or so i told my mate who was considering it. Even sorted her out with a bike.
2 weeks later she crashes into a car, basically she was in a cycling lane undertaking a bus in slow traffic, bus signalled for a car coming the other way to turn into a junction, right into her path. She went straight over the bonnet.
By all accounts it sounded like the bus driver was as much at fault as the car driver. She says shes ok, just bruised and battered.any lessons to be learned to ensure she doesn't lose all confidence?
Yeah it def takes a while to get used to it!! 🙂
be really careful undertaking vehicles when you can't see the road ahead, especially if there's a junction. Or what happened to your friend can happen.
be similarly careful overtaking vehicles when you can't see the road ahead, especially if there's a junction. bus slows to allow car to turn out of the side road, right in the road and into your path. saw someone knocked of doing this in N. London. "unavoidable"
Also, you need to be careful of pedestrians crossing the road between slow/stationary high vehicles where you can't see them.
If it's a bus, you can look through the door and the windscreen to see more of what's coming up in front.
And loads of others, but those are most appropriate here. Cycle commuting's not dangerous if you're aware of all the possibilities for danger and take care to avoid them.
As Neal Stephenson put it about 25 years ago
I had to ride slow because I was taking my guerrilla route, the one I follow when I assume that everyone in a car is out to get me. My nighttime attitude is, anyone can run you down and get away with it. Why give some drunk the chance to plaster me against a car? That's why I don't even own a bike light, or one of those godawful reflective suits. Because if you've put yourself in a position where someone has to see you in order for you to be safe--to see you, and to give a ****--you've already blown it... We had a nice ride through the darkness. On those bikes we were weak and vulnerable, but invisible, elusive, aware of everything within a two-block radius.
Go really slow up the inside of buses and lorries, even in a cycle lane.
Edit: missed this
sorry! 🙂to ensure she doesn't lose all confidence?
i did that its easy done* and is why when driving your car you should never rely on other people flashing you through traffic when your in the car the only thing you can take from it is their lights work.
ps - not really undertaking if in a cycling lane and the bus stopped and flashed the car. How ever she probably wanted to be slowing down when the bus stopped. Bus shouldnt have flashed - car shouldnt have gone - cyclist gets hurt. sucks but thats unfortunantly how it goes. you live and learn.
*in my case there was no cars beside me the car crossing my path just didnt acknowledge my existance and turned into my path. Mr audi driver got an expensive trip to the body shop and a new windscreen + the bill for my helmet and shoulder physio.
That's a nice bit, aP, I enjoyed that. I sort of employ that, but I do have lights. On the odd occasion when I've been caught without them, that's the only way to ride.
most important rule of cycle commuting is that the cycle lane is probably the most inappropriate place to be if you value living 😀
most important rule of cycle commuting is that the cycle lane is probably the most inappropriate place to be if you value living
This unfortunately. In this country the cycle lane is just a bit of paint on the road or pavement.
That's a classic one, even in cars. Undertake someone you think is stopped or turning right, only to discover that they've flashed someone to turn across. Heard many stories of that.
Message to the cyclist in this story is simply don't do that. It's one of those 'roadcraft' things that apply to all road users. NEVER go up the inside of a large vehicle. Simple as that.
Ride defensively and trust no driver to do the right thing. Assume they haven't seen you and will drive into you! Use whatever means to keep yourself safe, if that means hopping on to the pavement for a while I say do it.
Even riding to school as a kid I was dragged down the side of some arseholes car. Was obviously late for work driving well over the speed limit, guess what he didn't stop, put his foot down and ****ed off double quick.
I rarely undertake or use cycle lanes for this very reason. Also people just never seem to check their left mirror before moving in slow moving traffic.
I rarely undertake or use cycle lanes for this very reason. Also people just never seem to check their left mirror before moving in slow moving traffic.
The other surprisingly common one is going down the outside of a line of stationary traffic when someone decides they're bored of sitting queuing and go to pull a U-turn or 3-point turn without checking their right hand mirror.
Thankfully it was the motorbike in front of me that was taken out and not me. It made a much better dent in the car door than I would have done!
bus signalled for a car coming the other way to turn into a junction
It really annoys me, this. Being courteous to one road user can be dangerous to others.