Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 102 total)
  • how often do you feel your life is in danger whilst road cycling
  • GNARGNAR
    Free Member

    bigsi – Member
    Client of mine was run over and killed by a lorry driver who was seen looking at the mobile phone in his hand (assume texting or dialing a number)seconds before running over my client. As he didn’t send the call/text the police couldn’t prove anything as it was his word against the witnesses and he got away with a fine and a ban rather than a prision sentence.

    My client had been a cyclist for 30yrs and was wearing a high vis top, helmet, never wore headphones etc and basically took road safety very seriously. He left a wife and 2 (adult) kids who 2 years on are still coming to terms with the loss.

    I hope he feels guilt for the rest of his life as he has destroyed a family.

    This is what stupidity and mindless driving can lead to

    And that right there is the reality of what you’re up against on the road, and the reason I dont do it anymore.

    miketually
    Free Member

    And that right there is the reality of what you’re up against on the road, and the reason I dont do it anymore.

    How do you get to places?

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    Didnt you realise, people in cars are invincible!

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    GNARGNAR
    Free Member

    miketually – Member

    How do you get to places? Footpaths.

    owenfackrell
    Free Member

    righty – Member
    Its kinda common sense(to me)to make yourself more visable and I have 2 flashing lights at the rear and one on the front on whether its is day or night

    This is why i have 2 steady and 1 flashing light on the front and 1 stead and 1 flashing on the rear. I have been told be various people that i stand out but it doesn’t stop people driving like **** but then they don’t seem to notice me in my car either so may be i just have an invisabilty cloak of some type.

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Constantly – thats what keeps me safe. Defensive riding – assume everyone will do the most stupid thing possible and you won’t be disappointed.

    2 points from above – the person who nearly hit a car door. Defensive riding always ride more than a car door width from any parked cars – always look into parked cars to see if / what the occupants are doing

    The person who had the woman walk out in front of him – Bell? Shout to let her know you are there?

    Defensive riding is the key.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    commuting to work back home there was only on set of corners i felt in danger on.

    If anyone knows it, the road heading west out of Willington, South Derbyshire, past the council lorry depot/gravel pit? an over the dual carridgeway (A38?). Feking council lorries give you about 3inches before they pul in o you, add tot hat the morons coming off the dual carridgeway ad its a recipie for dissaster.

    So on average could expect to very nearly end up in a hedge at least once a day (30 miles), 75% of those case on that same half mile of road.

    Since moving down south im failry certain my lifes permenantly in danger, the standard of driving is absolutely shocking!

    alpin
    Free Member

    three times today. each time someone turning across me at lights. rode 30km into and around munich. unfortunately you are not allowed to ride on the road if cycle paths are provided. these cycle paths are ideal for families or those that pootle but build up any speed and it’s not much fun.

    you have two four lane road, parked cars then cycle path shared with pedestrians. so imagine

    lane-lane-parked cars-bit of grass 1m wide-cycle lane/pavement

    you are obscured by the parked cars and in germany your green light to cross comes on at the same time as for the cars travelling in the same direction as you wish to cross. cars have to give way to pedestrians and bikes but bikes move alot faster and are harder to see.

    sometimes i prefer riding on road. in towns and cities it is better, i think, to be part of the traffic. in germany things are a little better than UK. drivers are for the most part more aware and forgiving of cyclists. probably because so many people cycle- almost everyone has at least one bike.
    one main roads out of town there is more often than not a cycle path provided split from traffic and a normal lanes with wide. here it is not such a problem as you are more visible due to no parked cars.

    vadar
    Free Member

    FFS. Dont get me started again..

    nickc
    Full Member

    I very rarely feel like my life is in danger when I’m cycling on roads. I agree with TJ on this one. Ride defensive

    righty
    Free Member

    I ride defensively and never ride near enough to a car door to get knocked of.
    The main point of my original post was to try and get people to make some noise and get some media coverage sometheing like the anti drink driving campaigns they were pretty hard hitting and I’m sure they had some measurable affect

    Dibbs
    Free Member

    I stopped riding the A39 between Minehead and Bridgwater, because of the number of cars with caravans, riding along waiting for the driver who’s forgotten that he’s towing something that is wider than his car scares the sh1t out of me, and no amount of defensive driving will help.

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    On the way home tonight:

    Had a guy approach the kerb/ road

    Stop

    Look in my direction (700 lumen light on bars, bright red jacket, flashing armbands)

    Step off the pavement,

    Suddenly realise I’m approaching,

    Step back on the pavement

    Step back off into my path when I was about 3 feet away 😕

    I’ve never had a “life in danger” moment but every day I see motorists and pedestrians filled with perma-rage whenever they see a cyclist. There’s a couple of points on my commute where I get off the bike and cross with the green man as the junctions are bedlam. Pushing the bike across the road and if you get in a pedestrians way you can see their blood boiling and the rage building.

