# Letting Down Car Tyres.



## ianbarton (7 May 2019)

Yesterday I had a very close pass from somebody in a people carrier. There was no excuse: nobody was coming in the opposite direction and there was plenty of space to pass me without almost knocking me off.

When I pulled into the supermarket car park I noticed the car parked there. It got me thinking: what if I let down all his tyres, what would e the legal position? It would be very hard to argue that I had damaged his vehicle. I hadn't stolen anything.


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## I like Skol (7 May 2019)

Two points....


How would he know it was you unless you left a note to explain your revenge.
Following from point 1, start a war with the guy that has the deadliest weapon and is clearly not bothered about using it, good tactic!

You might not be the one that gets his retaliation so you would not have been doing the rest of the cycling community any favours.....


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## Crackle (7 May 2019)

Let it go, talk to the police or talk to the driver, gently. Those are your options. Anything else is probably not a good idea.


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## Pale Rider (7 May 2019)

There is an offence of vehicle interference which would cover this scenario.

You wouldn't go to prison for it, but it would still give you a criminal record.


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## nickyboy (7 May 2019)

If you feel strongly about it,talk to the driver and explain that the pass was too close. For most drivers it isn't an intentional thing, it's just ignorance of how it feels as a cyclist. I would find that the most productive

Don't get into an argument and definitely don't let tyres down. What you should be seeking to achieve is a reduction in close passes and either of those will not help


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## flake99please (7 May 2019)

If the vehicle is dirty, why not write ‘daffodil’ on the rear of the car.


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## Globalti (7 May 2019)

Not cycling but I was once hooted at aggressively by an Orthodox Jewish guy in a people carrier when indicating to change lanes in Manchester. He barged past and prevented me from changing lanes. I dismissed it as the usual big city rudeness and continued my journey to the station. When I reached the station, there he was, having taken a different route. I couldn't resist saying in the nicest possible way, something like "You ought to learn to relax, if you carry on like that you'll die of a stress-related heart attack!"

Bizarrely he looked at me, smiled and retorted: "Oh I would LOVE that!"

I'm still puzzled by that.


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## Gravity Aided (7 May 2019)

That's a puzzlement, all right. 
I'd always thought no one wanted to die of a heart attack. I don't think he does either.


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## Jody (7 May 2019)

Tell them face to face if its an issue. Letting someone tyres down is low level to stoop to and the driver probably won't even know it's you or why they have been punished.


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## Smokin Joe (7 May 2019)

Vehicle interference (Sec 22a RTA).


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## Phaeton (7 May 2019)

Smokin Joe said:


> Vehicle interference (Sec 22a RTA).


What's dangerous about letting somebodies tyres down, assuming he doesn't get caught by the owner in the act.


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## Levo-Lon (7 May 2019)

Phaeton said:


> What's dangerous about letting somebodies tyres down, assuming he doesn't get caught by the owner in the act.




Did you really type that being a petrol head


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## Globalti (7 May 2019)

Agreed, the driver probably wouldn't even realise why it had happened and it they did, they would feel justified in hating cyclists. Far better to have a firm and polite word explaining what the driver did to you then leave it at that.


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## Phaeton (7 May 2019)

meta lon said:


> Did you really type that being a petrol head


I figured when he said down he meant down & not just letting a bit of air out.


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## I like Skol (7 May 2019)

Phaeton said:


> I figured when he said down he meant down & not just letting a bit of air out.


Do you think letting all the air out of the tyres would stop everyone from driving away without realising? I would bet good money that it wouldn't, and once they drive away they are at high risk of having a collision and the person that let down the tyres has committed an act that led to this.


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## Phaeton (7 May 2019)

I like Skol said:


> Do you think letting all the air out of the tyres would stop everyone from driving away without realising?


I would like to think so but I probably have unjustified faith in human nature, your bum will tell you that you have just got in a car that is 4" lower than normal.


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## kapelmuur (7 May 2019)

Has anyone actually told a driver that their driving was unacceptable? If so, what was the outcome?


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## Phaeton (7 May 2019)

kapelmuur said:


> Has anyone actually told a driver that their driving was unacceptable? If so, what was the outcome?


I'll tell you when I get my jaw unwired


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## Crackle (7 May 2019)

kapelmuur said:


> Has anyone actually told a driver that their driving was unacceptable? If so, what was the outcome?


Mixed: One woman told me I shouldn't wobble, another was mortified at her driving, a few have flicked the V's from a distance, a few have said sorry they didn't realize, that's over years, most of the time I couldn't be arsed and most of those times were induced by yells of self-preservation. Polite yells, I try not to swear, so it's mostly OY or MMMMPPPHHSSS because I'm too out of breath to get anything out, although the day before yesterday was, What are you doing lady! but then again I was nearly sitting in the passenger seat at that point.


