This little moment has really fudged me up for the morning.
30mph+... what would've happened if he hadn't stopped... so many images of me splatting on the road going through my head... and it looks nothing on video!
What goes through your mind when these things happen?
(He did apologise, btw)
I wonder if it was the "Woaaaah!" that made him stop?
On a sidenote, this is probably not what I need to be watching as I am about to purchase my first ever road bike.
Had two guys in a white van intentionally do that to me coming into Tinturn.
30mph off the hill, the guy looked at me, started to pull out enough to make me swerve and brake etc. and then stopped.
They both found it hilarious.
[i]I wonder if it was the "Woaaaah!" that made him stop?[/i]
That was actually "NOOOOO!" !
Sh!t Paul - I would've stopped for that. They don't realise how scarey it is.
Had a similar thing happen a couple of days ago when a taxi pulled out on me (he was on the phone as well, just to add to the cliche) - except he actually 'hit' me, before braking. It was hard enough that my QR actually punched a hole in his bumper, but other than some silver paint on my QR, me/bike was fine. A swearing match ensued, he said I'd be paying for the damage, I said I'd have to speak to accident claims solicitor first or he could poke-it..... at which point he just drove off. Never even undid his seatbelt, the fat-f***.
hardly a life threatening situation, it's a normal occurence, that happens to me everyday.
Kev
This morning you say?
Well according to the date and time on the video, surely you could have just hit 88 mph and gone back in time even futher?
I had a guy pull out on me on the other side on the road but going in my direction, unknow to me however he knew I was there and didn't pull out fully and was driving down the middle of the road so I could undertake him as he got up to speed.
I was taking in some juice from my bottle at the time so as well as some naughty words he got a good spray of energy drink over his windscreen!!
it does happen a fair bit on my commute, I just tend to assume that there is a good chance they will pull out on me so am prepared for it
luckily with the dryer warmer weather my commute wil change to mainly canals on the way in and a sustrans ncn on the way home.
[i]This morning you say?[/i]
Yeah, £16.99 vidcam doesn't save the correct date. I knew some geek would pick up on that 😛
I don't see what the problem was in that video. Everything looks perfectly normal to me.
In fact, that road looks like a pleasure to ride on.
Of course! I'm obviously of a nervous disposition and it was all my fault 🙂
I reckon someting like that happens to me on pretty much every commute, that was just an intake of breath moment. I expect every car to pull across the white line on a side road, and currently they more or less all seem to do so.
On my commute the current top list of cars driven by particularly ignorant motorists:
Joint 1st = Audi/ Seat in terms of deliberate aggression and just general lack of giving a shit
3rd = Anything with a faux-by in the name
4th = Minicabs driven by "gents" with Saddam Hussein moustaches
5th = any car driven by 30s women (actually they're amongst the most aggressive drivers currently - and seem to drive Audi/Seat...)
Looks like a badly positioned sandwich board did not help the situation.
maybe the driver was eating a sandwich whilst holding a can of coke and trying to txt the other half at the same time ? that's what I see most drivers doing who aren't looking where they're going or taking notice of what's around them.
Kev
Do you always video your commute? Probably not a bad idea if stuff like this happens.
Keva - Member
hardly a life threatening situation, it's a normal occurence, that happens to me everyday.
TheBrick - Member
Looks like a badly positioned sandwich board did not help the situation.
aP - Member
I reckon someting like that happens to me on pretty much every commute, that was just an intake of breath moment. I expect every car to pull across the white line on a side road, and currently they more or less all seem to do so.
GlitterGary - Member
I don't see what the problem was in that video. Everything looks perfectly normal to me.In fact, that road looks like a pleasure to ride on.
That
Position further right to enhance visibilty?
Dunno, not much more you can do about cars that roll up to junctions and don't appear to be going to stop. Yell and swerve/ brake hard. It's not like you are going slowly. I don't know what is behind you though. The sandwich board didn't help either.
Put it down to experience and you know where the hazard is next time.
what is your setup on the helmet with the vidcam? And which one do you use for £16.99?
I'd be keen to get one of these for my commute I think!
Cheers
For some reason, BMW 1 series seem to be the most dangerous cars on the road at the mo.
Dunno why, but over the last few weeks I've noticed that they seem to be driven particularly badly.
Do they have poor visibility for the driver or unusually thick pillars?
It's new mini's I find are the worst. But then they are just little BMW's aren't they?
Oh, and Audis.
Hardly life threatening!
Open road, good visibility, plenty of time/space to take avoiding action, question claimed 30+ mph, only just nudged over line in the end.
Sorry.
Happens to me a lot on my commute to work, Wednesdays and Fridays seem to be the worst days for the wazzock drivers to come out!
