was too wet for me to maintain grip, and I came off. The lady stopped immediately to check I was OK, but I honestly believe she didn't see me, as she was clearly very shaken up by the incident.
It stopped me short of berating her, rudely or otherwise, and I ended up asking her if she was OK.

 

[perplexed]

Another roundabout one...

Whilst going around a quiet-ish suburban one, a woman approached the roundabout, and appeared to slow down for her give way.

Clearly this must have been to lull me into a false sense of security, as she then put her foot down to enter the roundabout just as I was about to cross her bows.

"Oi, watch it!" yells moi.

At the same time she saw me, then blasted the horn at me!

The disadvantage she had was that at this point I was directly in front of her (we'd both anchored up) so she couldn't go anywhere.

As I say, a quiet roundabout, no other traffic, and I'd already stopped.

She very rapidly realised the error of her ways, and uttered many apologies with a little wave. Good job I'm a gent, another rider would have given her a really hard time. I put the horn blast down to instinct on her behalf, and I genuinly think she'll look more thoroughly at junctions now.

 

[Arch]

She very rapidly realised the error of her ways, and uttered many apologies with a little wave. Good job I'm a gent, another rider would have given her a really hard time. I put the horn blast down to instinct on her behalf, and I genuinly think she'll look more thoroughly at junctions now.

It's tricky. Tell someone they've got it wrong, and they will often get defensive, and in their own mind, convince themselves that they are right. But let it go, and you don't know if they've learnt anything.

One of my reasons for opting for a hi-vis jacket is so that in the case of SMIDSY I can ask "So which bit of this bright yellow jacket did you miss?" (The same goes for having duplicate lights).

 

[661-Pete]

...and I ended up asking her if she was OK.

Strange, that, I don't think I've softened to that level yet! Perhaps I ought to learn: being afraid one might have hurt someone does sometimes shake a motorist up!

Reminds me of the RTA I witnessed, but wasn't directly involved in, last April (reported on CC - silly idiot tried to overtake me, slammed into an oncoming car). My first reaction was to stop and run to one of the drivers and ask if he was OK. He was. I hung around waiting for the police. A little later another cyclist passed, surveyed the wreckage, then spotted me and came over to ask if I was OK. I said yes, shivering a bit from delayed shock but unscathed. Then he stopped to chat for a while: turned out he was on a long tour, making for the ferry and planning to do right across France.

Nice of him.

 

[brokenbetty]

A van nearly pulled into my path yesterday (me in primary in left hand lane, he stationary in a queue in right hand and decided to pull into the other lane which would gave been empty if I hadn't been there)

No damage done, I swerved and he stopped. But he pulled up beside me to let me know he couldn't see my light. Now that's unusual. I've had more than one person complain it's too bright. But fair enough, it may have slipped.

BUT it was 8am, I was wearing a purple helmet with black and White reflective band and a hi viz pink and reflective band waistcoat. My bike is purple with White tyres, a big green floral bag on the front rack and just in case all that isn't enough, White fairy lights wrapped round the frame! It's possible that when astronauts look down from orbit the only man made things visible are from the Japanese squid fishing fleet and my cycling outfit.

Didn't see my light? Didn't bother looking more like. Pah!

 

[Mad at urage]

"Didn't see your light" meant: "I now see you are lit up like a Christmas tree! Funnily enough when concentrating hard on getting out of that side-turning, I completely failed to see the obvious, very brightly lit and coloured object bearing down in the lane I wanted to be in. My apologies for my inexplicable blindness."







Or maybe not ...

 

[John the Monkey]

Someone nearly wiped me out turning into a parking space on Oxford Road last year - bizarrely, the boyfriend of the (very apologetic) lady driving the car insisted that I apologise for scaring her (by nearly being hit by her car).

My apology was less then sincere, a bit like this. People in cars are sometimes very strange.

 

[fossyant]

Nothing serious, just the classic motorist shoots-out-onto-the-roundabout-when-I'm-already-on-it,

Jolly good you had chance to stop.

Good when this happens, bad when you can see what's happening but the car is going way to fast and drives through you !

 

[benb]

Good restraint shown there Pete.

Though, I would have said 'It's okay mate no harm done'

Spready a little love.

But it's not OK, is it?

It could have easily been a serious collision.

 

[John the Monkey]

But it's not OK, is it?

It could have easily been a serious collision.

I'd vote not - someone did hit me doing this, and it put me off the bike for three weeks, one of which I could barely hobble 'round the block walking the dog. A fraction of a second earlier, and the driver would probably have broken my legs.

Still, shoot happens, eh?

 

[benb]

[QUOTE 1296477"]
People make mistakes.
[/quote]

Of course, but that doesn't make it OK.