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## Supersuperleeds (7 May 2019)

kapelmuur said:


> Has anyone actually told a driver that their driving was unacceptable? If so, what was the outcome?



Several times, if done politely the usual outcome is an apology.


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## Phaeton (7 May 2019)

Supersuperleeds said:


> Several times, if done politely the usual outcome is an apology.


and so you should upsetting those poor little drivers


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## KneesUp (7 May 2019)

Dogtrousers said:


> Just idle speculation, but I pay for the air in my tyres, just like I pay for diesel in my tank. I go to a machine, it delivers the precious *fluid* into my car and I pay a charge. .


Your local air line must be very cold!

Pro Tip - air is free at Sainsburys petrol stations.


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## alicat (7 May 2019)

Phaeton said:


> What's dangerous about letting somebodies tyres down, assuming he doesn't get caught by the owner in the act.



I once let somebody's car tyre down. I was being kept awake by my neighbour's car alarm. I went round and the charming twenty-something year old wouldn't even get out of bed. His equally charming mother told me off for raising my voice, which was irrelevant since most of the street was being kept awake. So I took my revenge, just wanting to give him a bit of inconvenience.

I later learnt that it can destabilise the car and lead to the vehicle crashing and decided not to do it agein. So in your shoes I would have left a polite note on the car windscreen.


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## lane (7 May 2019)

CCTV


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## KneesUp (7 May 2019)

alicat said:


> I once let somebody's car tyre down. I was being kept awake by my neighbour's car alarm. I went round and the charming twenty-something year old wouldn't even get out of bed. His equally charming mother told me off for raising my voice, which was irrelevant since most of the street was being kept awake. So I took my revenge, just wanting to give him a bit of inconvenience.
> 
> I later learnt that it can destabilise the car and lead to the vehicle crashing and decided not to do it agein. So in your shoes I would have left a polite note on the car windscreen.


I once 'parked like a tw*t' in Oxford, because there was nowhere else to park the van I'd hired to move house. I don't make a habit of such behaviour, but I blocked a bike lane because it was a quiet side road round the corner from my flat, and if I'd parked literally anywhere else within a mile, it would have blocked the whole road for everyone. Someone stuck a fake parking ticket on the windscreen which was not in any way easy-peel. Maybe get some of those?


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## rogerzilla (7 May 2019)

flake99please said:


> If the vehicle is dirty, why not write ‘daffodil’ on the rear of the car.


"I wish my wife were as dirty as my car" is an old favourite.


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## PaulSB (7 May 2019)

ianbarton said:


> Yesterday I had a very close pass from somebody in a people carrier. There was no excuse: nobody was coming in the opposite direction and there was plenty of space to pass me without almost knocking me off.
> 
> When I pulled into the supermarket car park I noticed the car parked there. It got me thinking: what if I let down all his tyres, what would e the legal position? It would be very hard to argue that I had damaged his vehicle. I hadn't stolen anything.



I have a good friend who was prosecuted and found guilty of this. I don't know the exact charge. He was a local councilor at the time and we've taken the p*** royally for years.

The situation was a neighbour had taken to buying and selling cars from the street sometimes parking 10-15 outside his house on a very narrow road. After numerous requests, council letters to stop etc. my friend went out one night and let all the tyres down. Unfortunately for him he was seen.


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## T4tomo (7 May 2019)

Globalti said:


> Not cycling but I was once hooted at aggressively by an Orthodox Jewish guy in a people carrier when indicating to change lanes in Manchester. He barged past and prevented me from changing lanes. I dismissed it as the usual big city rudeness and continued my journey to the station. When I reached the station, there he was, having taken a different route. I couldn't resist saying in the nicest possible way, something like "You ought to learn to relax, if you carry on like that you'll die of a stress-related heart attack!"
> 
> Bizarrely he looked at me, smiled and retorted: "Oh I would LOVE that!"
> 
> I'm still puzzled by that.


Do Jews believe in reincarnation? Maybe he was having a shoot life and fancied an earlier start on the next one.


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## classic33 (7 May 2019)

Why not four valve cores from old innertubes, schraeder, in a bag on the windscreen with a note.

I took a set of four in, having had both tyres let down on the bike. Said since he found it so funny to do it to me, I'd removed them from his car.


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## NorthernDave (7 May 2019)

kapelmuur said:


> Has anyone actually told a driver that their driving was unacceptable? If so, what was the outcome?



