Gentle morning commute... Grrr

On Feb 11, 5:48 pm, "PeteSig" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Rest of the ride was much more peaceful. Even got a nice draft off a bus
> moving slowly in flowing traffic But it was a wake up call, to be
> ever-vigilant.

Glad to hear you survived intact.

As far as ever vigilance goes, one must never forget!

I had one the other day.. waiting at the lights for through traffic
so I can turn right.. get a green arrow, but notice that BMW
convertible coming in other direction doesn't appear to be slowing...
some seconds (!) after my green, she sails through her red light -
with a trail of my expletives ringing in her ear.

I honestly don't think idiots like this even realise their mistakes
half the time.

"Duncan" wrote:
>
> I had one the other day.. waiting at the lights for through traffic
> so I can turn right.. get a green arrow, but notice that BMW
> convertible coming in other direction doesn't appear to be slowing...
> some seconds (!) after my green, she sails through her red light -
> with a trail of my expletives ringing in her ear.
>
> I honestly don't think idiots like this even realise their mistakes
> half the time.

Well yes, of course not!

BMW = Bicyclist Make Way

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

PeteSig wrote:
> "Duncan" wrote:
>> I had one the other day.. waiting at the lights for through traffic
>> so I can turn right.. get a green arrow, but notice that BMW
>> convertible coming in other direction doesn't appear to be slowing...
>> some seconds (!) after my green, she sails through her red light -
>> with a trail of my expletives ringing in her ear.
>>
>> I honestly don't think idiots like this even realise their mistakes
>> half the time.
>
> Well yes, of course not!
>
> BMW = Bicyclist Make Way
>
I sympathize Mr Sig, I've often wondered what device in a car seems to
dis-engage 90 % of the driver's brain when they turn the key. I f--- up
when I'm driving occasionally, but I never commit faux pas of the
magnitude I see on the roads whether on two or four wheels.
Cheers,
Ray

In aus.bicycle on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:13:01 +1100
ray <[email protected]> wrote:
> I sympathize Mr Sig, I've often wondered what device in a car seems to
> dis-engage 90 % of the driver's brain when they turn the key. I f--- up

I believe it is because for the majority of people driving is an
unavoidable boring chore. It's to get from where they are to where
they want to be, it's an unavoidable waste of time and they don't want
to think about it really.

There's also the active vs passive safety thing. If you are on two
wheels, powered or unpowered, you realise there's not much passive
safety to be had. You have to actively engage, have to be involved
in what you are doing.

In a car you are surrounded by passive safety. The metal cage, the
seatbelt, the airbags. The advertising you have seen every day for
years about how insurance is good because a crash in a car is all
about bent metalwork, never about bent people.

The two wheeler develops habits that move across into 4 wheels.
The average four wheeler never develops those habits, never gets into
active safety.

Plus there is the rarity problem. Crashes are *rare*. Most people
will be able to drone along operating the controls of their motor
vehicle without crashing. Most crashes require 2 people to make a
mistake at the same time, given the hours/km travelled and the number
of cars on the road crashes are quite rare. So people can develop bad
habits, make mistakes all the time, unless someone else makes a
suitable mistake at the same time then nothing bad happens.

So for the average driver there's no *reason* to turn the brain on.

Zebee

Yep, they'll do that.


BTH

On 11 Feb 2008 21:06:18 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote:

>The two wheeler develops habits that move across into 4 wheels.
>The average four wheeler never develops those habits, never gets into
>active safety.

I presume thats true of motos. Its definitely NOT true for some
cyclists, especially somewhere like Canberra where you can ride almost
entirely on shared paths and footpaths(legally). Well, they do develop
habits, bad habits.

In aus.bicycle on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:14:34 +1100
Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 11 Feb 2008 21:06:18 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>The two wheeler develops habits that move across into 4 wheels.
>>The average four wheeler never develops those habits, never gets into
>>active safety.
>
> I presume thats true of motos. Its definitely NOT true for some
> cyclists, especially somewhere like Canberra where you can ride almost
> entirely on shared paths and footpaths(legally). Well, they do develop
> habits, bad habits.

Makes sense. You do what works. And if there isn't much threat then
you don't need to learn how to deal with threats.

Most people seem to function on the idea that what happened a few
seconds ago is what will happen a few seconds in the future. Which
makes sense, it is usually the case.

I find when riding on a cycle path that I have to consciously check
the mirror regularly because *sometimes* there is a bicycle
overtaking.

Happens maybe once every 15-20 trips. SO there's a lot of experience
saying "it won't happen". And only sheer stubborness saying "so check
the damn mirror anyway".