BMW 1 series seem to be the most dangerous cars on the road at the mo. Do they have [s]poor visibility for the driver or[/s] unusually thick [s]pillars[/s] [b]drivers?[/b]
FTFY
druidh - Member
Keva - Member
hardly a life threatening situation, it's a normal occurence, that happens to me everyday.
TheBrick - Member
Looks like a badly positioned sandwich board did not help the situation.
aP - Member
I reckon someting like that happens to me on pretty much every commute, that was just an intake of breath moment. I expect every car to pull across the white line on a side road, and currently they more or less all seem to do so.
GlitterGary - Member
I don't see what the problem was in that video. Everything looks perfectly normal to me.
In fact, that road looks like a pleasure to ride on.That
Prat.
** Waves **
[i]what is your setup on the helmet with the vidcam? And which one do you use for £16.99?[/i]
Video is a little bullet cam thing, comes with a bar mount (hence the hideous background noise). Bought from 7dayshop.com, who don't have them anymore, but they can be found on Ebay slightly more expensive.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250769989581&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3581wt_1139
I'm compiling a fun little video called "Car Driver Asshole". I think you'll like it. 🙂
And to those who don't think it was life threatening - you weren't there. [i]If[/i] the guy hadn't stopped, there was no avoiding a collision. If you don't get scared at stuff like that then there is something very wrong with you and you probably won't live long.
Yes, he stopped. Hence the wording of my OP.
Pretty standard on my commute. Never assume.
Looks like a badly positioned sandwich board did not help the situation.
If you ride that way every day I'd show the people who own the sandwhich board the video and ask them to move it.
Yeah, £16.99 vidcam doesn't save the correct date. I knew some geek would pick up on that
there's a simple fix for this involving specifying the correct date in a txt file of the camera's folder. search google.
You were going too fast an not paying attention if you couldn't stop in time.
Just saying like.
Wouldn't say that's unusual at all (can't judge the speed) but it would have caused me a minor heart in throat moment. By the way plan B might have been turn left and end up in the hedge in the side road, it would have hurt less than hitting the car.
Just out of curiosity what do you wear when commuting? Anything hi-vis / bright. I ride AND drive a lot and there's nothing worse than the bicycle ninja for visibility. Dark clothes + dark bike + small frontal area = not that visible at all.
I now where a hi-vis vest a lot more on the road (especially around rush hours) if I'm on my own and reckon I am having a lot less SMIDSY's. Yes I know it looks pants but its hardly performance reducing.
That's very good quality footage for a £17 Camera, I'm gonna get one of them.
As others have said hardly a big deal, cars over shooting the give way line happens all the time. Hardly an 'I almost died' moment.
Also looks to me like the driver had limited visibility and was simply moving out for a clearer view of the road.
[i]If the guy hadn't stopped, there was no avoiding a collision[/i]
But he did!
Has anyone said 'drama queen' yet?
Looked like you had ample time to brake, or swerve to the clear other side of the road.. but I appreciate that the wide angle lenses on those things can exaggerate space.
luckily with the dryer warmer weather my commute wil change to mainly canals
You must really be expecting quite a dry spell.
A great bike gadget would be a bar-mounted wide angle camera, usb rechgargeable that just records a very high-res (say enough for numberplates?) 2 minute loop. You could hit a big red button after a crash (or it could programme itself to stop recording and save video in case of a large enough impact?) and use it to nobble other party in an accident, and chase them through police if they fail to stop. (Or stitch yourself up in case of your own reckless cycling, 😆 )
This being STW i hope someone will post up with exactly what I just wondered about producing.
I'd agree the sandwich board looks to be a major part of the problem. It's pretty much directly in the driver's line of sight as he approaches the white lines (look where driver's head is vs. the sign in the still) and you being of narrow frontage would have been completely obscured for much of the last few seconds of your film.
A car with a longer bonnet (Mondeo, S-Type Jag, bigger Beember, Vectra etc etc) would have needed to get to where that Beemer's bumper did just to see past the sign.
Definite word with the board's owner and if they don't listen show the local police the video.
Doesn't excuse the driver but you can see how it could happen.
Assuming no following traffic if you had moved over a bit towards the middle of the lane (especially given the curve on the road) you would have been more in his field of vision.
Not criticising just trying to suggest how you might avoid a repeat.
See those things that look a bit like levers that are attached to your handlebars they are called brakes, they are for stopping the bike. You might want to use them when someone looks liek they are gonig to pull out on you. You might also want to be a bit further out in the road too.
I always assume cars are going to do this - doesn't make it OK, but it never surprises me.
Had a couple of close shaves lately, Bristol bus drivers seem to have it in for me.
