Squeezed out

[Deleted member 35268]

On my commute home from work yesterday, only 5 miles on windy roads - I was at a steady pace on the only straight section of the ride when a car started to overtake, an oncoming car flashed at the overtaking car which then decided it wanted to be where I was, the net result was I was literally squeezed onto no more road. I managed to get the brakes on and come to an abrupt stop without actually hitting anything.

I yelled the F word very loudly at the point of the incident, it was my equivalent of a horn I guess and just a natural reaction.

The driver was pretty upset with what had happened and pulled over to check I was OK. I said I was fine (which I was) and thanked her for stopping and told her not to worry.

My theory on this is, the young lady driving was a tourist in a hire car, which was an unfamiliar right hand drive, she sounded Spanish and the car was brand new and immaculate. Where I work is pretty popular with tourists.

So, it was a near miss and I am not a cyclist down, but it was about as close as I wan't to come to being hit by a car.

I will be giving myself a bit more road from now on, I think I have got into a habit of being over courteous and trying to let cars pass.

 

[raleighnut]

Always keep that 2-3 foot of wriggle/dive space between you and the curb/verge, if cars have to slow down before overtaking then there wasn't really room to do so safely. An interesting thing though, now I'm riding a trike (for physiotherapy) I have not had to change my front wheel position on the road, mind I'm not exactly up to dual carriageways yet.

 

[helston90]

Nothing twitchier than the sound of a car hitting the accelerator followed quickly by the brake, glad you were unscathed- perhaps she's learnt a valuable lesson?

 

[moo]

Happens all the time around here. I get at least one idiot overtaking me on a blind bend every day, and that's with me doing 20+ in a 30 zone. I ride a strong primary position so it wont be long before I'm witness to a head-on.

 

[I like Skol]

On my commute home from work yesterday, only 5 miles on windy roads - I was at a steady pace on the only straight section of the ride when a car started to overtake, an oncoming car flashed at the overtaking car which then decided it wanted to be where I was, the net result was I was literally squeezed onto no more road. I managed to get the brakes on and come to an abrupt stop without actually hitting anything.

I yelled the F word very loudly at the point of the incident, it was my equivalent of a horn I guess and just a natural reaction.

The driver was pretty upset with what had happened and pulled over to check I was OK. I said I was fine (which I was) and thanked her for stopping and told her not to worry.

My theory on this is, the young lady driving was a tourist in a hire car, which was an unfamiliar right hand drive, she sounded Spanish and the car was brand new and immaculate. Where I work is pretty popular with tourists.

So, it was a near miss and I am not a cyclist down, but it was about as close as I wan't to come to being hit by a car.

I will be giving myself a bit more road from now on, I think I have got into a habit of being over courteous and trying to let cars pass.

I don't know why you are being so apologetic for the overtaking driver? She tried to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic then decided to squeeze you instead of hitting the other vehicle in a potential collision that she should clearly have anticipated!

 

[Deleted member 35268]

I don't know why you are being so apologetic for the overtaking driver? She tried to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic then decided to squeeze you instead of hitting the other vehicle in a potential collision that she should clearly have anticipated!

Ordinarily I would be only harsh and vocal to such a bad driver, but they seldom stop to even entertain an apology, but this one was in a real state, close to tears in fact - I don't know why. I decided to go easy on the driver and avoid upsetting her. I don't regret that.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Damn, I thought this was another flatulence thread...


GC

 

[glasgowcyclist]

... I was at a steady pace on the only straight section of the ride when a car started to overtake, an oncoming car flashed at the overtaking car which then decided it wanted to be where I was, the net result was I was literally squeezed onto no more road. ...

When I'm driving and I see a cyclist coming towards me who is about to be passed (usually too closely) by a car driver I'll move to the nearside to give the oncoming car as much room as possible, hopefully making it less likely for him to do what happened to you.

(I only do this when it's clear the other car is going to go for the overtake regardless, I don't make a narrow gap slightly more inviting.)

GC

 

[Hip Priest]

Ordinarily I would be only harsh and vocal to such a bad driver, but they seldom stop to even entertain an apology, but this one was in a real state, close to tears in fact - I don't know why. I decided to go easy on the driver and avoid upsetting her. I don't regret that.

Genuine remorse from her, and a magnanimous response from you. I reckon that's the perfect recipe. I think she'll be very careful and considerate around cyclists in future.