Is it a matter of when, not if, will you get hit commuting? - Page 2

leestevens · #16 09-27.-2007

Yes the busses in Adelaide for some reason are particularly bad. I have had a number of close calls before. One passed me, no sooner had the back corner of the bus gone past me the indicator came on and she (the driver) pulled over. I gave her an earfull, usual response of "didn't see you mate".

Aushiker · #17 09-27.-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmyo

Obviously someone hasn't ridden a bike in Adelaide!! Even if you take the lane people will still try to squeeze you out- it's terrible.

If you are in the centre of the lane, I am unclear as to how they can try and squeeze you out. At least here in WA if you take the centre of the lane the only option for the cars etc is to either wait or rear-end you, unless of course it is two lanes and no one is in the outside lane then I guess they can pass and and try and push you off the road.

Regards
Andrew

jamesc · #18 09-27.-2007

I have had some near misses but luckily I have not been hit and my commute to work involves very few roads and the ones that do generally have clearly marked bike lanes.

On roads where there are no bike lanes I ensure I ride at least a metre from the kerb which makes be more visible and stops cars squeezing past me; for non dual carriage way roads they have to wait or make a deliberate move to the other side of the road to get past me. I think this is safer for me.

James

timmyo · #19 09-27.-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aushiker

If you are in the centre of the lane, I am unclear as to how they can try and squeeze you out. At least here in WA if you take the centre of the lane the only option for the cars etc is to either wait or rear-end you, unless of course it is two lanes and no one is in the outside lane then I guess they can pass and and try and push you off the road.

Regards
Andrew

In Adelaide, almost all the major roads in the city are two or three lanes so if you do take the lane, drivers tend to change lanes thnking ther's a gap there. It i kind of strange here because Adeaide doesn't ave any city bypasses so a lot of traffic passes throuh the cbd itself. I hail from Melbourne where in the city you are lucky if you can move in a car at all!

j.r.hawkins · #20 10-01.-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmyo

In Adelaide, almost all the major roads in the city are two or three lanes so if you do take the lane, drivers tend to change lanes thnking ther's a gap there. It i kind of strange here because Adeaide doesn't ave any city bypasses so a lot of traffic passes throuh the cbd itself. I hail from Melbourne where in the city you are lucky if you can move in a car at all!

On my commute route here in Sydney the lane I use is the T3 transit lane. Very little traffic in it except for buses.

Without that, I admit I'd probably a be a lot more intimidated. On the couple of weekends I've ridden on congested 3-lanes I felt a lot less safe, especially around teh intersection of Warringah and Pittwater Roads where it was downright dangerous. You know when you can detect that "vibe" and drivers are impatient/crazy and doing stupid and risky things? At these times, both as a driver and cyclist I pull back and give plenty of room or find another route.

timmyo · #21 10-01.-2007

I just noticed my terrible typing. Sorry, my keyboard isn't doing too well at the moment

Bigbananabike · #22 10-02.-2007

Sorry to read of your troubles.
If you can take not of the bus number / rego, time of day, where etc and phone in to report their bad driving. The managers take a dim view of bad driving

.
Paul

Quote:

Originally Posted by timmyo

I have had numerous near misses with cars and I have only been commuting this year. Most of my near misses have occurred in the CBD of Adelaide. There seem to be a lot of concrete barriers for roadworks that narrow the lanes so much that cars just push you out of their way into the barrier. I also have had problems with drivers using bike lanes to sneak around stopped traffic. I also have to say that the buses here are terrible!!! and there are so many of them. There is no feeling worse than getting squeezed between a moving bus in one lane and a departing bus that you are overtaking. I have been lucky not to have any major collisions with cars where I have got injured but I gave a passenger one hll of a scare when they turned lft in front of me without indicating. I slammed on the brakes and hit their window. I think the passenger was probably more shocked than I was!!

Eggyolkeo · #23 10-03.-2007

A friend of mine picked up a 'Biker's guide to getting around town' map thingo at a bike shop. Gives you all the nice backstreets.

I've also started riding with the Supreme Cycles group that do a run in the morning from Narrabeen to the City. I never knew how much you can avoid the main roads without adding to your kms. We spend about 2kms max on main roads, 20kms on backroads with no traffic, lights or problems.

It's definitely worth exploring the backroads, and if you can get a map, all the better.

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