Was I right to blow my top? - Page 4

On 9 Mar 2004 06:03:57 -0800, dkahn400@yahoo.co.uk (Dave Kahn) wrote
in message <57db8bde.0403090603.eedf2ba@posting.google.com>:

>My point was that if they get alongside you in spite of
>your taking the line, ie. they are partly or wholly on the
>wrong side of the road, and they look likely to crash
>unless you move over, either into you or something else,
>that is the point at which you should probably move over
>and brake hard.

I am so accustomed to people pulling in when only halfway
past that I always cover the brakes anyway :-)

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 19:39:34 +0000, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
<outlook.bugs@microsoft.com> wrote:

>I am so accustomed to people pulling in when only halfway
>past that I always cover the brakes anyway :-)

I had a huge artic pull in on me today. I'm sure he thought
he was past but he was actually only about half way through
the overtake. If I hadn't braked he would have smeared me
all over the kerb. I was still on a slight high at the time
from having been given a chocolate button by one of a group
of girls I had stopped for at a zebra crossing. :-)

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. -
Mark Twain

"Dave Kahn" <dkahn400@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:5f3v40t5tmu2ethq3r3k5mt6uoveqtbp0e@4ax.com...
> I was still on a slight high at the time from having been
> given a chocolate button by one of a group of girls I had
> stopped for at a zebra crossing. :-)

On a high from the chocolate?

Simon

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 21:55:30 +0000, Dave Kahn <dkahn400@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote in message <5f3v40t5tmu2ethq3r3k5mt6uoveqtbp0e@4ax.com>:

>I had a huge artic pull in on me today. I'm sure he thought
>he was past but he was actually only about half way through
>the overtake.

Nasty.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 22:03:36 -0000, "Simonb"
<sbennett@YOUAREALLHEATHENSwiderworld.co.uk> wrote:

>"Dave Kahn" <dkahn400@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:5f3v40t5tmu2ethq3r3k5mt6uoveqtbp0e@4ax.com...
>> I was still on a slight high at the time from having been
>> given a chocolate button by one of a group of girls I had
>> stopped for at a zebra crossing. :-)
>
>On a high from the chocolate?

On a high from the friendly banter and the girly
giggles. :-)

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. -
Mark Twain

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <outlook.bugs@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:jmru405iaf5bmencv57sqitf8jqsnkbnp7@4ax.com...
> On 9 Mar 2004 06:03:57 -0800, dkahn400@yahoo.co.uk (Dave
> Kahn) wrote in message
> <57db8bde.0403090603.eedf2ba@posting.google.com>:
>
> >My point was that if they get alongside you in spite of
> >your taking the line, ie. they are partly or wholly on
> >the wrong side of the road, and they look likely to crash
> >unless you move over, either into you or something else,
> >that is the point at which you should probably move over
> >and brake hard.
>
> I am so accustomed to people pulling in when only halfway
> past that I always cover the brakes anyway :-)
>
> --
> Guy
> ===
> May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle
> after posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
>
> 88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
> Washington University

This is no help with a private motorist, but whenever I'm
cut-up / sworn at by a commercial vehicle I get the reg
number (if possible) and the name of the company and then
ring their head office. Although I didn't get the number of
a BOC truck that forced me to take to the gutter, I had
several managers of that organisation running around trying
to trace vehicle logs etc to find the culprit. I made it
clear that I wasn't after a sacking, just a quiet word, to
all the drivers if necessary, to remind them that we
cyclists exist. A Swindon Council Worker who was unwise
enough to swear at me after he'd gone through a red
pedestrian light found himself in a re-training programme (I
got the number and his description that time).

With private cars I've caught up with them at the lights and
mentioned what they've just done, and usually had apologies.

I was somewhat shaken the other night when, waiting to turn
left at at a roundabout in my car (there, admitted it), I
looked left, saw that it was all clear, moved off and hit
the brakes hard as a guy on a touring bike shot past the
front of my bonnet. I reckon we missed each other by only a
metre or so. He was going at 25mph-ish, and had come from my
right, so had right of way. I hadn't seen him! I couldn't
believe what I'd done. I drove after him and overtook him to
see what lighting he had. I was disappointed to see that he
was well lit, albeit wearing dark clothing, so my fault. I
don't think he know how close I'd been, as he probably
didn't hear me pull forward, nor the sound of me crapping
myself in my car.

I gave him the opportunity to stop beside me at the next
roundabout, but he went through without kicking my car, so
probably hadn't noticed. (if this sounds like a "moron-in-a-blue-citroen-pulled-
out at-a-Chippenham-roundabout-and-nearly-T-boned-me" to
you, you have my sincere apologies.) Oh boy, do I check
REALLY carefully now.

How did I miss him? Having re-enacted the crime, I can only
think that the car was angled well to the left as I was
waiting, and he had done a wide sweep around the roundabout
so was hidden behind my door pillar. Or maybe I was just half-
asleep! I nearly had to say the dreaded "SMIDSY".

Peter

On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 13:17:43 +0000 (UTC), al_Mossah
<peterkmossnospam@nospambtopenworld.com> wrote:
>
> This is no help with a private motorist, but whenever I'm
> cut-up / sworn at by a commercial vehicle I get the reg
> number (if possible) and the name of the company and then
> ring their head office. Although I didn't get the number
> of a BOC truck that forced me to take to the gutter, I had
> several managers of that organisation running around
> trying to trace vehicle logs etc to find the culprit. I
> made it clear that I wasn't after a sacking, just a quiet
> word, to all the drivers if necessary, to remind them that
> we cyclists exist. A Swindon Council Worker who was unwise
> enough to swear at me after he'd gone through a red
> pedestrian light found himself in a re-training programme
> (I got the number and his description that time).

Ditto. When in Oxford I reported more than one bus driver
with vary degrees of effect. In Newcastle I have reported a
Hanson's driver to Hanson's. It's then you discover that the
driver is self-employed, he subcontracts for a haulage
company that in turn subcontracts for Hanson's. Though
Hanson't still took it very seriously, they did track down
the driver and he claimed not to have seen me---which was
evident from his behaviour---but he was told to take more
care in the future.

Colin
--

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 19:32:08 -0000, "Wavering" <None> wrote:

My Saturday morning ride ended in a bit of road rage
:today. Did I do the )right thing? )

Yes & no - and I think that about sums it up.

You didn't hit him - so that's good. You didn't take it out
on anyone else - good you just feel guilty about it.

Just ride more assertively, taking up more road space in
future. Don't give them the space to take advantage of you.
--
Comm again, Mike.