Most don't hang about for a chat.

However, one who did stop was initially very defensive but then when I explained the situation he apologised and we parted amicably.

But I've also had a run in with Ronnie Pickering's less charming doppelganger, who went from having somewhere to go so urgently that he forced his car past on a single track lane to suddenly having enough time to stop and be ultra aggressive to the point I was expecting fisticuffs.


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## Ming the Merciless (7 May 2019)

Report the close pass and registration to the police. If it tappers often enough the owner will be contacted.


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## SkipdiverJohn (7 May 2019)

Don't start something you can't finish. Messing around with someone's car is playing with fire. Get caught in the act and you might find yourself up against a very irate bloke with a baseball bat or iron bar in his hand who isn't exactly in the mood for a friendly chat about safe overtaking.


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## slowmotion (7 May 2019)

Try the stealth route. Smear all the door handles with a very generous coating of lithium grease. Watch the owner's return from a discreet distance...….and snigger.


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## SkipdiverJohn (7 May 2019)

You're still playing a dangerous game. If you use a route regularly and the driver uses the same route regularly, there's a good chance your paths may cross again. If he suspects you to have tampered with his car, and there are no witnesses about, what's to stop him driving up behind you and ramming you off the road?


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## Rusty Nails (7 May 2019)

I'm not convinced that acting stupidly stops others acting stupidly.


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## ColinJ (7 May 2019)

I like Skol said:


> Do you think letting all the air out of the tyres would stop everyone from driving away without realising? I would bet good money that it wouldn't, and once they drive away they are at high risk of having a collision and the person that let down the tyres has committed an act that led to this.





Phaeton said:


> I would like to think so but I probably have unjustified faith in human nature, your bum will tell you that you have just got in a car that is 4" lower than normal.


Honestly - there are some unobservant and stupid drivers about!!!


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## kapelmuur (7 May 2019)

I asked my question because the one time I spoke to a driver was when a well dressed middle aged lady cut me up before stopping suddenly in front of a florist’s shop.

I politely asked whether she had seen me and she said that I was a nasty little man and that she was in a hurry to buy flowers for her church!


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2019)

Pale Rider said:


> There is an offence of vehicle interference which would cover this scenario.
> 
> You wouldn't go to prison for it, but it would still give you a criminal record.


Impressed by your knowledge pale rider. What would you have to do to a car to go to prison?


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## Dogtrousers (8 May 2019)

slowmotion said:


> Try the stealth route. Smear all the door handles with a very generous coating of lithium grease. Watch the owner's return from a discreet distance...….and snigger.


Novichok. It's the only language they understand.


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## nickyboy (8 May 2019)

Supersuperleeds said:


> Several times, if done politely the usual outcome is an apology.


Same here. I firmly believe that the vast majority of "inappropriate" driving incidents (such as close passes) are just down to a lack of appreciation of how it feels as a cyclist.

If I can politely explain that it really isn't nice, they apologise. Chances are they will take the lesson onboard for the future which is what everyone wants, right? Ranting and raving will not have such a positive effect


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## mjr (8 May 2019)

alicat said:


> So in your shoes I would have left a polite note on the car windscreen.


Don't leave your shoes on the windscreen. Just the note. No sense having to ride home in socks.


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## mjr (8 May 2019)

Dogtrousers said:


> Novichok. It's the only language they understand.


What's lesson two? The neutron bomb?


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## Phaeton (8 May 2019)

mjr said:


> The neutron bomb?


I used to think Olivia was lovely


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## alicat (8 May 2019)

mjr said:


> Don't leave your shoes on the windscreen. Just the note. No sense having to ride home in socks.




 and they could be evidence of who left the note!


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## bladderhead (8 May 2019)

Why is Boots a pharmacy and not a shoe shop? Is there a shoe shop called Pills?


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## Pale Rider (8 May 2019)

Blue Hills said:


> Impressed by your knowledge pale rider. What would you have to do to a car to go to prison?



You could get locked up for criminal damage if the damage was of a sufficiently high value.

Putting a dent in several panels of an expensive new car could cost thousands to fix, so that might do it.


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2019)

thanks for the reply pale rider.

will desist


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## Phaeton (8 May 2019)

Pale Rider said:


> You could get locked up for criminal damage if the damage was of a sufficiently high value.
> Putting a dent in several panels of an expensive new car could cost thousands to fix, so that might do it.


What about putting dents in a cheap car? say a 2007 Kia Cee'd?


