That Cyclist are Nice, Motorists are Mean...



N

Not Responding

Guest
That Cyclist[1] are Nice, Motorists[2] are Mean was once again confirmed
to me on my commute home this evening.

Trudging up The Hill I watched two children, about 8-ish, in the
distance waiting to cross the road. By the time I reached them, they
were obviously getting frustrated and cold; despite some cars turning
off at junctions just past them, no one had stopped to let them cross.
So I did. Took the primary position and said "take your time". For my
troubles and as they began to cross, the car behind overtook and damn
near flattened them. Meanwhile another driver was hooting away in
complaint at, oh, 30 seconds delay. THIS SORT OF THING MAKES ME CROSS.

Shortly afterwards, I come to my blind bend. Unlit country lane, no
pavements, narrow and bending to the right. EVERY BLOODY DAY, I will be
overtaken on this bend by someone who cannot have an inkling as to what
is round the corner or coming round the corner. Today, I thought "sod
this, I'll ride as far out as I dare". I left barely enough room for
whatever may be coming round the corner and felt a little nervous. BUT
SOME **** STILL OVERTOOK ME.

Someday there is going to be a prang here. Or, as there are quite often
prangs here, it is more accurate to say I will see a prang here someday.
I just hope that the overtaking plonker is driving a bigger, heavier car
and is going faster than the poor sod coming the other way. At least
then I stand a cat's chance that the maths will mean the combined
wreckage doesn't land on top of me in a ditch. Unless vectors are
involved, of course.

But don't get me wrong, I love commuting by bike again.

[1] in a sample size of "me".
[2] 95% of a sample size of thousands.
 
Not Responding wrote:
> then I stand a cat's chance that the maths will mean the combined
> wreckage doesn't land on top of me in a ditch. Unless vectors are
> involved, of course.


Tricky things, vectors. They can diverge and curl and all that
nonsense, wrigglesome things that they are.

Why not get a video camera and a friend to cycle round this corner a few
times (getting the video camera to cycle is tricky, I know) and present
the evidence of the overtakerers to your local plod?

R.
 
Not Responding wrote:
> That Cyclist[1] are Nice, Motorists[2] are Mean was once again
> confirmed to me on my commute home this evening.
>
> Trudging up The Hill I watched two children, about 8-ish, in the
> distance waiting to cross the road. By the time I reached them, they
> were obviously getting frustrated and cold; despite some cars turning
> off at junctions just past them, no one had stopped to let them cross.
> So I did. Took the primary position and said "take your time". For my
> troubles and as they began to cross, the car behind overtook and damn
> near flattened them. Meanwhile another driver was hooting away in
> complaint at, oh, 30 seconds delay. THIS SORT OF THING MAKES ME CROSS.



Always unwise to stop and gesture any pedestrian, but especially kids,
across whether you are on bike or in car. Not only does it put them at risk
from someone behind, unable to see any obstruction or signal from you
warning of a hazard ( ? ) and passing a stationary vehicle but also from
traffic coming the other way, as the kids having been given an instruction
from an adult ( you ) to cross often assume that you have checked traffic
coming the other way and do not look themselves.

Solution: Stop, get off/out and guide them across the road

btw did you indicate to the car behind other than by your road position?

pk
 
Not Responding wrote:

> Shortly afterwards, I come to my blind bend. Unlit country lane, no
> pavements, narrow and bending to the right. EVERY BLOODY DAY, I will be
> overtaken on this bend by someone who cannot have an inkling as to what
> is round the corner or coming round the corner. Today, I thought "sod
> this, I'll ride as far out as I dare". I left barely enough room for
> whatever may be coming round the corner and felt a little nervous. BUT
> SOME **** STILL OVERTOOK ME.


Well well, and there was me thinking the only drivers with x-ray vision
lived in rural Perthshire. I find it incredible that drivers pull out
and pass me on blind bend after blind bend. Ok, there's less traffic
here than many other parts of the country, but that only reduces the
odds slightly on a head-on at the crown of the bend.

--
Brian G
 
Brian G wrote:

> Well well, and there was me thinking the only drivers with x-ray vision
> lived in rural Perthshire. I find it incredible that drivers pull out
> and pass me on blind bend after blind bend. Ok, there's less traffic
> here than many other parts of the country, but that only reduces the
> odds slightly on a head-on at the crown of the bend.


I didn't recount that one on the hell ride..

There I am, pounding away trying to keep the pace up. I come round a
gentle bend. Picture the scene, typical rural road where there is a
raised verge crowned by hedges, drystone walls and the odd tree or two.

So I have just come round this bend about 30-40m ahead of my companion.
A car is coming the other way at a typical rural Perthshire speed.
Suddenly it locks all the wheels and slides into the verge as another
car overtakes Andrew on the bend. Seems fairly typical to me, and only
just missed a prang.

When will they ever learn?

