Idiot cyclist - Beeston road, Leeds

[sjb]

No wonder car drivers view cyclists with such disdain......

This morning, 0730, still pretty much dark, idiot on MTB, wearing black, no lights, cycles up the inside of two lanes of queueing traffic approaching traffic lights. As he gets to the lights they change to green and he veers right across both lanes to get to the pedestrian crossing in the central reservation

Just avoided the car in the inside lane but then T-boned the car in the outside lane who had, quite reasonably, set off from the lighst when they changed. He went flying, almost over the car, but picked himself up and looked unharmed It appeared from my office window that he was giving the driver grief when it was totally his fault

What a complete and total ar*ehole - not only is the car driver no doubt pretty shaken up (and with a dented car), but all the other drivers who witnessed it will be that bit more anti-cyclist. I've just cycled into work with hi-viz, bright yellow, jacket and overshoes, good bright lights etc, stopping at all the red lights etc - makes me wonder why I bother

Left a message with WY Police to say I'd witnessed the incident if it's reported.

 

[Arch]

Dork. With a bit of luck, natural selection will one day take it's course. Sadly, probably ruining someone else's life too.

I'd just like to say to the lady I saw this morning, two things love: You're not supposed to ride on the pavement just to filter past queueing traffic and you're supposed to stop at red lights. I wish now I'd had cause to make an expansive gesture with my right arm as you whisked past me walking on the pavement with about 2" to spare.

Never mind, she was wearing a helmet, so that's alright then, nice and safe. I wish now I'd had a word with her, and that I'd been in my Polite jacket, I might just have fooled her enough to get a point home...

 

[Tynan]

sounds like he was lucky to T bone and not go under the front

lunatic riding

 

[jiggerypokery]

Tut...Arch you should know better than to question RLJ pavement riding transgressors of the law but I am sure bonj will upbraid you on your puritanical streak sooner or later

Dork. With a bit of luck, natural selection will one day take it's course. Sadly, probably ruining someone else's life too.

I'd just like to say to the lady I saw this morning, two things love: You're not supposed to ride on the pavement just to filter past queueing traffic and you're supposed to stop at red lights. I wish now I'd had cause to make an expansive gesture with my right arm as you whisked past me walking on the pavement with about 2" to spare.

Never mind, she was wearing a helmet, so that's alright then, nice and safe. I wish now I'd had a word with her, and that I'd been in my Polite jacket, I might just have fooled her enough to get a point home...

 

[PrettyboyTim]

What a complete and total ar*ehole - not only is the car driver no doubt pretty shaken up (and with a dented car), but all the other drivers who witnessed it will be that bit more anti-cyclist.

I'm not sure that's true - I think in some cases it makes them appreciate non-numpty cyclists more. I was in the car with my Wife driving the other evening and we encountered a lot of non-lit cyclists. When we found ourselves behind a well-lit cyclist who gave a good clear signal to turn right, my Wife commented: "See? that's what a like - a good, visible, cyclist making clear signals and using the road properly!"

Of course, she is Spouse Of A Cyclist, so she may be a bit biased.

 

[BentMikey]

I've just cycled into work with hi-viz, bright yellow, jacket and overshoes, good bright lights etc, stopping at all the red lights etc

I'm not sure how the bolded bit makes you a more responsible cyclist? The rest, fair enough.

 

[andy_wrx]

I'm not sure how the bolded bit makes you a more responsible cyclist?

Seems obvious to me - taking some responsibility for your own safety and visibility.

Like almost everyone else, I believe the way *not* to be noticed is actually to wear dark clothes and to be without lights if it's dark/overcast/raining/etc

 

[sjb]

Of course, she is Spouse Of A Cyclist, so she may be a bit biased.

That makes big difference in my experience Tim, my wife also cycles herself so is pretty clued up to bad behaviour. The problem is that the vast majority of drivers don't cycle and therefore don't appreciate the issues.

I also think that poeple tend to "notice" bad behaviour and ignore good - bit like the "all teenagers are evil" or "all asylum seekers are terrorists" argument you get on the back of a few high profile cases in the national press....

 

[Elmer Fudd]

Strangely enough, even though I might not break the 8m.p.h. speed when on t'bike, I do as I would do if in a car, if visibility is poor, I stick my lights on, least there is no defence that they couldn't see me as I had tried.

 

[sjb]

I'm not sure how the bolded bit makes you a more responsible cyclist? The rest, fair enough.

Hi Mike

I've read your veiws on hi-viz before and I'm not sure I agree. In my experience as both a driver and cyclist I notice cyclists with hi-viz and/or reflectives far easier than the black-clad brigade, leaving lights out of the equation.

Maybe things are different in London, where there are more cyclists than we get in the grim North, but up here hi-viz does stand out and gets more attention from drivers.

I accept that everyone has their own view on what's "responsible" though, I just try to do the best I can to stay alive

 

[starseven]

Beeston is not famous for its responsible residents

 

[RPM]

Hi Mike

I've read your veiws on hi-viz before and I'm not sure I agree. In my experience as both a driver and cyclist I notice cyclists with hi-viz and/or reflectives far easier than the black-clad brigade, leaving lights out of the equation.

Maybe things are different in London, where there are more cyclists than we get in the grim North, but up here hi-viz does stand out and gets more attention from drivers.

I accept that everyone has their own view on what's "responsible" though, I just try to do the best I can to stay alive

these comments are not aimed at anyone personally BTW but,

At night, give me black gear with proper reflective strips anytime over yellow vis (as a cyclist and driver)
In daylight conditions, someone driving without due care won't see what he isn't looking at. Give me someone with road awareness and good riding skills over an eyes straight ahead, "I'm in HI-Vis and helmeted so it's everyone else's responsibility to see me" type.

wear it if you feel the need, but for heaven's sake don't for one moment think it means you can be anything but 100% vigilant at all times.


HI-Vis clothing was designed to make someone more visible in an industrial or emergency situation, a man overboard with a hi-vis flotation suit for instance can be seen because someone is looking for him. These days everyone from delivery driver to charity worker is wearing it.

 

[domd1979]

these comments are not aimed at anyone personally BTW but,

At night, give me black gear with proper reflective strips anytime over yellow vis (as a cyclist and driver)

Fine until you encounter a numpty driver without their headlights on, then you're wearing black, and your reflective strips are no use.

When driving, although I'm quite capable of spotting cyclists, there's no doubt that a cyclist in reflective hi-vis gear stands out more and can be seen much further away than one in dark clothing.

In daylight conditions, someone driving without due care won't see what he isn't looking at.

But wearing something bright you do increase the probability of being seen sooner.

HI-Vis clothing was designed to make someone more visible in an industrial or emergency situation, a man overboard with a hi-vis flotation suit for instance can be seen because someone is looking for him. These days everyone from delivery driver to charity worker is wearing it.

There's nothing wrong with hi-vis in any situation. Around traffic and other hazards it does help to cut accidents. The nearest parallel is highway workers - who are working near to live traffic, and so wear hi-vis - if there wasn't a risk to their safety, they wouldn't be wearing it. Cyclists essentially have the same proximity to traffic albeit in a different context.

 

[domtyler]

I am sure that Hi Vis has a place, but it is not the be all and end all of safe cycling and wearing it does not automatically make you a responsible cyclist. In bright conditions for instance you will stand out far more wearing black than yellow.

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

A good point dom.

I cycle in black kit, because I think it looks cool and it matches my bike. I keep one of these in one of my jersey pockets as it folds up tiny. I do quite a lot of cycling along B-roads which can have lots of dappled shade - from personal experience a cyclist in black just disapears in that, a HV vest on at that point makes a huge difference to visibility.