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## Ming the Merciless (8 May 2019)

Phaeton said:


> What about putting dents in a cheap car? say a 2007 Kia Cee'd?



You get paid for that


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## Shearwater Missile (8 May 2019)

kapelmuur said:


> Has anyone actually told a driver that their driving was unacceptable? If so, what was the outcome?


I have politely told two drivers who gave me a close pass. The first was an elderly gentleman who very politely apologised and said that he had`nt realised he was so close ( just before a junction).
The second driver came past, nothing coming the other way on a straight piece of road and I put my hand in the air and gesticulated to move over. He slowed down and almost stopped and as I came along side him he asked what was wrong ? I politely said that in my opinion that he passed me too closely and he argued that he had`nt. I could have started a war but what was the point ? I just said that I wanted to stay safe and continued. For about a couple of hundred yards he drove slowly in front of me before speeding on. You never know how the other person will react. In the second instance I was in the middle of the countryside, he could have pulled a knife on me and nobody would have ever have known. Stay safe in all ways.


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## screenman (8 May 2019)

Pale Rider said:


> You could get locked up for criminal damage if the damage was of a sufficiently high value.
> 
> Putting a dent in several panels of an expensive new car could cost thousands to fix, so that might do it.



Not if they got me to fix it, I do get your point though.


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## ColinJ (8 May 2019)

If you are thinking about messing with a car *watch out* - a driver murdered a cyclist in Coventry in 2009 because he'd (accidentally) damaged a mirror on the car!


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## Brains (9 May 2019)

If you let down tyres for a causing a traffic offence then only let down ONE tyre, ideally the front drivers side one, and let it down fully all the way to flat.

This will mean that:

The driver should spot the problem before they get in
If they don't it should be very obvious as soon as they try to drive
Most importantly, they will have to swap the tyre with the spare and then pay a garage to 'fix' the flat tyre.
You will have made your point, nothing more needs to be said

If you let down all the tyres it's then obvious what happened and they just pump them up again.
If you partially let down tyres, that can be very dangerous, not just for the driver but also totally innocent people around.


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## Smokin Joe (9 May 2019)

Brains said:


> You will have made your point, nothing more needs to be said


Exactly what point will you have made? The driver will have long forgotten the close pass even if he or she realised it at the time, and in any case would not relate the two. Punctures on car tyres are not actually unheard of. 

It's just a silly and childish thing to do. If you feel you must make the driver aware of what they did, telling them politely and even a bit humorously is the action most likely to get a positive response. And it avoids the possibility of the driver coming back while you are doing the deed and kicking the crap out of you.


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## Blue Hills (9 May 2019)

Brains said:


> If you let down tyres for a causing a traffic offence then only let down ONE tyre, ideally the front drivers side one, and let it down fully all the way to flat.
> 
> This will mean that:
> 
> ...


You have clearly given this some thought brains 

I commend your post.

Though will be careful not to cross you.


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## Blue Hills (9 May 2019)

Guilty as charged.

I have a small number of times pulled drivers' wipers outwards. Not broken i stress though sends a message that i could have done. Pretty sure i have done it in italy a couple of times where the blatant parking in cycle lanes can be a thing to behold. Once had some guy drive in at right angles to the lane, blocking it immediately in front of me.


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## al78 (10 May 2019)

Why not leave a not under the windscreen wiper. The driver will then at least get some feedback, what they do with that feedback is up to them and beyond your control. Tampering with their vehicle might be tempting but it is an emotional passive-aggressive response, not a logical one.


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## Brandane (10 May 2019)

Don't mess about with letting down tires or leaving notes. 
This is all they understand:


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## classic33 (10 May 2019)

Brandane said:


> Don't mess about with letting down tires or leaving notes.
> This is all they understand:
> 
> View attachment 465890


Ant-carjacking device?


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## HLaB (10 May 2019)

classic33 said:


> Ant-carjacking device?



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLhWzMOccTg


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## Ming the Merciless (10 May 2019)

Accidentally spill milk in their car air vents. Stinks when it goes sour.


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## mjr (13 May 2019)

YukonBoy said:


> Accidentally spill milk in their car air vents. Stinks when it goes sour.


Potato up their exhaust?

Or their car's, if they're not about.


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## gavgav (13 May 2019)

The only time I’ve ever engaged in verbal with a driver was after a rather large lady barged past me, on a country lane. She had pulled up in the next village and parked somewhere illegal, incidentally, to pick up her sprog from school.

I would have just left it, but she had the audacity to shout to me, as I approached, that I was the “sort of cyclist that gives them a bad name”. So I stopped and enquired what she meant, to which she said I should have pulled over and let her through. I politely enquired which hedge she would have liked me to throw myself into and suggested if she got herself a bike and did some exercise, she might benefit from it.

