Don't always blame the motorist.

[glasgowcyclist]

Well it seems to be a bit unfair to criticise cyclists who dont look over their shoulder when there doesnt seem to be a obvious danger for them to be looking out for..

It doesn't cost anything to have the odd check behind to see what's developing. I've been scared shitless being caught unawares by fast, reasonably quiet vehicles, only hearing them as they whooshed past me. Even when they're not that close it gives a scare. Worst one was a mate in his electric car.

As GC said there is the possibilty of a close pass but Im not sure a shoulder check for every car pass is a good idea. if I did it on my commute Id spend more time looking behind than in front.

Doesn't need to be for every car, and I don't think that's been suggested.

I've had occasion to ride on a horrible A road dual carriageway where the speed limit was 70mph. I would keep an eye on the traffic pattern behind to watch for a change that would endanger me and that's exactly what happened. The cars come along in waves from the roundabout and, provided the lead car moved to lane 2 early, following drivers would take their cue from that, see me and move out wide. That's fine until you get the lazy driver who wants to keep as much of his car in lane 1 as possible, blocking the view of me for following drivers. That's when I get gesticulating to get them to move out. One driver didn't and the guy behind him very nearly hit me at 60mph+.

It pays to be aware of what's around you.

GC

 

[MontyVeda]

Nobody seems to have commented on this posted earlier.

• never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends

the highway code is a guide... it's not the be-all and end-all of road safety. It mentions nothing of riding in primary and secondary, it mentions nothing about why we may be safer in the centre of the lane rather than the gutter... but it does have this note:

The rules in The Highway Code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help to avoid an incident.

So in this case, does that note mean that the cyclists should have given way to Gavroche (thus avoiding the 'incident' of a slight delay in his journey), or that Gavroche should have given the cyclists right of way? (avoiding a close/dangerous pass incident)... I suspect it's the latter, going by the simple premise that no road user is obliged to give right of way to vehicles behind them (unless it's an emergency vehicle).

 

[Inertia]

My reply was to someone who said they only checked at junctions or before a maneuver, my point is that it is a good idea to maybe do a few more.

I must admit that I am lucky in that I seldom get trouble from motorists and cannot remember anyone apart from kids shouting at me.

ok, I was just replying to your comment that you come across many cyclist who do not look over their shoulder so would not know a vehicle is there. I do agree knowing what around you is a good idea.

Ive never really had any trouble from motorists except when they dont pay attention and pull out in front of me, fortunately I am looking out for that.

It doesn't cost anything to have the odd check behind to see what's developing. I've been scared shitless being caught unawares by fast, reasonably quiet vehicles, only hearing them as they whooshed past me. Even when they're not that close it gives a scare. Worst one was a mate in his electric car.

Doesn't need to be for every car, and I don't think that's been suggested.

It wasnt specifically suggested for every car but you did mention checking for close passes which would only be useful if you checked every car, no?

I've had occasion to ride on a horrible A road dual carriageway where the speed limit was 70mph. I would keep an eye on the traffic pattern behind to watch for a change that would endanger me and that's exactly what happened. The cars come along in waves from the roundabout and, provided the lead car moved to lane 2 early, following drivers would take their cue from that, see me and move out wide. That's fine until you get the lazy driver who wants to keep as much of his car in lane 1 as possible, blocking the view of me for following drivers. That's when I get gesticulating to get them to move out. One driver didn't and the guy behind him very nearly hit me at 60mph+.

It pays to be aware of what's around you.

GC

I dont disagree that its good to know whats around you, but I just disagreed with the original comment which seemed to say the cyclists screenman had seen were at fault for not looking over their shoulder.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

It wasnt specifically suggested for every car but you did mention checking for close passes which would only be useful if you checked every car, no?

Are you referring to this post of mine?:

Me too, so I do that fairly often. It's a bit like when I can't see or hear my two cats; I know something's up and usually find them where they shouldn't be. Same when it all goes quiet on a country road, I get the feeling I need to check what's going on behind me in case someone's about to close pass me.

GC

 

[Inertia]

Are you referring to this post of mine?:

GC

Yes

 

[screenman]

Yes

Purely out of interest, what type of roads do you mainly drive on yourself. Most of mine is single carriage roads with and my cycling is a mix of the same roads but witha lot of single track roads.

One of the things I hope is that as motorists or cyclist that we all arrive at our destination safely.

 

[Inertia]

Purely out of interest, what type of roads do you mainly drive on yourself. Most of mine is single carriage roads with and my cycling is a mix of the same roads but witha lot of single track roads.

One of the things I hope is that as motorists or cyclist that we all arrive at our destination safely.

A mix of all kinds really, some parts of my commute are urban and others are A roads. Some stretches go as narow as single track where I have to wait, or the car will wait for me at a passing point.

I second your feeling about us all arriving safely. most times a car pulls out in front of me I think its just carelessness, sometimes ignorance as they dont realise I may be going fast, still dangerous though.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Yes

That was referring to doing shoulder checks when it's quiet. Something's bound to be coming along and I like to get plenty of notice. See also my other post where I describe watching for traffic patterns to see if a problem's developing.

GC

 

[Profpointy]

To go back to the OP's point, and despite being one of the, shall we say, sceptics, it does sometimes happen that bikes could, and arguably should, single out on 1-1/2 car width roads where it's safe to do so. It is basic good manners - same to pull in if towing or whatever. But if there's two cars' widths, then singling out whilst appearing "helpful" it's more likely to encourage stupid overtakes and means extra risk to the cyclists.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

What's happening here? This thread's descending into reasonableness a bit suddenly, someone call the Mods!

GC

 

[Profpointy]

What's happening here? This thread's descending into reasonableness a bit suddenly, someone call the Mods!

GC

yeah, that's how Hitler started !

 

[Inertia]

That was referring to doing shoulder checks when it's quiet. Something's bound to be coming along and I like to get plenty of notice. See also my other post where I describe watching for traffic patterns to see if a problem's developing.

GC

Well I do the checks every now and then just so I know whats going on behind, I fear it wouldnt save me from a close pass though, by the time I can see its close its too late to do much.

It could also be my imagination but I find that when I look, cars seem to move a little further out than they planned, but that could be them them panicing when I wobble as I turn to look

 

[screenman]

Just found this,

The most common vehicle involved in collisions with cyclists is a car or taxi, with the rider usually being hit by the front of the vehicle. In a quarter of fatal cyclist accidents, the front of the vehicle hit the rear of the bicycle.

 

[jefmcg]

To go back to the OP's point, and despite being one of the, shall we say, sceptics, it does sometimes happen that bikes could, and arguably should, single out on 1-1/2 car width roads where it's safe to do so.

Me too. My problem with the OP is he quite explicitly stated that the road was just wide enough for two cars, which doesn't suggest 1 1/2 width road.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Is it their road or our road, is courtesy not down to all of us or just the person behind?

If you are walking down a busy city street do you choose to get out of the way of those walkers behind you who want to walk faster than you? Surely as a matter of courtesy.....?