SMIDSY's and attitude of car drivers

[ianrauk]

After my accident this morning which pales into insignificance compared to that poor lady cyclist in Manchester.
I notice that both the car drivers involved both admitted full responsibility for the crashes and have gone out of their way to apologise, show concern, help, pay for damage etc
Are we finally seeing a change in attitude from car drivers?
I sincerely hope so.

 

[lazyfatgit]

I wouldn't count on it.

That's just not going to happen until there is proper accountability for careless driving and a change away from the blame somebody and sue culture we seem to be fostering.

 

[GrasB]

This was my experience with my only accident involving a car, not a SMIDSY but a woman miss-judged where her nearside tyre was, clipped the trief kerb (top left & bottom right are perfect examples of what she clipped) at a pinch point & was cannoned into me at about 10mph. I think it's most people's reaction to something going wrong. We get so wrapped up with the occasional arrogant tw*t we forget that most motorist are trying to get from A to B as safely as possible & have lapses of concentration, observational skills or simply miss-judge something.

 

[HJ]

This was my experience with my only accident involving a car, not a SMIDSY but a woman miss-judged where her nearside tyre was, clipped the trief kerb (top left & bottom right are perfect examples of what she clipped) at a pinch point & was cannoned into me at about 10mph. I think it's most people's reaction to something going wrong. We get so wrapped up with the occasional arrogant tw*t we forget that most motorist are trying to get from A to B as safely as possible & have lapses of concentration, observational skills or simply miss-judge something.

The problem is they tend to forget that their lapses of concentration, observational skills or simply miss-judge something can kill people. Too many people have a far to causal attitude to driving and as a result seven people pay with their lives on an average day (and a few hundred more are seriously injured), but that is OK, because it is just an accident...

 

[fossyant]

I wouldn't count on it......

Mine was 12 months ago - insurers said they were not contesting liability....I got very little concern from the driver - she was more shocked than me at the time, and she never followed it up. Shame, she's got BC's solicitors casing now....

 

[fossyant]

we forget that most motorist are trying to get from A to B as safely as possible & have lapses of concentration, observational skills or simply miss-judge something.

Safely - read quickly..........

 

[fossyant]

OK sorry for the negativity.....I still don't trust anyone. Most are OK, but there are the few that cause the problems for all other road users..

 

[Tharg2007]

and they are smidsy first and foremost, the only reason they are all apologetic is probably cos of witnesses and not enough time to think about worming their way out of it.

Sorry, im not very trusting either :S

 

[joebe]

Bit like the halfwit who was turning left on to the Cromwell road from Warwick Road lastnight. Because he had a green filter he assumed he had right of way over me (I was west bound on Cromwell Road with green lights at the junction) and accused me of riding through a red (after driving up behind me and basting his horn). Fortunately I was able to point out the error of his ways when he got held up in the traffic jam 100yrds down the road.

Completely clueless.

 

[BentMikey]

How's this little storm in a teacup on youtube?

Matthew Kibble bad overtake.

Perhaps you might like to comment on Matthew Kibble's purported responses?

 

[hackbike 666]

I caught a (pre-booked) cab from Heathrow last night and althjough I thought he was a very good driver,I thought he made one major mistake near Euston when he changed lanes as there was a cyclist behind us....Cyclist was not too amused.(Bit of a nightmare really glad cyclist was ok)I've had that happen myself many times.Cyclists front light wasn't that wonderful though IMO not that it makes it right.On a side note I noticed plenty of cyclists with insufficient or no light's and some very visible cyclists as well.

 

[mark i]

I think that some of the posters above have it right. I have little doubt that there is not usually intent to injure, but a carelessness about driving. They are adjusting the radio, phoning or simply in a hurry and do not look properly. Part of the issue is people do not have enough time, so they see a half gap having half looked on a busy road and go for it. On a bike this could be lethal. I would bet if it was a gun that they were handling that before pointing the gun anywhere it would be unloaded and have the safety on. The consequences would be more obvious.

 

[BentMikey]

Their response has now been removed...

Hence the word "purported".

 

[jezhiggins]

Their response has now been removed...

They've been removed from the video, but they still appear here http://www.youtube.com/user/matthewkibble

Did he a) apologise for a crappy bit of driving or blame the cyclist? Go on, you'll never guess. Never. Nope. No how.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Most drivers don't want to kill us. A few think that they are better drivers than they are. A very few are dangerous.

The problems is that the consequences to cyclists of all drivers' mistakes are likely to be very high. A collision that would leave two drivers' cars with nothing more than scratched bumpers will flatten a cyclist, perhaps breaking wrists or ribs.

Until all drivers understand that, and are visibly held accountable for their actions, I will, in self-defence, treat all of them as potential murderers.

(This includes my missus - I had words with her a little while ago, reminding her that she has held a licence only a little more than a year, when she was tanking it down the road to the archery club.)