When will I clump my first car driver?

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Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
Don't cycle in the gutter. That's where all the crap is. Cycle about 2 foot out on the smooth bit of road where the nearside wheels of vehicles has polished the tarmac. Have your rear light on constant not flashing and a get a hi viz gilet for when it's dark. Carry a camera, ideally a head cam, and a mobile. You will always get the few drivers trying to bully/intimidate you. Just chuck in a few well timed wobbles as they near you or climb out the pedals and rock your bars side to side which will make them give you a wide berth. Use your ears, as soon as you hear a car approaching from behind look behind. Do this several times up to the point a vehicle passes you so they know you know that they are behind you. 99.9% of the time this will be sufficient to make them wait and pass safely. If you feel you might be close passed chuck a few controlled wobbles in. If a car(s) are approaching from the opposite direction always look behind so see what is coming up behind so you aren't at risk of being close passed at speed or run down by cars speeding up to you trying to squeeze between you and an oncoming passing car, bus or lorry on the opposite carriageway. If going into a bend always check behind to see what is coming up before you enter it so you don't get close passed/taken out mid bend, some numptee overtaking you on a blind bend who is likely to cause a head on crash if a vehicle comes in the opposite direction or as you exit it by vehicles using the road as a race track.

Only cycle in the primary position if turning right. There seems undue emphasis in Cyclecraft on cycling in primary. I seldom cycle in primary and have relatively few problems. Not to mention that the middle of the lane often has a very poor surface and or diesel spillage on it.

Although it is my ambition to see a numptee who is or has over taken me dangerously total their car either in a head on crash preferably crashing into another numptee or stuff it into a ditch, tree or brick wall.

About 8 years ago on my way to work a stupid woman over took me on a blind 70 degree bend. Glancing behind me she was brushing her hair in the rear view mirror :ohmy:! She then promptly lost control of her Ford Fiesta just as she exited the bend, the nearside wheels clipping the grass verge, missing me by about 10 feet, rolling and stuffing her car into a drainage dyke at 40mph :biggrin::laugh::laugh:. Fortunately for her there wasn't much water in it at the time. She was ok. I got her out as she was upside down and restrained by her seat belt which she was wearing. Another driver - a Volvo driver provided her a blanket to keep her warm, as it was mid March, while we waited for the police and ambulance. The road wasn't icy. When the plods turned up it became evident that she was a civilian employee within Cambs police road traffic unit!!!!!!

Take control of your safety and you should fair a lot better.
 

Big Jack Brass

New Member
I'm reading through this thread an hour or so after a moronic lout, the passenger in a rather drab old saloon, shouted some largely unintelligible (but no doubt hilariously witty, edifying and erudite) abuse at me and then generously gave me the finger as his vehicle lumbered past. A wide road - ample cycle lane too, indeed - steady traffic and no reason at all for him to do it, aside from the strange need some people have carried with them from childhood to make themselves feel adequate by insulting others. Hard not to entertain thoughts of snapping that finger or urinating lavishly through his open window as I cruise by like a Tour champion... but of course I continued to cycle sensibly and finish my ride home. And I ride a sit-up-and-beg, which makes racer-like behaviour rather awkward and unbecoming :biggrin:

Some motorists are excellent (there were a few of them out today, too), most are unskilled and unaware but not actively dangerous. A few are unfit to be on the roads. All I can do is to encourage good behaviour by behaving well myself, by responding to generous and thoughtful drivers with a smile and a wave and by treating pedestrians et al with respect. And yet of course I've been utterly seething for an hour, doing my best to relax, all because of a rude dunderheaded clot with nothing better to do than to abuse anyone who is not him.

Time for a cuppa, I think.
 
OP
OP
cd365

cd365

Guru
Location
Coventry, uk
"Ride along at your normal distance from the edge of the road. Now open up your Highway code and do a proper left turn signal. Thats right, arm straight out. If you are really BIG then you won't have slapped the pedestrian waiting to cross at the lights around the face by accident, or wrapped your elbow around the belisha beacon. There you go. A minimum is so you can perform legal signals and still be totally on the road."

Never thought of it that way!
 
cd365 said:
It is. And ain't it always good to see someone push their agenda on this kind of thing ..

Having seen the way cyclists ride in London, I'm not surprised many are involved in accidents. They ride without lights after dark, ignore traffic lights and ride aggressively as if they own the road. Apparently that is how the LCC want it in parts of London - pedestrians and cyclists only (and I'm sure they would prefer not to have pedestrians in their way as they cycle along the pavement).

.. didn't mention road tax at least.
 
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