Incident and police response



On 23/02/2008 13:02, Paul Boyd wrote:
> There's a good few of those sort of lanes round here, and frankly the
> speed some drivers go is sheer lunacy. Perhaps the thought that there
> might possibly be horses or cyclists or walkers doesn't enter their
> minds, but surely they must realise that there might be other cars doing
> the same speed in the other direction?


A few years ago a then colleague of mine wrote off his company car when
he rounded a bend on a country lane and met a tractor. He was adamant
that the crash couldn't possibly have been his fault, as he had been
doing less than the speed limit.

This was the same colleague who, when stopped for speeding, used the
"defence" that he didn't know he was speeding because it was too foggy
to see the speed limit signs...

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis
 
On 21 Feb, 12:05, "burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
> action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
> thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


It's reassuring to know that these things are (sometimes, if not all
the time) taken seriously by the police.

I had a not dissimilar incident about a year ago when someone did try
to run me over. He overtook me and immediately turned left, straight
into me. His reaction, rather than apologetic, was to scream at me
for cycling inside when he was turning (he came from behind me and
hadn't fully passed me before he turned). I just cycled off, which
led to him pursuing me down the road, actively trying to run me down.
I only escaped by getting onto the pavement and diappearing up a
footpath (under the circumstances I don't think anyone could
complain!).

In hindsight I should have called the police right away, but I was
pretty shaken and didn't have his numberplate or any other useful
details. I couldn't even ask a witness since I'd scarpered some
distance by that point.

I've since bought a camera which I often use on my commute - the
rationale being that should something like this happen again at least
I'll have a recording to show the police.
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:6000d559-0125-49d5-9ddf-15571380ccff@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> On 21 Feb, 12:05, "burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
>> action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
>> thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?

>
> It's reassuring to know that these things are (sometimes, if not all
> the time) taken seriously by the police.
>
> I had a not dissimilar incident about a year ago when someone did try
> to run me over. He overtook me and immediately turned left, straight
> into me. His reaction, rather than apologetic, was to scream at me
> for cycling inside when he was turning (he came from behind me and
> hadn't fully passed me before he turned). I just cycled off, which
> led to him pursuing me down the road, actively trying to run me down.
> I only escaped by getting onto the pavement and diappearing up a
> footpath (under the circumstances I don't think anyone could
> complain!).
>
> In hindsight I should have called the police right away, but I was
> pretty shaken and didn't have his numberplate or any other useful
> details. I couldn't even ask a witness since I'd scarpered some
> distance by that point.
>
> I've since bought a camera which I often use on my commute - the
> rationale being that should something like this happen again at least
> I'll have a recording to show the police.


Glad you survived the attentions of the psychotic, and my incident has made
me think about carrying a camera on the bike.
 
On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:18:15 -0800 (PST),
[email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 21 Feb, 12:05, "burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
>> action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
>> thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?

>
> It's reassuring to know that these things are (sometimes, if not all
> the time) taken seriously by the police.
>
> I had a not dissimilar incident about a year ago when someone did try
> to run me over. He overtook me and immediately turned left, straight
> into me. His reaction, rather than apologetic, was to scream at me
> for cycling inside when he was turning (he came from behind me and
> hadn't fully passed me before he turned).


http://www.woodall.me.uk/journey/20070928/

Cameras are great (but don't work so well in the dark)

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/
 
Andy Leighton wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:36:52 -0000, Rog <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Horses and bikes need to be kept away from heavy traffic,

>
> Why?
>

They frighten the cars.

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada
 
Paul Boyd wrote:

> Toby Sleigh said,


>> Very sensible & sad piece in Thurs Times by Jane Shilling about
>> driving on country lanes
>> http://tinyurl.com/2rdnqc third item - Rural Peril


> There's a good few of those sort of lanes round here, and frankly the
> speed some drivers go is sheer lunacy. Perhaps the thought that there
> might possibly be horses or cyclists or walkers doesn't enter their
> minds, but surely they must realise that there might be other cars doing
> the same speed in the other direction?


A perennial problem. There are some people from whom I have declined
lifts because they drive (IMHO) far too fast in such locations.

I try not to use those narrow lanes if I can avoid them - especially
when on a mileage-expenses trip for work. I don't see it as my duty to
minimise the cost by putting myself at easily-avoidable risk.
 