I still forget. Drifted into the middle of the path today, not
deliberately, and heard a call from behind me so moved back. I hadn't
realised I'd drifted, hadn't checked in ages. Had I not heard the
call, had the other rider not called, had I mistook what was going on,
then there could have been a problem.

Zebee

On Feb 13, 9:14 pm, Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 11 Feb 2008 21:06:18 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >The two wheeler develops habits that move across into 4 wheels.
> >The average four wheeler never develops those  habits, never gets into
> >active safety.
>
> I presume thats true of motos. Its definitely NOT true for some
> cyclists, especially somewhere like Canberra where you can ride almost
> entirely on shared paths and footpaths(legally). Well, they do develop
> habits, bad habits.

Yep. Like the 3 schoolkids (all in separate incidents) this morning
who, without exception, moved to the *right* when I called out
"passing".


BTH

On Feb 13, 6:52 pm, BT Humble <[email protected]> wrote:
> Yep, they'll do that.
>
> BTH

Damn Labradors are worse - no feeling for left and right.

On Feb 11, 5:48 pm, "PeteSig" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Riding into work today was feeling pretty good. The eighth day in a row of
> cycling, headed out with plenty of speed, negotiating the first few traffic
> bottlenecks smoothly.
>
> Then approaching the Whitehorse Rd crossing, moving well, clear of traffic
> with the green light, just one car waiting to turn right. Then...
>
> WTF! Whoah! The car is heading straight at me! Visions of me and my bike
> crashing across the bonnet. I hit the brakes hard, and the bike skids and
> spins. Unfortunate that it was to the left, into the line of the car's
> direction! We come to a halt with my bike in front of the car - back wheel
> just a centimetre or two from his bumper
>
> Probably not a good move, but involuntarily I let fly with a stream of abuse
> "What the f*%$!! Where did you get your licence? Out of a f*(%ing weeties
> packet!" I walked clear, across the intersection, just a tad shaken. Nothing
> from the driver, no wave, no aggro (good I guess) no sorry. Typical!
>
> So to the inscrutable oriental gentleman, in the red/brown 1980s Mitsubishi
> Magna - you are an insult! You need to wake up and develop some driving
> competencies
>
> Rest of the ride was much more peaceful. Even got a nice draft off a bus
> moving slowly in flowing traffic But it was a wake up call, to be
> ever-vigilant.
>
> --
> Cheers
> Peter
>
Ha! I can go one better than that! This morning, I was being
overtaken by a beat-up courier truck (rainy weather) who was being
overtaken by a snappy little Alfa, then Alfa driver realised there was
a stopped truck in the filter lane ahead going right, so ducked a bit
too hard in front of the courier, who rear ended him in the off-side
quarter panel, pushing him along the road about 10 metres in front of
me at approx. 40 km/h. There was a B-Double right behind me leaning
hard on his air brakes. I thought I was going to die. Shiny suit real
estate agent type Alfa driver got out and started to go the poor
African courier dude, then tried to push him around. I had to play
traffic cop in an attempt to stop shiny suit decking courier dude, who
was really shaken up. I wasn't so stable with the adrenaline going,
either. Finally, using my best Year 10 in the playgound dust-up
control technique, I got them to talk to each other rationally. Then
rode the remaining 500 metres to work and scraped the brown stains off
my knicks. I'm still a bit jumpy typing this now.

BT Humble wrote:
> On Feb 13, 9:14 pm, Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 11 Feb 2008 21:06:18 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> The two wheeler develops habits that move across into 4 wheels.
>>> The average four wheeler never develops those habits, never gets into
>>> active safety.
>> I presume thats true of motos. Its definitely NOT true for some
>> cyclists, especially somewhere like Canberra where you can ride almost
>> entirely on shared paths and footpaths(legally). Well, they do develop
>> habits, bad habits.
>
> Yep. Like the 3 schoolkids (all in separate incidents) this morning
> who, without exception, moved to the *right* when I called out
> "passing".


It's pedestrians in general - and I don't know why. Whether it's on the
footpath or in a shopping centre, it seems to me that MOST people will
move to their right when approaching a passing situation.

On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:09:25 +1100, ritcho
<[email protected]> wrote:

>.. which is why I prefer to slow, but remain silent when passing
>people on shared paths. If they're in front of me, it's my
>responsibility to miss them.

I say "Good Morning!" as I do that (in the morning).
Defuses any agro about not ringing my bell.

In aus.bicycle on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:26:59 +1100
Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:09:25 +1100, ritcho
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>.. which is why I prefer to slow, but remain silent when passing
>>people on shared paths. If they're in front of me, it's my
>>responsibility to miss them.
>
> I say "Good Morning!" as I do that (in the morning).
> Defuses any agro about not ringing my bell.