It made me feel better anyway.


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## Shearwater Missile (14 May 2019)

gavgav said:


> The only time I’ve ever engaged in verbal with a driver was after a rather large lady barged past me, on a country lane. She had pulled up in the next village and parked somewhere illegal, incidentally, to pick up her sprog from school.
> 
> I would have just left it, but she had the audacity to shout to me, as I approached, that I was the “sort of cyclist that gives them a bad name”. So I stopped and enquired what she meant, to which she said I should have pulled over and let her through. I politely enquired which hedge she would have liked me to throw myself into and suggested if she got herself a bike and did some exercise, she might benefit from it.
> 
> It made me feel better anyway.


The school run is always a bad time to be on country roads, single track. If possible I pull in if it is safe to do so and usually people thank me. It is the ones coming the other way who seem to have it it is their god damn right to have priority and often these ones don`t thank you or even slow down. You know that they are going to pick up little Tarquin or Tabatha or whatever they are called. I will usually thank them if they don`t slow down, perhaps with a hint of sarcasm, I know, the lowest form of wit but it makes me feel better !! Still, I`d rather get home in one piece than start WW3.


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## gavgav (14 May 2019)

Shearwater Missile said:


> The school run is always a bad time to be on country roads, single track. If possible I pull in if it is safe to do so and usually people thank me. It is the ones coming the other way who seem to have it it is their god damn right to have priority and often these ones don`t thank you or even slow down. You know that they are going to pick up little Tarquin or Tabatha or whatever they are called. I will usually thank them if they don`t slow down, perhaps with a hint of sarcasm, I know, the lowest form of wit but it makes me feel better !! Still, I`d rather get home in one piece than start WW3.


Totally agree, but on this occasion there wasn’t a safe place to stop, only a high bank which would have likely meant me falling off under her wheels!


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## Shearwater Missile (14 May 2019)

gavgav said:


> Totally agree, but on this occasion there wasn’t a safe place to stop, only a high bank which would have likely meant me falling off under her wheels!


It is bad enough being on the lookout for potholes let alone argumentative motorists. High banks win every time !


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## Ming the Merciless (14 May 2019)

A few years back I was riding a tandem with a blind friend in a narrow country lane. A car came round on the wrong side at speed. The only place to go was a high bank. A tandem is like a super tanker. So I told my friend to hold on tight, stop pedalling and brace as I head straight at the steep slope of the bank. We shoot up the bank and somehow we are still upright so I shout feet down. There we are top of this high bank, still upright and intact. No idea how we managed that as even in my best case consideration we were going to topple over on the bank.


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## Johnno260 (15 May 2019)

Shearwater Missile said:


> It is bad enough being on the lookout for potholes let alone argumentative motorists. High banks win every time !




View: https://youtu.be/-H3o8r7JgGY


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## alicat (15 May 2019)

YukonBoy said:


> A few years back I was riding a tandem with a blind friend in a narrow country lane. A car came round on the wrong side at speed. The only place to go was a high bank. A tandem is like a super tanker. So I told my friend to hold on tight, stop pedalling and brace as I head straight at the steep slope of the bank. We shoot up the bank and somehow we are still upright so I shout feet down. There we are top of this high bank, still upright and intact. No idea how we managed that as even in my best case consideration we were going to topple over on the bank.



Please don't keep me in suspense - how did you both get down?


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## AndreaJ (15 May 2019)

Shearwater Missile said:


> The school run is always a bad time to be on country roads, single track. If possible I pull in if it is safe to do so and usually people thank me. It is the ones coming the other way who seem to have it it is their god damn right to have priority and often these ones don`t thank you or even slow down. You know that they are going to pick up little Tarquin or Tabatha or whatever they are called. I will usually thank them if they don`t slow down, perhaps with a hint of sarcasm, I know, the lowest form of wit but it makes me feel better !! Still, I`d rather get home in one piece than start WW3.


My commute is past the local village school just at dropping off time and it always amazes me how badly they drive and park near a school their children attend. Most of the regular drivers expect to see me now and know that if they don’t sit on my back wheel in their massive car I will pull over when I can and we can all get where we need to be in one piece . It has taken 2 years to get to this agreement though!


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## Milkfloat (15 May 2019)

alicat said:


> Please don't keep me in suspense - how did you both get down?



He got the blind pilot to steer back down the way they came.


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## oldwheels (15 May 2019)

Just need to hope you don’t get this behind on a single track wanting past.


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