And there's more...

[domtyler]

Thinking about it I am sure that it is the fact that they sound like a lorries horn only louder that makes people shoot themselves so badly when they hear it, they think they are about to get mowed down by something very big indeed and just freeze/cower. It is quite satisfying. By the time they realise that this enormous sound has come from a pedal bike you are long gone.

 

[Cab]

I think they are quite squeaky, wouldn't get one myself, and they use batteries, you can just pump the Zound up with a track pump and believe me they are F U C K I N G LOUD!

I know, I used to have one on a bike that got nicked. Nice but of kit, the only down side is that if you leave your bike locked up in the street then some idiot will likely as not push the button, empty it and make a hell of a noise.

 

[BentMikey]

Yup, I've had a car do a little frightened left/right swerve whilst the driver looked for the Mac truck.

 

[Road Fiddler]

sirens do confuse the issue, it is very hard locate the direction from where a siren is coming from especially in built up areas. And many people do panic when they here a siren.

I think many people find it hard to judge the speed of a cyclist, they are so used to seeing kids on bikes in the back streets that are not going that fast that when they are on the main roads they see a cyclist and they expect them to be going the same sort of speed as the kids on bikes so they just pull out not realising or recognising the speed we are going.

Most traffic travels at a fairly constant speed on a given piece of road but with cyclists some travel a lot slower whilst others travel faster. This means that a driver would have to look longer to appreciate the speed of each individual driver but when a driver has to look at the speed of other traffic i.e. to pull out of a junction, the driver is at his busiest.

 

[Cab]

I get all that Road Fiddler, but anyone incapable of handling that kind of situation shouldn't be in charge of any vehicle. Thats an everyday occurrence.

 

[Tynan]

I don't accept that, at least not as a valid excuse

cars travel at all sorts of different speeds in London traffic, often without any apparent good reason

drivers misjudge the speed of cycles because they don't care enough, if bikes weighed a ton they'd judge the speed better

 

[Cab]

drivers misjudge the speed of cycles because they don't care enough, if bikes weighed a ton they'd judge the speed better

Partly. At least thats the mistake some of them make. Some are really just genuinely bad at spotting that bikes are moving. Neither class deserve to be on the road.

 

[Tynan]

again, they're bad at spotting them because they just don't care enough to do it properly, if there was risk to them from collision with a bike they'd be much better at spotting bikes

 

[gambatte]

I still reckon replacing the airbags with 18" spikes would do a lot more to ensure safe driving.

 

[magnatom]

You could always take this further. Have a bike detection system fitted as standard in all cars. If it detects that you have pulled out on front of, to close to (and so on) a bike then it delivers a small electric shock, once the bike has passed safely.

The worry about this is that some people might actual like the shocks.....

 

[bonj2]

sirens do confuse the issue, it is very hard locate the direction from where a siren is coming from especially in built up areas. And many people do panic when they here a siren.

I think many people find it hard to judge the speed of a cyclist, they are so used to seeing kids on bikes in the back streets that are not going that fast that when they are on the main roads they see a cyclist and they expect them to be going the same sort of speed as the kids on bikes so they just pull out not realising or recognising the speed we are going.

Most traffic travels at a fairly constant speed on a given piece of road but with cyclists some travel a lot slower whilst others travel faster. This means that a driver would have to look longer to appreciate the speed of each individual driver but when a driver has to look at the speed of other traffic i.e. to pull out of a junction, the driver is at his busiest.

I think this is a load of guff, I don't think people pull out because they don't realise how fast cyclists are going at all. I think cyclists who pretend that car drivers don't realise how fast they're going have got false delusions of their own speed and are really just trying to big up how fast they can cycle.

 

[Cab]

I think this is a load of guff, I don't think people pull out because they don't realise how fast cyclists are going at all. I think cyclists who pretend that car drivers don't realise how fast they're going have got false delusions of their own speed and are really just trying to big up how fast they can cycle.

So those times I've had to brake sharply to miss motorists pulling out in front of me, and had them say to me "Sorry, I didn't see how fast you were going" or (more often) swear at me for "going too fast" I was just imagining it, was I?

 

[goo_mason]

Well as they are only about fifteen quid anyone can get one, I highly recommend them for grabbing the attention of dozy cretinous motorists.

Not only that, but they appear to give off a mysterious field that has protected me from the idiotic neds on the shared path. Since I bought mine, I've only used it once after watching some nedettes pull the 'pretend we haven't seen you and walk backwards into your path at the last second' trick on an old guy coming towards me. They then turned and saw me coming, and started lining themselves up for the same thing and ignoring my bell warnings that I was approaching (they were blocking the path). I eventually gave up tinkling and gave them a wee toot. Strangely, they parted and let me through and were in such a state of disbelief that they forgot to yell the usual abuse until I was well past them.

Mind you, the one time I needed to use it on the road (on a roundabout and an idiot waited until I was almost level with them before pulling out in front of me), I ended up pressing the top of my bell and wondering why the horn wasn't working....

So, Magnatom - get one ! Its mysterious powers may stop small black car drivers from trying to get you

 

[gambatte]

Well as they are only about fifteen quid anyone can get one

Was that a £guess?

Just had a look round, generally £25, occasionally £23

Can't see any <£20

Anyone got a better price anywhere?

 

[domtyler]

£19.99 here: http://www.beseenonabike.com/shopuk/product_info.php?products_id=184

But yes they seem to have been seriously affected by inflation since I bought mine a year and a half ago.