    Surely everyone had a bike as a child and remembers the fun? 😆

    theboatman
    Free Member

    Very rarely, I ride to work daily from quiet roads onto busy city approach roads and through the city centre, I’d be a nervous wreck if I did. I think I may have done briefly several years ago when I was on the bonnet of a car waiting to break both my arms an ankle, and pop my shoulders out, but then the pain took away any anxiety. Generally I find darting down busy roads quite a buzz, it’s the weather I hate.

    imnotamused
    Free Member

    I have seen some cocklike cycling on my way home and agree that defensive riding helps but doesn’t make you invincible.

    The cocklike behaviour I refer to was a hybrid cyclist who overtook me in that bravado fashion without a hello in a two wide queue of traffic (I was moving) and then tried to squeeze between a bus which was pulling out and a queuing car. Needless to say he nearly got squashed, had to stop and looked like a cock giving the rest of us a bad rep.

    Sort it out if you ride like a cock.

    RichPenny
    Free Member

    I certainly feel a heightened sense of danger when on the road, mainly because of my vulnerability. When I reflect on some of the situations I’ve experienced, its not too many of them when I’ve actually been in serious danger, but it sure felt like it at the time.

    As others have said, at junctions, pinch points etc. I now ride much more defensively, occupy more of the lane and ease off the pedals. Since I’ve conciously started doing this I feel a lot safer and have experionced fewer problems.

    Sorry GNARGNAR, but I can’t agree with you. The answer is not to spend enormous amounts of money putting cycle lanes everywhere. We need to encourage drivers and cyclists to coexist peacefully, because it is possible. If we all shrug our shoulders, accept that car is king and are marginalised, society as a whole loses out. We need more cyclists on the road so that drivers know what to do when they encounter one.

    breakneckspeed
    Free Member

    I think this is a difficult and complex issue – as a driver and cyclist I will suggest that in this instance I’m a road user, as the same principles apply. As TJ said it all about defensive road use, I ride in the same style as I drive. I watch the road (and pavement) well ahead, and that can be several hundred yards, assessing the risks and dangers. I position my self appropriately on the road and clearly single my intentions.

    Yes while out on the bike I recognise my vulnerability and yes some drivers do seem to pass within millimetres of my elbow and yes they do do stupid stuff in front of me. Usually I’ve anticipated this.

    However if as a group we want the respect of other road users, the public at large and policy makers the we have to clean up our act – stop jumping red lights, stop riding on pavements stop abusing other road users (yes even when they deserve it) and begin earning respect

    miketually
    Free Member

    GNARGNAR – Member
    Footpaths.

    40 people a year are killed by cars while on verges or pavements…

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    My question would be this
    If you have had a crash involoving another vehicle whilst on a bike whose fault was it ?
    i have yet to have a bike accident when it was my fault and I suspect that is the reality for the vast majority of us hence we sadly all need to be nervous on the roads

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    I don’t get this commuting angst – I’ve ridden into the centre of Nottingham for 3 years now, had a few near misses but have never got stressed about it – I make errors as a rider and as a car driver, so do others. I might swear under my breath, but the one time I did “have a word” it was a waste of my time and breath.

    I make sure I’m well lit and visible, I ride assertively but never aggressively, I assume that everyone else is an idiot who doesn’t expect a cyclist to travel at 15-20 mph, but I never feel any more in danger on the bike than I do in the car when commuting.

    Do some people set themselves up with a victim mentality and it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    And before you all start, two friends of mine have been killed while cycling, I fully understand the risks, believe me.

    druidh
    Free Member

    Wot swadey said. I had to go into town today and had the choice of car, bus or bike. I took the bike. If I thought my life was in danger, I wouldn’t have.

    Is this a familiarity thing? Do those that do lots of road miles just feel more comfortable?

    BigDummy
    Free Member

    Do some people set themselves up with a victim mentality and it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    I used to do this. I’ve stopped now, I feel way better.

    🙂

    GNARGNAR
    Free Member

    GNARGNAR – Member
    Footpaths.

    miketually – Member

    40 people a year are killed by cars while on verges or pavements…

    Yes, and I think the number of cyclists killed on the road is in the high hundreds is it not?

    RichPenny
    Free Member

    No, GNARGNAR, its not. 137 in 2007. Still 137 too many, mind. 1432 car users, 646 pedestrians and 588 motorcyclists in the same year. Do these stats make you think about whether we should try to change peoples attitude towards road safety?

    aracer
    Free Member

    The days when cars and bikes could share the roads are long gone.

    I agree totally. Not sure why everybody else is having a go at you. The obvious solution being to ban cars from the roads.

    GNARGNAR
    Free Member

    RichPenny – Member
    No, GNARGNAR, its not. 137 in 2007. Still 137 too many, mind. 1432 car users, 646 pedestrians and 588 motorcyclists in the same year. Do these stats make you think about whether we should try to change peoples attitude towards road safety?

