SPEED, does it effect safety in a city

[Ian H]

Hmm. I just noticed the title is 'Does speed effect safety'. No it doesn't. I misread it as 'affect', which it does, in different ways.

 

[the_mikey]

My perception of danger is also modified by how confident I am on whichever bicycle I am riding, that can also be affected by what I'm wearing that day or the weather.

For example, I will feel much more confident riding my road bike with clipless pedals, wearing bib shorts and a cycling jersey than I will if I'm riding my brompton, with flat pedals, wearing trousers and a shirt.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

My perception of danger is also modified by how confident I am on whichever bicycle I am riding, that can also be affected by what I'm wearing that day or the weather.

For example, I will feel much more confident riding my road bike with clipless pedals, wearing bib shorts and a cycling jersey than I will if I'm riding my brompton, with flat pedals, wearing trousers and a shirt.

Same here, wouldn't go as far as the clothing making me more confident but for sure a lighter bike with the right gears makes a difference if you need to go with the motorized traffic flow.

 

[mjr]

Rush hour traffic is eleven mph on average. It's safer to slow down to that speed or lower, behave like a car, take the space and maintain the speed to remove the risky overtakes.

Nah, it's safer to grin at the fools as you speed past them on the cycleway

(Rode into town today and I saw the person I was meeting in town pass the same edge-of-centre junction in their car at the same time as me. It wasn't rush hour or anything and I wasn't riding fast because of the waterproofs and a headwind, but I parked up and waited for quite a long time before they arrived.)

 

[summerdays]

Even when I'm going slower than the traffic speed I don't find a problem going past a row of parked cars, but I'm reasonably assertive so if the space between two rows of parked cars is literally 1 car wide I'm happy to keep on riding till I reach the last passing point and wait opposite it if it's on the wrong side, though I have had to point to the space to help the car understand how to pass! On a wider road I just claim my space as I need it.

As I said I have most problems being assertive when my speed is in the low single figures going up hill, so I will tend to opt for routes where the steep uphill bit is either wide (so easy to pass), quiet or has a cycle path.

 

[Ganymede]

Nah, it's safer to grin at the fools as you speed past them on the cycleway

(Rode into town today and I saw the person I was meeting in town pass the same edge-of-centre junction in their car at the same time as me. It wasn't rush hour or anything and I wasn't riding fast because of the waterproofs and a headwind, but I parked up and waited for quite a long time before they arrived.)

*rubs hands, cackles*

 

[subaqua]

It's slowing down to keep up in rush hour. It's safer if you slow down to match traffic speed.

this is how i tend to ride in town. match traffic speed. sometimes i get to ride faster than the traffic, but that is when it is stationary.

 

[ufkacbln]

I have no idea why someone would think traffic speed matters. Are they scared of being passed?

Your speed should be appropriate to the situation, not the location.

The answer is perception

As the difference between speeds increases so does the perceived danger.

It is one of the reasons that pedestrians feel threatened by cyclists

 

[Tin Pot]

The answer is perception

As the difference between speeds increases so does the perceived danger.

It is one of the reasons that pedestrians feel threatened by cyclists

Ah, maybe I'm just used to it then. You bike on the road, you're going to be passed all day long in and around London. I wouldn't ride at all if being passed bothered me.

There was one guy last month in a white hatch back passed me at around 50 on a single lane hill that pissed me off, but it's not like I could "keep up" anyway.

 

[glenn forger]

you're going to be passed all day long in and around London..

How much riding in London have you done? One game is to add up the value of the vehicles you glide serenely past. Haven't you seen the races between different vehicles? Even Top Gear did one (bike won)

 

[Tin Pot]

How much riding in London have you done? One game is to add up the value of the vehicles you glide serenely past. Haven't you seen the races between different vehicles? Even Top Gear did one (bike won)

Born here, started cycling when I was four.

Cycling past immense queues of stationary traffic was fun a decade or so back but it's not that bad these days.

As I get closer to the city I slow down, too many nutty cars, trucks and cyclists in one space IMO.

 

[glenn forger]

You think congestion has reduced in London the last ten years?

 

[Tin Pot]

You think congestion has reduced in London the last ten years?

Empirically I don't know, but my experience has been so.

It's skewed because I lived in inner city until about ten years ago, and I assume it was always easier in the burbs. Now I don't really have a problem with traffic until I'm just outside the City proper.

On the way home is always frenetic as though there is a horde of zombies chasing everyone.

Or maybe I'm just getting old

 

[Feastie]

I guess it's just situation dependent on your assessment of hazards... you've got to be able to react to all the other road users around you (and vice versa) to be safe.

Like I could easily cycle at speed down the side of stationary traffic, but I know pedestrians like to 'pop' their heads out, so I go slowly. I speed up on stretches where traffic is generally faster (assuming we're in a city so I can go more or less traffic speed) so I have more flexibility - such as for pulling out around parked cars, or being able to switch lanes. To be honest I think that's how people drive so that's how people should cycle as well. Only difference with cycling is that there's a top speed and it's often quite low - but that's why I like city cycling! All traffic is pretty slow.

 

[Leodis]

I used to smash it to work each day, taking huge risks and getting in the zone, the zone where awareness fades and I ended up with a serious injury and then when returning over did it and slipped into the zone and a pedestrian walked out on me were I should have known better. I ride to where I feel comfortable be it 25mph or dropping to 15-18mph if I feel there might be a cut in or pull out chance, I now am on eagle watch on traffic. Its usually worse when I commute between 8-9am than 6-730am