On 23/02/2008 17:30, Danny Colyer said,

> A few years ago a then colleague of mine wrote off his company car when
> he rounded a bend on a country lane and met a tractor. He was adamant
> that the crash couldn't possibly have been his fault, as he had been
> doing less than the speed limit.


Interesting logic! By inference, on the basis that most of these
country lanes have a 60mph limit on them, the tractor must have been
exceeding 60mph...

> This was the same colleague who, when stopped for speeding, used the
> "defence" that he didn't know he was speeding because it was too foggy
> to see the speed limit signs...


Hmmm.... I've been crawling along motorways in dense fog vainly trying
to see past the end of the bonnet as BMWs, Mercs and Audis hurtle past
(what is is about German cars?) In the gloom ahead you can vaguely see
some sort of orange flashing glow. You crawl closer trying to work out
what this fog-enshrouded glow is trying to tell you. As you get really
close, the word "Fog" appears. You don't say!!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/
 
Paul Boyd <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> Hmmm.... I've been crawling along motorways in dense fog vainly trying
> to see past the end of the bonnet as BMWs, Mercs and Audis hurtle past
> (what is is about German cars?)


My German car is regularly overtaken by Fords, Renaults, Vauxhalls, etc.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>
 
On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:52:06 +0000, Ekul Namsob wrote in
news:1ics9xs.hjf1zobml416NEkul
[email protected]:

> My German car is regularly overtaken by Fords, Renaults, Vauxhalls, etc.


Trabant? :)

--
Regards
Alex
The From address above is a spam-trap.
The Reply-To address is valid
 
JNugent <[email protected]> wrote:

> Paul Boyd wrote:
>
> > Toby Sleigh said,

>
> >> Very sensible & sad piece in Thurs Times by Jane Shilling about
> >> driving on country lanes
> >> http://tinyurl.com/2rdnqc third item - Rural Peril

>
> > There's a good few of those sort of lanes round here, and frankly the
> > speed some drivers go is sheer lunacy. Perhaps the thought that there
> > might possibly be horses or cyclists or walkers doesn't enter their
> > minds, but surely they must realise that there might be other cars doing
> > the same speed in the other direction?

>
> A perennial problem. There are some people from whom I have declined
> lifts because they drive (IMHO) far too fast in such locations.
>
> I try not to use those narrow lanes if I can avoid them - especially
> when on a mileage-expenses trip for work. I don't see it as my duty to
> minimise the cost by putting myself at easily-avoidable risk.


normally better the narrower the lane is, the wider lanes do seem to get
get folk who think that the higher speeds can be justified.

the narrower lanes tend to keep the speed down, certinaly seems the case
with the ones nr my folks place.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com
 
On 24/02/2008 09:59, Roger Merriman said,

> normally better the narrower the lane is, the wider lanes do seem to get
> get folk who think that the higher speeds can be justified.


Not here - they seem to use the hedges as if it was a bob-sleigh run.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/
 
On 24/02/2008 10:24, Tim Woodall said,

> I've just uploaded Thursday's crazy taxi driver and Friday's idiotic bus
> driver.
>
> http://www.woodall.me.uk/journey/20080221/
> http://www.woodall.me.uk/journey/20080222/


Ah - you're in Bristol - that seems a fairly normal standard of driving
for that city. At least the taxi's registration number was clearly
visible in a couple of frames - have you reported that to the police or
at least the council?

I'm just glad I got out of Bristol about 5 years ago. On the very few
occasions where I've been back I'm reminded of why I've never missed the
place.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/
 
On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:40:00 +0000,
Paul Boyd <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 24/02/2008 10:24, Tim Woodall said,
>
>> I've just uploaded Thursday's crazy taxi driver and Friday's idiotic bus
>> driver.
>>
>> http://www.woodall.me.uk/journey/20080221/
>> http://www.woodall.me.uk/journey/20080222/

>
> Ah - you're in Bristol - that seems a fairly normal standard of driving
> for that city. At least the taxi's registration number was clearly
> visible in a couple of frames - have you reported that to the police or
> at least the council?
>
> I'm just glad I got out of Bristol about 5 years ago. On the very few
> occasions where I've been back I'm reminded of why I've never missed the
> place.
>

No, this is London. I've now got it on a CD to take to the police. I'm a
bit annoyed I didn't get the buses registration. I assumed the camera
would have got it. :-(

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/
 
On 24/02/2008 11:55, Tim Woodall said,

> No, this is London. I've now got it on a CD to take to the police. I'm a
> bit annoyed I didn't get the buses registration. I assumed the camera
> would have got it. :-(


I've just looked at the taxi one again, and again, and I would swear I
know exactly where that is in Bristol!!!!!!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/
 
Paul Boyd <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 24/02/2008 09:59, Roger Merriman said,
>
> > normally better the narrower the lane is, the wider lanes do seem to get
> > get folk who think that the higher speeds can be justified.