I would probably have mostly stopped as soon as I saw a bumper peeping out to be honest - I do tend to, just in case.
i agree with garage dweller- move into middle of lane if no following traffic, or even if there is and you are not a low speed hazard. Gives both you and the driver extra vision and time.
Still, STW are doing the usual handing out its opinions feft right and centre criticizing the OP. They must be bored.
report it to the police, could be a kids face next time.
[i]report it to the police, could be a kids face next time.[/i]
You are joking, aren't you?
i'm only ever 100% serious on STW.
😐
^look at my serious face.
Oh that is serious!!
If the car had pulled out you could have just bunny hopped it.
[i]And to those who don't think it was life threatening - you weren't there.
If the guy hadn't stopped, there was no avoiding a collision.
If you don't get scared at stuff like that then there is something very wrong with you and you probably won't live long.[/i]
correct, I wasn't there...
a collision would've easily been avoided by using the other side of the road which was clear... you had three full seconds to make this decision and act on it.
sorry but cars just aren't that scarey... there is nothing wrong with me - 42years so far, 38 of those riding bicycles.
If you're scared by that minor incident then how do you cope in rush hour traffic when cars are pulling out on you from all directions ?
Kev
learning to commute: 4 states of behavioural progression - a summary
1) fear - of accidents, apprehension and caution
2) anger - at everyone on the road, learning patterns of and prejudging road users, actively seeking out accidents
3) confidence - anticipating road user trangressions and the best way to avoid contact
4) acceptance - knowing what a road user will do by the time of day, surface conditions and the strength of the wind and relying on sub-conscious and muscle-memory to avoid collisions = enlightenment
.
I'm almost at 4 after 4 years of daily communting.
As others have said, get a bit further to the right, especially travelling at that speed. The driver couldn't see you until he was right on the give way line, by which time he'd have seen that the right hand half of your lane was completely clear and made assumptions... not excusing it, but it's very easy to do.
I can see why that incident would get the adreneline going. He really did look like he was going to go.
You were going too fast an not paying attention if you couldn't stop in time.
Nonsense. You should be able to stop in the distance that you can reasonably expect to remain clear (and half that if you could expect to encounter oncoming traffic). You could reasonably expect that bit of road to remain clear.
I suspect the use of the camera has made you think too much about the "incidents" of commuting.
All good advice in this thread. The key, I think, is knowing your route, and learning the nuances and areas where you need to do the thinking for the other road users.
One tip would also be to have a daylight flashing light on the front of the bike. I often use one when commuting on light mornings - helps catch the attention of the inattentive.
I really did know what to expect from you lot when I posted that! But still it amazes me.
My question was "what goes through your mind when things like that happen?".
Not: Should I ride slower to avoid trouble?
Not: Is my road positioning correct?
Not: Am I a nervous rider?
Not: Was there a sandwich board in the way?
Not: Did I die?
[edit]Not: Should I ride with lights in bright sunshine to avoid accidents that don't actually happen?
If anything, having the video on has made it more relaxing.
correct, I wasn't there...
a collision would've easily been avoided by using the other side of the road which was clear...
Clear apart from the BMW which was turning right into it.
you had three full seconds to make this decision and act on it.
Nope. The car pauses as the give way line then starts to go again. From that point he had about a second, and not a lot options. I might have started to brake the moment I saw him until I made eye contact, but I couldn't be sure.
sorry but cars just aren't that scarey... there is nothing wrong with me - 42years so far, 38 of those riding bicycles.
If you're scared by that minor incident then how do you cope in rush hour traffic when cars are pulling out on you from all directions ?
I agree with the OP - that was very nearly a very nasty accident. As far as I can see, the driver didn't see him until after he'd started to go, and the OP wasn't going slowly.
I cycle in rush hour traffic every day, and I'd be scared if that happened to me.
Wierd double post incident. That could have been nasty.
My question was "what goes through your mind when things like that happen?".
I couldn't tell you what goes through my mind when things like that happen, but immediately after it's things like:
Should I ride slower to avoid trouble?
Is my road positioning correct?
Was there a sandwich board in the way?
Should I ride with lights in bright sunshine to avoid accidents that don't actually happen?
I think people have been answering your question...
[i]I cycle in rush hour traffic every day, and I'd be scared if that happened to me.[/i]
Me too and that scared me more than the bin lorry that hit me or the mini that made me jump onto the path. Purely because it was fast and for a split second it looked like the driver hadn't seen me.
I could've braked? Haha!
[i]I really did know what to expect from you lot when I posted that! But still it amazes me.
