Nearly got squished at lunch. Popped out on the bike to pick up some chips for lunch from the local chippy. On the way back, I left the chippy and got the bike on the road in the cycle lane
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=53.400462,-2.193597&sll=53.400584,-2.193706&sspn=0.000545,0.001206&ie=UTF8&ll=53.40059,-2.193521&spn=0.000545,0.001206&t=h&z=20
The cycle lane is new – it's on the south side of Stockport Road. The chippy is the building marked. I set off just as the traffic lights from the B5465 Edgeley Road turned green for traffic turning left – i.e. coming up behind me.
An idiot in an astra came through the traffic lights and accelerated past me, then turned left into Birchfield Road. However, he'd not quite passed me so I had to grab a great big handful of brake and swerve violently towards the kerb, shouting to warn him, as he got closer and closer to hitting me. I don't think his path varied but I managed to avoid being squished and avoided hitting the kerb and bouncing back into the path of the car. As the astra cleared my path, I straightened up and got out of the way onto the pavement on the other side of the road, then turned to remonstrate, only to see that the car behind him had also turned into Birchfield Road. The car in question was a Police car – a traffic car, in fact.
"Sorry," said the driver of the astra out of his window, "I didn't see you."
"That's not the point" said the policeman and I, almost at the same time.
"I've said I'm sorry, I just didn't see him," the driver said to the policeman.
The policeman, having stopped in the middle of the road to talk to the driver obviously decided that enough was enough, and reversed his car to park behind the astra and have a word with the driver.
"Do you need me to give details?" I asked
"No, you carry on, I've got this one" said the policeman. I left them having a nice chat. Fingers crossed it has the desired effect and we have one less **** on the roads…
The chips were nice but even now, two hours later, my pulse is till racing…