>
> Not here - they seem to use the hedges as if it was a bob-sleigh run.


ah stone walls here also lots of hairpin and near hairpin bends, plus
steep ie quite a few are steep enought that even foot flat to the floor
20/30 would be the most even with a pokey car.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com
 
Dylan Smith <[email protected]> wrote: [...]
> You assert that the cycle track was "expensive" - what is this based on?
> Last time I went to the UK, the cycle facilities I saw were anything but
> expensive, in the main they were shared with pedestrians and marked with
> cheap paint.


Well, that's probably missing the costs of the legal orders that have been
filed to convert the roadside footpath into shared use, move signs and
barriers (if you're lucky) and put in drop kerbs and give way markings at
every piddling access that crosses the path. However, in general, most of
the expensive facilities are ****. I think the best facilities are those
where dead-ended roads are kept open or reopened for cyclists.

> The original poster indicated he was travelling at some speed, over 30
> mph. Is the appropriate place for a cyclist travelling at this speed
> mixing with pedestrians moving at 10% of this speed? The shared pavement
> is not suitable for cycle speeds more than about 5mph, which makes the
> bike pretty useless for transport.


Officially (government draft code of conduct for cyclists), even
purpose-built cycle tracks are not suitable for speeds above 18mph unladen.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/archive/2004/ltnwc/annexdcodeofconductnoticefor1688

Roads are the only suitable surface for fully-laden and high-speed cyclists.
Directing such traffic onto off-road tracks is like directing HGVs up single
track country lanes (hi sat-nav!).
--
MJ Ray http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html tel:+44-844-4437-237 -
Webmaster-developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop builder,
consumer and workers co-operative member http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ -
Writing on koha, debian, sat TV, Kewstoke http://mjr.towers.org.uk/
 
"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote:
> As London indicates, the more of them there are the less of a
> problem it is. They grind to a halt, we carry on unimpeded.


I had my first experience of this this week. High Street Worle
grid-locked (which I'd seen before, but never needed to ride through)
due to some illegal parking that meant a stopping bus blocked the road.
Oncoming traffic then queued back to the roundabout and some fool drove
onto the roundabout when their exit wasn't clear, thereby blocking the
bus's onwards route and leading to much shouting and honking as various
drivers started wanting to reverse up.

I overtook the lot (slowly) and rode through the gap between stopped
cars on the roundabout. Fun, isn't it? I guess I realise what the car
cocks on TV mean about smug cyclists now. It's hard not to look smug
when you'll probably be home before they get off that junction. Heck,
I think the pedestrians would probably be home first too, but they're
not on the road, so less obvious to motorists.

Regards,
--
MJ Ray http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html tel:+44-844-4437-237 -
Webmaster-developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop builder,
consumer and workers co-operative member http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ -
Writing on koha, debian, sat TV, Kewstoke http://mjr.towers.org.uk/
 
On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:10:33 +0000, Paul Boyd <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On 24/02/2008 11:55, Tim Woodall said,
>
>> No, this is London. I've now got it on a CD to take to the police. I'm a
>> bit annoyed I didn't get the buses registration. I assumed the camera
>> would have got it. :-(

>
>I've just looked at the taxi one again, and again, and I would swear I
>know exactly where that is in Bristol!!!!!!


No, it's City Road heading towards The City.

(I hope I'm right!)
 
On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:16:09 +0000,
Tom Crispin <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:10:33 +0000, Paul Boyd <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>On 24/02/2008 11:55, Tim Woodall said,
>>
>>> No, this is London. I've now got it on a CD to take to the police. I'm a
>>> bit annoyed I didn't get the buses registration. I assumed the camera
>>> would have got it. :-(

>>
>>I've just looked at the taxi one again, and again, and I would swear I
>>know exactly where that is in Bristol!!!!!!

>
> No, it's City Road heading towards The City.
>
> (I hope I'm right!)

Yes. I've stopped it just before Old Street roundabout.

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/