    RichPenny –

    Sorry GNARGNAR, but I can’t agree with you. The answer is not to spend enormous amounts of money putting cycle lanes everywhere. We need to encourage drivers and cyclists to coexist peacefully, because it is possible. If we all shrug our shoulders, accept that car is king and are marginalised, society as a whole loses out. We need more cyclists on the road so that drivers know what to do when they encounter one.

    I dont object to what you’re saying – I just know it wont happen, or cant happen in the current climate. I simply cannot see any way that what you’re suggesting can happen.

    aP
    Free Member

    For a period last year when fuel was a bit more realistically priced people seemed to drive slower, a bit more considerately and actually leave their car at home for the 800m school run – unless that also corresponded with the 15 hours of cyclists being loved during the Olympics.

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    A vast majority of cyclists put themselves at risk. I won’t even try to claim you all do but I don’t believe everybody here knows the ins and outs of assertive cycling.
    Get trained, swallow your pride and learn from a really good instructor. Your council might be even running a scheme to cover the cost, mine does. Get a trainer to go through the entire National Standard with you, level 1 to 3, step by step. Take your time and you’ll rip the benefits.
    I ride my bike on the streets of London and Middlesex with a baby at the back quite a lot. Quiet roads, busy roads, all of them. I’m not a genius, but I know what I’m doing.
    And get trained to ride a motorbike. I’ll sharpen your mind in no time.

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    Do some people set themselves up with a victim mentality and it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    so the drivers see something in their body language and think, “I’ve got to get THEM!” ?

    The obvious solution being to ban cars from the roads.

    it was a retrograde step when they stopped having to have a man walking in front with a red flag 🙁

    A vast majority of cyclists put themselves at risk

    we should have known it was all our fault:-(

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    Simon, haven’t you ever seen anybody with a big hood on, headphones on and a can of Stella in hand cycling down an A road?

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    Simon, haven’t you ever seen anybody with a big hood on, headphones on and a can of Stella in hand cycling down an A road?

    no, but I don’t get out much. But surely that’s not typical ?

    alpin
    Free Member

    it was a can of cider actually…..

    do admit i ride with big fegg off head phones on sometimes, keeps my ears warm. not too loud mind…

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    headphones on

    does this imply deaf people can be killed with impunity ? I’m not sure how being able to hear helps, you may hear a vehicle behind, but you cannot tell if it’s going to hit or just overtake…

    Expat
    Free Member

    Trouble with the UK as i see it are the roads are narrow and very full of cars, so i cant ever see it getting better so its always a risk, at least on an MTB there are few cars on the trails!!!!
    Having said that i live in Christchurch NZ the rds are a lot wider usually with a cycle lane + a hard shoulder and generally fewer cars. BUT drivers still get pissed off with cyclist and complain that they are an inconvienience (which is valid sometimes when you come up behind a bunch 3 wide and spread out) so its the same the world over – car big, bike small it will never get better.

    hora
    Free Member

    I was thinking on the way in this morning. I never filter on the inside of cars in town/city. Never. If its a line of traffic I will go up and over and if the traffic sets off prematurely I’ll ride parrallel then slot back in. If its not possible I will sit a cars length behind the last car in the centre of the car. I feel going up and over naturally meets a car drivers eyeline/field of vision whereas in righthand drive cars on lefthand lanes you naturally DONT look to the inside do you?

    filtering is too dangerous IMO- cars cut in due to checking to their right/obstacles.

    Ride safe (cheesy Americanism!)

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    OK – an example from this morning’s commute

    Had my closest near miss for ages – van pulled out in front of me, his mate followed without looking and stopped inches from my back wheel.

    I was shocked. I was angry. I shouted a word that has no place in a public space at 7.10am so loudly I shocked myself (apologies, residents of Ilkeston town centre). I was full of adrenalin for the rest of the commute.

    Did I fear for my life the rest of the commute? No

    Am I fearing riding home tonight? No

    theboatman
    Free Member

    apologies, residents of Ilkeston town centre

    LOL, I’m sure they have heard worse!

    hora
    Free Member

    Is Ilkeston like Todmorden? If so surely Swadey would only have offended husbands of daughters and brothers of Wives? 8)

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    Had a guy approach the kerb/ road
    Stop
    Look in my direction (700 lumen light on bars, bright red jacket, flashing armbands)

    Perhaps they were blinded by your 700 lumen light – I’d imagine most cars drivers are too. Yes you need to be seen but you also need to be careful you’re not blinding other road users.

    poppa
    Free Member

    For the type of riding I do, parked cars are the biggest hazard. I got knocked off my bike once by someone opening their door – I just heard a bang, next thing I know I am lying on the road on my back, facing the way I had just come, with my bike about two metres away. I was clipped slightly and went over the bars. I was lucky not to be more seriously injured, but now I scan cars for occupants and give them a wide berth. Defensive cycling is definitely the key.

    I do get the impression that most drivers do not enjoy driving however, and are in a state of continuous borderline anger and frustration. How else to explain the compulsive desire to accelerate madly out of one set of lights, only to brake ten metres down the road at the next set of lights. .

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