made an old man cry

[cyclenic]

was out on my bike yesterday, going around a fairly busy roundabout. i was in a cyclelane, with pretty bright clothing on. went past a side enterance, when an old mane nealry took out my back wheel. all i hear is the car juddering as he breaked (is that a word?)
my imediate reaction was to turn around and stick my finger up

i carried only, only for him to pull up beside me after the r/b. (i'm bricking it thinking he will shout at me) I wave and carry on. he pulls over again (propper bricking it) he gets out, and walks towards me.
very appologetic, prertty much in tears.
says there's been a death in the family (still appologising)
close to tears, and there's me saying dont worry about it, you didn;t hit me, it's alright

how guilty did i feel

 

[TheDoctor]

His error, not yours.
If his driving is affected to that degree, what's he doing driving?
He's lucky he didn't cause a death in your family!!!!!
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Yes, I'd have felt guilty as well.

 

[junglegusset]

Yep, being in an emotional state is about as good an excuse for poor road skills as being drunk is.

 

[cyclenic]

that's the closest i've been to being knocked off.

i work for the ambulance service, so would rather not end up being treated my my colleagues

 

[overgeared]

there´s nothing like coming face to face with the person who would do you harm to bring out the emotions on both sides.

in my first case we were face to face through the windscreen, as i clung onto the wipers having recently found myself on the car bonnet!

 

[palinurus]

that's the closest i've been to being knocked off.

i work for the ambulance service, so would rather not end up being treated my my colleagues

Jeez, are they that bad?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Yep, being in an emotional state is about as good an excuse for poor road skills as being drunk is.

We all make mistakes, the guy had the grace to offer an apology and an explanation instead of roaring off with a stream of abuse.

 

[ufkacbln]

that's the closest i've been to being knocked off.

i work for the ambulance service, so would rather not end up being treated my my colleagues

That's a little ambiguous!

 

[cyclenic]

Jeez, are they that bad?

Nah, my colleagues are great, i'd just rather not have them poke and prod me, and see me in a state on the floor

 

[Angelfishsolo]

+1

His error, not yours.
If his driving is affected to that degree, what's he doing driving?
He's lucky he didn't cause a death in your family!!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Yes, I'd have felt guilty as well.

 

[Arch]

It's a good old British tradition to apologise for being hurt or nearly hurt. How often do we find ourselves saying "Oh sorry!" as someone treads on our foot?

Perhaps a good idea to suggest not driving if in an emotional state, but sadly at times of crisis, some people find they have to do more driving about than normal (to hospitals, to family, to the uindertakers....).

It sounds like he'll take a bit more care in future, probably the best outcome.

As an aside, it's often occured to me that a good lever for encouraging god driving around cyclists is the fact that a great many of them could be medical professionals. Run them over, and it might turn out they were the person who would have been fated to save your life sometime...

 

[Adasta]

There is a possibility that the man is not fit to drive in any case. I don't want to tar all elder people with the same brush, but the debate about retesting drivers over 50/60/70 etc. is an interesting one. He may have poor reflexes anyway and blamed this mishap on his emotional state.

I'm pleased that nothing came of it anyway. Try not to feel too bad about things, though - it wasn't your fault. Being distressed at seeing another person cry merely reaffirms your own humanity.

 

[Smokin Joe]

There is a possibility that the man is not fit to drive in any case. I don't want to tar all elder people with the same brush, but the debate about retesting drivers over 50/60/70 etc. is an interesting one. He may have poor reflexes anyway and blamed this mishap on his emotional state.

I'm pleased that nothing came of it anyway. Try not to feel too bad about things, though - it wasn't your fault. Being distressed at seeing another person cry merely reaffirms your own humanity.

Now let's see, which age group are involved in the highest percentage of fatal and serious accidents on the road?

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I think it is teens and young 20's???

Now let's see, which age group are involved in the highest percentage of fatal and serious accidents on the road?

 

[Adasta]

Now let's see, which age group are involved in the highest percentage of fatal and serious accidents on the road?

Oh right. So which age group is involved in creating the most straw man arguments?