My question was "what goes through your mind when things like that happen?".[/i]
well the thing is Dez is that there really isn't much to think about which is why we've all answered the way we have... the first thing I'd have thought is... 'this car probably hasn't seen me I'd best check the road ahead first, all clear, now I'll give the car a wide berth. All quite easy to do in the time available shown on the video.
I think really you're just very pleased with the new camera and couldn't wait to post something from it. 😉
Kev
Look, the sun is out, you are all still breathing, be happy 😉
Yeah, for some reason I don't like visions of my own death first thing in the morning. 😥
Seriously [i]Should I ride slower to avoid trouble?[/i]
Would anyone on here [i]really[/i] consider that?
Tell us more about this camera dez, run time, recording time, ease of use, etc.
Out on a road ride yesterday....single lane 20% descent with big drop off on one side.Tucked in as speedo hits 60k,look up and theres a fire engine coming up..... verge to verge!Brakes...no chance but he is half way along a single car length passing place.Brakes off,tuck in again.Grazed my lead foot on the bumper to make the shrinking gap, followed by leeeary slide on the gravel to rejoin the road giggling uncontrolably for 5 minutes.
Won't change how I ride one iota.
I agree with the OP - that was very nearly a very nasty accident
Where I'm sitting at the moment there's a plane going overhead every 45 seconds. Every single one of them is potentially a serious accident in waiting. Do I worry about it? What do you think?
You really need to understand what risk is, yes, that could have been a nasty accident, but it wasn't, so there's no point in getting all excited about it.
Seriously Should I ride slower to avoid trouble?
Would anyone on here really consider that?
yes, until you learn to anticipate and expect, you should
.
I ride on the road a lot, but never that fast (apart from down massive hills in the Peak where it's just too tempting!) because of what other road users might do.
Off road I ride like a loon because if I hurt myself it's going to be my fault
Camera - 7Dayshop were doing them for £16.99 complete with 4GB microSD. Bit annoying cos I ordered one for my son, which now says on "back order".
Fits about 2hrs on the 4GB card.
Battery life about the same.
Records in avi format.
I tend to start and stop it, but if just left running it splits recording into 250mb files.
Easy enough to use - the start button is small, but can be operated with gloves.
[i]yes, until you learn to anticipate and expect, you should[/i]
Ah stop now, you're making yourself look stupid. To me, if not anyone else.
I'll stand by the notion that you could have still bunny hopped the beemer.
Where I'm sitting at the moment there's a plane going overhead every 45 seconds. Every single one of them is potentially a serious accident in waiting. Do I worry about it? What do you think?
You really need to understand what risk is, yes, that could have been a nasty accident, but it wasn't, so there's no point in getting all excited about it.
No, I *do* understand what risk is. The risk of one of those planes falling out of the sky is extremely small, so I wouldn't worry about it.
At the point that that car started moving past the give way line, I'd have put the odds of him seeing you and stopping again at about evens at best. Luckily he did, but the risk of it going the other way was very high, I would worry about that, and wonder what I could do to stop myself from getting into that situation again.
Ah stop now, you're making yourself look stupid. To me, if not anyone else
whatever
if you didn't want advice you shouldn't have asked for it
:flounce:
For those interested in the cam - here's another sample from this morning.
Oh, the date is fixed by copying a tag file to the sd card, but this cam loses the date at power off and I can't be bothered to do it every time.
Enjoy 🙂
Hahahahahaha! There are a lot of things I could say about that second video Dez, but I'm sure others will be along shortly to do it for me. 😀
Youtube already did! These are the suggested tags:
[i]"Suggestions:
+ambulance+high speed+car crash"[/i]
😀
(I just call it SHIT CYCLE PATH!)
😆
Very impressed with the camera.
Somewhat less impressed with all that undertaking! 😮
Cycle lane or no cycle lane.
Thanks! 😉
well as undertaking goes, quality stuff Dezb 😉
You ride like an idiot and are in no position to criticise other road users.
Camera works well though.
I might have started to brake the moment I saw him
I would have. Every day people nose out of junctions and driveways on me, and I ALWAYS assume they haven't seen me and will stop if necessary even before they pull out.
Saved my bacon many many times that has. Ride as if you are completely invisible.
EDIT: just watched the vid.. you ARE completely invisible to many of those drivers for most of it - you're assuming that they are all going to behave predictably. Honestly I would suggest chilling out a lot - slow moving tightly packed traffic is no place to be undertaking like that.
I've got a 'fixie' but still wouldn't ride like that!
I don't ride like an idiot. I am an idiot.
😀
Undertaking a white van signalling left at a roundabout......are you mad ?
😀
Look again - he only switches his indicator on as I reach him.
Not mad, just determined.
Look again - he only switches his indicator on as I reach him.
All the more reason not to undertake people assuming they've indicated correctly!