[Closed] I'm tense!! (Commute content)

[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...

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 ?

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

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!

Okay you are an idiot.

Thanks! 😉

Look again - he only switches his indicator on as I reach him.

I think there's a fine line between determined and rather over enthusiastic.

I might open my eyes on that bit tomorrow

I see people riding like you on my commute home every night usually slow unfit riders desperate to make up time any way they can. They always jump to the front of the queue at lights and set off very, very slowly.

I smell a rat
and it smells troll-shaped

that original incident would have scared me but probably not as much as following you would have
I would dithc the headcam as I cannot see it being much use in your defence moore incriminating evidence
😉

I think brakes has it right. Sorry I didn't realise I was

[i]trolling
buy trolling mugs, tshirts and magnets
Trolling is the act of purposefully antagonizing other people on the internet, generally on message boards. When done in a moderated internet community, this can result in banning. When done to uptight people such as fundies, this can result in hilarity.[/i]

with the 2nd video..

Does that mean we are cycling fundies?

TBH, trolling or not, I'm just a bit meh about this.

So long as I'm not riding with you/the rider from the vids, then I reckon I've got more chance of making it alive through my commutes.