Was I an Idiot on the road today? (short 40 second video)

[mjr]

On my street that would mean putting three in the space of about 200 metres, there's only one, which is probably correct. Three in that distance is too many, peds need to take more responsibility for their own safety. I wanted to cross here when you get run over within 10 metres of a crossing is no excuse.

How could one crossing in 200 metres leave all three desire lines within 10 metres of it?

Anyway this was not a point about the number of crossings but more that if only one crossing is provided then it should be on a desire line or as near as possible and not ten metres away.

 

[Tim Hall]

Two things:

1. Good call by the OP in reviewing his actions after the event

2. The whistle in the slow motion playback sounds like something out of Steamboat Willy.

 

[buggi]

I was always taught on my driving lessons that it is MY responsibility to proceed when the way is clear, and never too allow a driver to wave me out. This advice is correct for all users. The driver should not have waved them across (and I wouldn't blame you for knocking on his window to tell him) and the pedestrians should not have taken his word for it that the way was clear (and you would be fully justified too tell them too). It would not have been your responsibility. However, always good to have your wits about you to avoid a collision if possible, and try to predict things like this when you see peds.

 

[fabregas485]

When learning to drive, I was told that you should not stop to let someone cross the road unless at a proper crossing because as a driver you have no real way of knowing whether it is safe for the people to cross the road.

 

[broadway]

Fair enough.

The whistle works the same as a car horn. It you think it is a bad Idea, please never use your car horn again.

A whistle may be a bad idea as people with hearing problems may not be able to hear it. A horn has a lower frequency and will be more audible.

How often do you need to whistle while riding?

 

[cd365]

Cyclist in this thread is in the wrong, regardless of pedestrians looking or not - busy road, taxi stopping, people in middle about to cross...cyclist should be reading the road ahead and expecting someone to cross the road.

The elusive ability of foresight! He did read the road ahead, he did expect them to cross the road, he whistled and there was no collision!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've been saying that we need something akin to the American jay walking law in this country for 20 years, the amount of people i see crossing the road within 10-15 yards of a legitimate crossing point is unbelievable. Also some sort of penalty for walking up to a pelican crossing and pushing the button then looking up and seeing no traffic and crossing without waiting for the green man, i reckon 50% of Londons congestion is down to these two factors.

50%? Really? I personally would have put the figure nearer ... say ... 0%. But that's just a guess.

As for a some sort of penalty for crossing when there is no traffic ... really? Are you suggesting that once you have pressed the button, you must wait for the green man, even if the way is clear or else face a penalty? That seems just slightly harsh. Or have I misunderstood? If not, I'm in for some harsh penalties on my walk to the station in the morning.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Cyclist was not an idiot. Taxi driver was an idiot for appointing himself as a crossing patrol and giving dangerous instructions to others.

GC

 

[glenn forger]

Some drivers do this deliberately, pass a cyclist then wave a vehicle out of a side road, it's on purpose to try to hurt the rider.

 

[GrasB]

Some drivers do this deliberately, pass a cyclist then wave a vehicle out of a side road, it's on purpose to try to hurt the rider.

Really? Are you sure you're not putting malice into lack of consequence evaluation?

 

[glenn forger]

People have boasted about it on motoring forums, and it happened to me on hackney Road, I looked back and the lorry driver just smirked. Never underestimate the malice of drivers, punishment passes is a tiny percentage of the deliberate acts of a minority of drivers, designed to bully and intimidate.

 

[GrasB]

It's easy to find malice in anything if you want to. People boasting on forums should be taken with a very large pinch of salt. Smirks are not indications if someone doing something deliberate, they also accompany people thinking you've just been a total idiot.

 

[Dan B]

Regent St would be better served by a ban on all vehicular traffic (even if it included cyclists) than it would be by a jaywalking law.

 

[glenn forger]

It's easy to find malice in anything if you want to. People boasting on forums should be taken with a very large pinch of salt. Smirks are not indications if someone doing something deliberate, they also accompany people thinking you've just been a total idiot.

Why do you think cyclists who get overtaken are complete idiots? There have been four recent cyclist deaths where the driver deliberately aimed at the cyclist, it's naive to assume drivers never use vehicles as a weapon.

 

[glenn forger]

This week

https://mobile.twitter.com/HeenaRandhawa/status/526283443442028545