I gave up on voice because so few people thought it was directed at
them. Whereas most peds on a path can make the bell-bicycle-move
connection.

I ring reasonably early and watch for which way they move. Had 2 the
other day who went one to each side, so I slowed right down to ride
between them. Mostly they'll move one side or the other. If they are
already off to one side, I'll go as far as I can to the other side.

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> In aus.bicycle on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:26:59 +1100
> Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:09:25 +1100, ritcho
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>.. which is why I prefer to slow, but remain silent when passing
>>>people on shared paths. If they're in front of me, it's my
>>>responsibility to miss them.
>>
>> I say "Good Morning!" as I do that (in the morning).
>> Defuses any agro about not ringing my bell.
>
> I gave up on voice because so few people thought it was directed at
> them. Whereas most peds on a path can make the bell-bicycle-move
> connection.
>
> I ring reasonably early and watch for which way they move. Had 2 the
> other day who went one to each side, so I slowed right down to ride
> between them. Mostly they'll move one side or the other. If they are
> already off to one side, I'll go as far as I can to the other side.

I do any or all of the things mentioned so far, depending on time of
day, location and my assessment of the peds' activities and body
language as I approach. Bell and voice are useless if the ped is wearing
earphones, but the very worst ones are those who are having an argument
with somebody on the other end of a mobile. They can jump all over the
place without regard for anything coming up behind.

I note that signs have recently gone up on Pyrmont Bridge, restricting
the south side to pedestrians only. That is a good idea. Now if only
they would paint a nice big green strip down the other side, with little
white bicycles painted at frequent intervals.

--
beerwolf

On 15 Feb 2008 11:23:19 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote:

>In aus.bicycle on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:26:59 +1100
>Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:

>>
>> I say "Good Morning!" as I do that (in the morning).
>> Defuses any agro about not ringing my bell.
>
>I gave up on voice because so few people thought it was directed at
>them. Whereas most peds on a path can make the bell-bicycle-move
>connection.

My voice is too late to affect them, just being "friendly".
I bell sometimes, and sometimes I have a bell.

Aeek wrote:
> On 15 Feb 2008 11:23:19 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> In aus.bicycle on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:26:59 +1100
>> Aeek <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>> I say "Good Morning!" as I do that (in the morning).
>>> Defuses any agro about not ringing my bell.
>> I gave up on voice because so few people thought it was directed at
>> them. Whereas most peds on a path can make the bell-bicycle-move
>> connection.
>
> My voice is too late to affect them, just being "friendly".
> I bell sometimes, and sometimes I have a bell.
My experience is mostly based on Canberra's mixed use recreation paths -
note that they are not cycle paths despite the white line down the middle.

My voice is big enough to be effective, and seems to produce a more
predictable outcome than any bell, buzzer or horn. I call "bike behind"
in a sonorous voice and they mostly do the right thing.

Most predictable - single joggers.
Least preductable - groups of four talking and strolling.
Most dangerous - two people with three dogs.

beerwolf wrote:
> Zebee Johnstone <[email protected]> wrote in
>
>> I ring reasonably early and watch for which way they move. Had 2 the
>> other day who went one to each side, so I slowed right down to ride
>> between them. Mostly they'll move one side or the other. If they are
>> already off to one side, I'll go as far as I can to the other side.
>
> I do any or all of the things mentioned so far, depending on time of
> day, location and my assessment of the peds' activities and body
> language as I approach. Bell and voice are useless if the ped is wearing
> earphones, but the very worst ones are those who are having an argument
> with somebody on the other end of a mobile. They can jump all over the
> place without regard for anything coming up behind.

The best (worse?) I've come across was the bloke who, as I approached
from the rear with a "excuse me, coming through on the right", told his
girlfriend who was walking side-by-side with him to "stay where you are
- don't get off the path".

Which is one reason why I really do prefer mixing it with traffic on the
road, rather than shared lanes.

Peter Cremasco wrote:
> The best (worse?) I've come across was the bloke who, as I approached
> from the rear with a "excuse me, coming through on the right", told his
> girlfriend who was walking side-by-side with him to "stay where you are
> - don't get off the path".
>
> Which is one reason why I really do prefer mixing it with traffic on the
> road, rather than shared lanes.

LOL, reminds of the time I was trying to get my motorbike up onto the
footpath in the CBD at the lights. A group of young stockbroker types (I
worked just up from the Exchange) were kind of in my way when one of
them deliberately moved in front of me (with a smirk to his mates) so I
couldn't get up onto the footpath. He soon found out that wet tyres and
dirty roads combine to make a big mark on a nice clean suit when he was
nudged out of the way.

DaveB