...d
 
Not Responding <[email protected]> wrote:

> Shortly afterwards, I come to my blind bend. Unlit country lane, no
> pavements, narrow and bending to the right. EVERY BLOODY DAY, I will be
> overtaken on this bend by someone who cannot have an inkling as to what
> is round the corner or coming round the corner. Today, I thought "sod
> this, I'll ride as far out as I dare". I left barely enough room for
> whatever may be coming round the corner and felt a little nervous. BUT
> SOME **** STILL OVERTOOK ME.


I do this every day. 90+% will wait for a straight bit to overtake
 
"Not Responding" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Shortly afterwards, I come to my blind bend. Unlit country lane, no
> pavements, narrow and bending to the right. EVERY BLOODY DAY, I will be
> overtaken on this bend by someone who cannot have an inkling as to what is
> round the corner or coming round the corner. Today, I thought "sod this,
> I'll ride as far out as I dare". I left barely enough room for whatever
> may be coming round the corner and felt a little nervous. BUT SOME ****
> STILL OVERTOOK ME.


happened to me about two years ago, similar to as you describe: me, cycling
up steep hill approaching sharp blind bend on narrow country road, white van
screaming up hill behind me. As I approach bend, I can see a car coming the
other way, so I held up my right hand to warn the van driver not to
overtake, but he carried on, not quite straight into the car, but both
vehicles seriously damaged, fortunately both drivers ok. This was a very
quiet road, and 999 times out of 1,000 this wouldn't have been a problem,
but this incident does demonstrate that if the repetition of risk, even at
low likelihoods, collisions will occur. Who was the perceptive roads
minister who said that most accidents were the result of low risks being
taken millions of times every day?
 
in message <[email protected]>, David Martin
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Brian G wrote:
>
>> Well well, and there was me thinking the only drivers with x-ray
>> vision
>> lived in rural Perthshire. I find it incredible that drivers pull
>> out and pass me on blind bend after blind bend. Ok, there's less
>> traffic here than many other parts of the country, but that only
>> reduces the odds slightly on a head-on at the crown of the bend.

>
> I didn't recount that one on the hell ride..
>
> There I am, pounding away trying to keep the pace up. I come round a
> gentle bend. Picture the scene, typical rural road where there is a
> raised verge crowned by hedges, drystone walls and the odd tree or
> two.
>
> So I have just come round this bend about 30-40m ahead of my
> companion. A car is coming the other way at a typical rural Perthshire
> speed. Suddenly it locks all the wheels and slides into the verge as
> another car overtakes Andrew on the bend. Seems fairly typical to me,
> and only just missed a prang.


My partner was similarly riding down a country road a couple of months
ago when one of that nice Mr Wiseman's jolly nice milk tankers overtook
her on a blind bend. Cue much shrieking of brakes as it ground to a
halt about two inches off a head-on with a Range Rover. Cue, slightly
later, one exceeding nasty nastygram to that nice Mr Wiseman.

> When will they ever learn?


Where have all the flowers gone?

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and there was nothing we could do but wait
patiently for the RAC to arrive.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...

<snip various tales of overtaking on blind bends>

> > When will they ever learn?


What worries me is that the instinctive reaction for the overtaking
driver, faced with an imminent head-on, may be to forget they're still
beside the cyclist, and yank the steering wheel left.......

--
Colin
 
"Andrew Templeman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1gthcz4.1ccnil268le0N%[email protected]...
>
>> BUT SOME **** STILL OVERTOOK ME.

>
> I do this every day. 90+% will wait for a straight bit to overtake


Maybe Hertfordshire drivers are more sensible. Because, when I lived down
there I had a bend that actually turned up somewhere on most of my routes
that was a blind bend.

About 99.9% waited behind and about 30% cave a polite 'thank you' toot as I
waved them through (as I had sight of the clear or otherwise road well in
advance of them).

Of course Johnny Plonker will have his fun.

T
 
"Mark Tranchant" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Tony W wrote:
>
> > About 99.9% waited behind and about 30% cave a polite 'thank you' toot

as I
> > waved them through (as I had sight of the clear or otherwise road well

in
> > advance of them).

>
> Er... so you wave them through even if it's not clear? Is that why 70%
> don't thank you?


No. Most waited. Of those I waved through (which I did only when the road
was clear and it was safe to do so) about 30% acknowledged with a toot or a
cheery wave.
 
Colin wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>
> <snip various tales of overtaking on blind bends>
>
>>>When will they ever learn?

>
>
> What worries me is that the instinctive reaction for the overtaking
> driver, faced with an imminent head-on, may be to forget they're still
> beside the cyclist, and yank the steering wheel left.......


Forget? Realise it's "only" a cyclist, more like...

James
 
Muppets! By the way, remember those "motorists hardly ever go through
red lights compared with cyclists" flame wars? I paid attention
yesterday, and I saw one or more cars going through on red at every
single traffic light I passed through on my 6 mile fetch toddler from
nursery trip.

The taxi driver was a pretty decent guy, though. See Chris's taxi
thread.
 

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