Steaming after a very close thing just now!

[dand_uk]

Absolutely livid about what just happened.

I was cycling to work my normal route, part of which is along a short stretch of destricted single carriageway in Southampton - Stoneham Lane. The road has poor visibility for a lot of it and so normally traffic doesnt go much over 40.

I had nearly reached the north end of the road where there is a blind hump in the road followed by a sharp right corner. I was cycling along here in a seocndary position, although due to the road width there's probably not much difference between primary and secondary:

streetview

(the hump in the road is not so obvious on streetview).

So I was cycling along and this IDIOT in a orange fiat punto comes up behind and I can hear him floor it. I could also see over the road hump that there were cars approaching in the oncoming lane. I put my hand out to signal there was oncoming traffic but no success, I slam on the brakes and shift as left as I can and the car squeezes past. I am fuming! I take a primary position to discourage any other overtakes on the sharp right turn and I catch the IDIOT up within 10-20 seconds in the traffic merging at the junction. I pull level with his left hand side and shout "USE YOUR F***ING EYES!!!!"

Unfortunately did not get the number plate so nothing I can do.

 

[dand_uk]

still think about the incident this morning - was there anything I could have done to prevent it?

Not sure I could have done much more, my life was in the hands of an idiot in "control" of a ton of metal.

Considering a change of route...

 

[mcshroom]

Doesn't sound like there was much you could, and in some ways you're better with that idiot in front rather than behind. I suppose you could try cycling in a stronger position but IME the idiots still think they can get round anyway.

Try and put it out of your mind, and concentrate on having an enjoyable ride home if you can

 

[BrumJim]

Thing is, its not the route, its the car.

Maybe there are roads which, because of their design, seem to encourage bad driving. Those are best to avoid. Other times you come across an idiot driver that is free to travel along any road they feel like. And do so like a complete berk.

Take a deep breath, remember that 99% of drivers are considerate and courteous. And try again.

 

[ohnovino]

Taking primary and making lots of shoulder checks will put off a decent driver from overtaking. If that fails, I sometimes try a quick shake of the hand followed by a point (as if to say "No, there's someone coming").

However, if someone is determined to barge past and really doesn't give a **** then there's nothing you can do to stop them. Only thing you can do is self-preservation: try to make sure if there's an accident you won't get caught up in it.

Just a few hundred yards from my house there's a corner that's almost comically dangerous. It's on the crest of a hill, it's blind, there are speed bumps that distract a lot of drivers, there's a school entrance on the inside of the bend and a park on the outside and there's usually a lot of parked cars too. A couple of times I've had people try to pass me there, and I usually just give up and dive on to the pavement - I know that's not ideal, but any dangerous situation I can ride away from counts as a win.

 

[dand_uk]

Cheers for the advice people, I've decided to forget about the twonk and get on with it.

The only thing other I could of done was more shoulder checks on approach to the hump, and this probably wouldn't have stopped the incident. It's just annoying that the motorist squeezed past only to join a very long and slow queue 100m or so ahead.

I may also contact the local authority about the speed limit. A lot of fellow cyclists at work think the Stoneham Lane NSL is inappropriate due to the hazards on the road and the poor visibility on some stretches.

Perhaps if it was a 40 limit the drivers behaviour would be better. NSL signs means "floor it" to most drivers, regardless of the conditions.

 

[downfader]

Stoneham Lane seems to attract muppets. No cameras, longish and fast roads out of the city. Portsmouth road is the same - there are always going to be selfish idiots who'll treat it like a motorway. Trouble is the Echo prints stories about these plonkers weekly after they crash and die, going too fast for the conditions. Usually followed by a load of TXT SPK tributes about how great they were.

Sadly a great person can still drive like a tool.

Yeah not much you can do, shoulder check on approach, etc. Havent been down there on the bike in years. Have been a passenger in a car several times down there.

 

[Alexios]

Bad luck DanD. I and I suspect most people here have had similar experiences. Its the driver who was the idiot not you, and we're all grateful that you weren't hurt. I console myself in these situations but thinking that (a) he's likely to wrap himself round a tree some day and (b) he's probably trying to make up for a very small penis. Childish I know, but it helps.

 

[XmisterIS]

OP - the words "orange" and "punto" make my eyes roll ...

did it look anything like this?

If so, then why am I not surprised! Any car like that is guaranteed to be driven by a boorish chav c***t.

 

[downfader]

OP - the words "orange" and "punto" make my eyes roll ...

did it look anything like this?

If so, then why am I not surprised! Any car like that is guaranteed to be driven by a boorish chav c***t.

There was, havent seen it for a year or so now, a bright bubblegum pink Punto skitting around these parts of Southampton. Hideous.