What was all that about?

[the reluctant cyclist]

I was cycling in to work this morning and I pulled up behind a white van at a set of traffic lights on a crossroads.

I was right behind the white van when the lights changed to amber and then red and he was pretty close to the white line so he stopped. (Albeit in the ASL although I thought that if you were in the ASL when the lights changed it was okay to stop in it?)

Anyway, white van man is indicating left and has been doing so for a while coming up to the lights and while he was waiting at the lights.

I'm sitting there doing up my jacket a bit more and bemoaning the freezing cold weather when another cyclist (and I use the term loosely) comes up the inside of me and then past me and sits waiting right up white van man's backside.

Lights change to green after a while and white van man turns left but Mr Cyclist decides he's going to cycle up the inside of white van man to go straight ahead!!!!

A near miss ensues and Mr Cyclist has a little rant at white van man and then carries on over the lights!!!

Why would anyone sit behind somebody that was clearly indicating left and then try and go past them on the inside?!

He was really close to then some the way up the road and I made sure I got some speed up to get away from him he was far too close to me!

God - I can only hope that it rains tomorrow and keeps him off the road!

 

[jimboalee]

You see.

There are "Cyclists", and all the others who 'go for a ride on their bikes'.

 

[Jake]

people just dont read the road ahead.

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

He only had to read the indicator three inches from his face and it would have told him!

I was tempted to shout to him to not do it but people can take friendly advice the wrong way sometimes!!!!!

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

I might have been tempted to point out that "the clue was in the flashing indicator light, no point venting at the WVM for your inability to ride a bike"

 

[swee'pea99]

Why? Because he's an idiot, that's why. Next!

 

[thomas]

I'd of told the van driver we're not all morons.

 

[grhm]

The level of muppetry displayed by some is amazing. The somethings-gone-wrong-I'll-shout-at-the-other-party mentality isn't helpful - we see enough people on here moaning about drivers doing it - but it's not just drivers.

 

[beanzontoast]

I was tempted to shout to him to not do it but people can take friendly advice the wrong way sometimes!!!!!

Too true. Personally, I would shout to warn someone of an impending problem I saw while out on the road, but I wouldn't go out of my way to offer them advice about what nearly happened after the event.

 

[ianrauk]

I like that
*files away for future use*

You see.

There are "Cyclists", and all the others who 'go for a ride on their bikes'.

 

[Tynan]

yes but he van shouldn't have been in the ASL, it's there to give a bike a clean start rather than be caught inside left turning vehicles

and a vehicle is supposed to check all mirrors to ensure it's safe to move away

 

[HLaB]

True, however it has been mentioned that WVM had their left hand indicator on. Only an idiot would go up the inside of a vehicle turning left.

+1 The ASL is pretty irelevant in this case the idiot had waited behind the WVM until the lights went green, even if it wasn't indicating I don't think a sennsible person would have undertook there!

 

[jmaccyd]

yes but he van shouldn't have been in the ASL, it's there to give a bike a clean start rather than be caught inside left turning vehicles

and a vehicle is supposed to check all mirrors to ensure it's safe to move away

You know, I must make many, many hundreds of mirror checks every day when driving in London. Guess what, even I miss the odd one! So why put yourself in such a needless postition of risk? See this sort of dangerous cycling every day, even with buses and lorries waiting at junctions. I have even been undertaken two-thirds the way round completing a left turn, by a cyclist going straight on, as I stopped to let some pedestrians cross the road. Barmy!!

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

yes but he van shouldn't have been in the ASL, it's there to give a bike a clean start rather than be caught inside left turning vehicles

and a vehicle is supposed to check all mirrors to ensure it's safe to move away

Someone needs to correct me here if I am wrong - but the white van was travelling up to the lights - as he got between the asl and the stop line the lights changed - he stopped - (all the traffic was going really slow) I thought that the highway code said that you should not stop in the asl unless the lights change as you are travelling through it or something like that?

If I'm wrong advanced apologies!!

The whole thing interests me so much becuase if the van had taken the cyclist out there would have been a big whoo ha about yet another cyling fatality/accident and commercial vehicle driver but this one played out really differently to that!

 

[Tynan]

I'm not defending the cyclist

I suspect you shouldn't pull into an ASL unless your way ahead is clear, rather like box junctions, you should go anyway you shouldn't be unless you get clear through