Tales from today's commute....

[Arjimlad]

Not fun, firstly battling past endless school run drivers overtaking parked cars onto my side of the road & blocking me, and then falling off on ice as I turned left into a side road..

Cheap lesson learned not to be lazy about putting the studded wheelset on, when the car on the drive is frosted up. I turned around to use the gritted main roads instead and had a shorter ride to work. Bum is bruised but the bike is OK other than a scratch of honour on the left shifter.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Lovely cool but not icy ride in under clear pre-dawn skies.

 

[fossyant]

I can feel an email coming onto the 'bee-network' in Manchester. I was 'buzzed' - yes there is a pun, by a 'buzz' using the cycle lane to beat the traffic on the Southbound A6, north of Stockport last night. He'd already blocked it, and I'd nipped on the pavement and pointed at the bike lane. Sure enough, a minute or so later, he was right behind me, undercutting the traffic in the 1m wide bike lane. It's a regular occurrence.

 

[HLaB]

Not fun. Cold damp heavy air. Took the cycle paths in, stuck behind various slow cyclists (not a problem). Get past. Stop at red lights. They all sail through - stuck behind again. Rinse and repeat all the way up what felt like a dozen lights. :-( maybe I'll stick to the roads.

The A15 splits in D's (Drake & Cook Avenues) either side of a busgate/ cycle path straight through the middle but the lights are so poorly timed that most cyclist dont use it despite it being shorter in distance and take the D Avenues. Its always Red to enter then Red again to exit whereas the D Roads are mostly on green when you approach. Those that do use the cycle path, 99% of the time will RLJ. Actually everywhere I know in Pottyboro that links a cycle path/toucan with a road its a similar story, the cyclist/peds wait ages and end up RLJ'ing

 

[katiewlx]

back to the bike after a few weeks, luckily really as the car seems to have stopped working again, for some reason Id assumed everyone would be full of the joys of the yuletide season, lovely clear blue sky, sun, no ice, bit damp and slippy still but controllable. But no usual car driver angst about not getting somewhere instantly in their overgrown toys, didnt put me in the best mood to start the day at work, and much the same on the way home, also the traffic volume seems to be getting worse too.

and is it just me or do drivers not handle emergency vehicles on blue flashing lights/siren anymore ? I know being outside I can hear the siren approaching better, but they still have eyes dont they ? twice today I paused safely at the front of a junction and so effectively stopped the line of traffic behind me, so that an emergency vehicle on an emergency call could pass by us as quickly and as safely as they could, delayed us at most 30seconds, and yet both times I got dogs abuse from drivers for daring to hold them up, and yet had I carried on in both cases Id have not only delayed & held up the emergency vehicles just by myself, but there would have been no where for anyone following behind me to move out the way either.

 

[ianrauk]

and is it just me or do drivers not handle emergency vehicles on blue flashing lights/siren anymore ?

Nope its not just you. Its the general bad state and selfishness of most drivers now. I've had drivers swerve into me as they panic when hearing or seeing the emergency vehicle coming.
I even saw an deliveroo rider on an illegal leccy bike hold up an ambulance on purpose. No reason. He got a mouthful from me for his efforts.

 

[palinurus]

It was horrible yesterday evening, really heavy rain and impatient drivers. Wet feet. A few miles out I followed another cyclist who had two similar lights on each seatstay and they were slow-flashing in perfect opposition. They stayed that way for some time and I wondered if the circuit frequencies were perfectly matched but after a mile or so I could tell they were beginning to edge into phase, it took quite a while before they flashed in unison. For some reason this cheered me up immensely.

 

[spen666]

....

and is it just me or do drivers not handle emergency vehicles on blue flashing lights/siren anymore ? ....

Partly ( and I stress only partly) it is because Drivers are told not to move. eg at traffic lights etc and let emergency vehicle drive around them.

there are examples of people moving forward at traffic lights to let emergency vehicle through and then getting dome for contravening a read light.

messaging is at times confusing

 

[Alex321]

Partly ( and I stress only partly) it is because Drivers are told not to move. eg at traffic lights etc and let emergency vehicle drive around them.

there are examples of people moving forward at traffic lights to let emergency vehicle through and then getting dome for contravening a read light.

messaging is at times confusing

This is what the Highway Code has to say
219
Emergency and Incident Support vehicles. You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or Highways Agency Traffic Officer and Incident Support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road. Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb. Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.

 

[Mazz]

Was actually mild this morning, so I took off the handlebar mitts before setting off.
Weather forecast says it'll be mild [double figures] into next week!

 

[spen666]

This is what the Highway Code has to say
219
Emergency and Incident Support vehicles. You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or Highways Agency Traffic Officer and Incident Support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road. Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb. Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.

Like I say the messaging is mixed and people are not clear as to what they should do. I see it regularly when some vehicles move left, and some move right in the same lane of traffic. Some drivers move beyond traffic signal to let vehicle through others don't.
If its said not to move beyond stop line at traffic light and thus stop emergency vehicle getting past , then its no wonder people elsewhere do not think it important to move out of the way of said emergency vehicle.

The messaging is not clear in the minds of many people. The passage from the Highway Code you quote is a good example of the point I raise

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Filthy evening: freezing cold, pitch black and absolutely drenched.

 

[katiewlx]

Like I say the messaging is mixed and people are not clear as to what they should do. I see it regularly when some vehicles move left, and some move right in the same lane of traffic. Some drivers move beyond traffic signal to let vehicle through others don't.
If its said not to move beyond stop line at traffic light and thus stop emergency vehicle getting past , then its no wonder people elsewhere do not think it important to move out of the way of said emergency vehicle.

The messaging is not clear in the minds of many people. The passage from the Highway Code you quote is a good example of the point I raise

Ive seen that kind of problem in places like where they introduced physical separation for cycling lanes, and drivers panicked about what to do if an emergency vehicle came along, and bizarelly then blamed cyclists for that problem.

but what happened yesterday was more like drivers absolutely knowing what they should be doing, making space, not blocking, being aware of the road ahead, like literally if I hadnt stopped where I did and just blindly carried on with the first encounter, there would have been nowhere for anyone to pull over and make the space for the next 1km at least, it was rush hour there was alot of traffic about. I made the space by choosing to stop, for which I got abuse for.

and then in the second one,you could see this ambulance approaching the roundabout at speed, with lights and siren, and the driver alongside me paused and then went nah Im not waiting, and pulled out in front of the ambulance, who had to check their speed, and again I think it might have the driver behind me pulled alongside and shouted something at me again abuse.

and Im just like whats gone wrong here, can people not see this vehicle with blue flashing lights and making lots of noise,why arent people prepared to just pause for no more than 20-30 secs, let the emergency vehicle do what its trying to do, we're safe here making space for it, what was peoples problem with that?

 

[HLaB]

No commute for me today. All last night's rain was supposed to freeze over and I asked to WfH. Woke up (albeit 2.5h after I would have if I'd cycled) and the back garden looked mild peering out from the bedroom blinds and the plastic garden shed was just wet. Got changed and opened the front door the cars were solid ice and the houses not growing cannabis (fortunately all of them) were white. I think I made the right choice after all.

 

[biking_fox]

No frost here, slightly cold. Afternoon forecast not pleasant! Just needs a small break when I'm riding please.