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was going through a set of a lights alongside a new mini and the driver decided to veer left, forcing into the kerb, i slapped the rear quarter to remind the driver i was there, they carried on, i hopped the kerb then 30m up the road they slammed the brakes on in front of me for no reason so i went into their rear quarter. smashed teh light cluster, but luckily only a bit of damage to bar tape and a few scrapes and bruises to me. they then got out and told me not to hit their car to which i calmly explained i was doing it as they clearly hadn't looked on their inside when manouvering. all this makes me thing the driver was trying to knock me off when they braked. oh well.
Everything else considered as long as you're ok, then i'd take this as a victory they have to get a new rear light 🙂
that's more or less my thinking. after knocking me down the driver didn;t even ask if i was ok.
Bike 1 - Car driver a bill for new light cluster.
my bars ends are just right for making a mess of rear lights and shiny bits of body work. Its amazing how much you can ham up a slow speed crash when drivers **** about in traffic.
i've taken to explaining to the drivers in a calm voice that i was reacting that way because of how scared/ terrifed/etc their driving had made me due to their not seeing me/giving enough space/driving like cocks/etc
seems to hit home more, by personalising the issue.
Years and years ago, when I used to be on the dark side, one of the club's members got cut up really badly by a black cab. He chased the cab down (I think he was a Cat 2 roadie so pretty quick) and when he caught up with him at the lights, went at the cab's roof with his bike pump. 😀
Unfortunately he got arrested and charged with affray, of which he was found guilty and given a fine.
Thereafter the cycling club (this was Macclesfield Wheelers if any of you know of that club) introduced an annual award as part of its prize giving ceremony in commemoration of the event. I think it was called something like the Robin ***** Bicycle Pump Award. 😀
this woman was proper having a go at me, so i just rode off. couldn't be bothered to argue really! she wouldn't have listened anyway.
I'm possibly gonna sound like I'm being critical here (dont mean to)
but did the mini actually change lanes?
If it was a single (or thereabouts) junction you HAVE to make sure you own the road-no passively allowing an easy overtake.
Again you may have been doing this, so if so I apologise (and glad you're OK)
surely if you went into the back of her you were riding too close?
either way she sounds like a biatch
At least she has a broken tail light for her troubles. Hopefully a couple of damaged panels of paintwork as well. Glad you are OK
She got what she deserved but in both cases perhaps your road positioning could have been such as to avoid being put in that situation. Own the road. Stare down car drivers. don't let them squeeze you into he kerb and make sure you have an escape route at all times
when she squeezed past me forcing me over i was still in an advisory cycle lane, it was in the lead up to the lights. granted when i hit her i was probably too close, but then i could see ahead and there was nothing in front of her...
pjt, there's your problem, I'd advise folk never to use cyclelanes near junctions, never, ever view that tempting left hand filter lane to the ASL as being safe either.
edit, I never use on road cyclelanes AT ALL, and I think its the reason I have such a low incident rate, compared with some.
Agreed - if the traffic is moving you want to be owning a lane unless there is loads of room to pass.
yes 1-0 to bikes. Well done and glad you're ok.
I get a lot of stick for cycling so far out from the curb when i commute but to be honest I feel its the only way to make most drivers understand they must overtake me like a small vehicle not just graze past me.
In the past I have had wing mirrors pick my right arm off my handlebar as drivers think they can squeeze past me. I have had a driver stop and throw bottled water at me for overtaking him in traffic when all cars were gridlocked... blew him a kiss and told him to fekk off.
If you hit a car from behind, the police's view is almost always that it was the vehicle behind (car or bike or whatevers) fault as they didnt leave enough braking space, this even includes when the drivers do illegal u-turns, without indicating, and your head meets their rear boot and leave head sized dents in the body work.
Be careful out there. ;o)
it happened to me about a year ago, parked car pulled out on me, it was an instant reaction for my leg to lift and kick me away from the car... a strange reaction i know, my mate cycling behind said it looked hilarious. anyway the car did stop its maneuver and i cycled infront only for the driver and his wife to catch me up and start with the verbal abuse through their window, he then tried to swerve at me again! after that i got to vent a lot of my frustrations out on his car wildly kicking punching and throwing my water bottle as he eventually got out of reach. all amidst pedalling like crazy to try and keep up with him. before i turned into a lunatic i did try saying calmly that he pulled out on me and yet he is angry with me?
you have called the police? If this driver is using a car as a weapon, someone's going to get dead. If several people have called in with complaints about the same driver, they may get a visit and possibly a caution..
bassspine if that was for me, no i didnt i should have i know, but immediatly after i just couldnt believe it had happened really and i also started to question myself and reaction... having to stop and pick my water bottle back up after throwing it knocked the wind out of me to.
Basspine, this is a nice idea, but meanwhile in the real world it never happens.
Most police have too much trouble dealing with easily provable crime to waste resources on your-word -against-theirs traffic non-crime.
And thats the officers that would like to help, there is a minority that think that cyclists on the road ask for it by 'holding up and frustrating motorists'.
Glad you're Ok, hope it doesn't happen again.
S.
i wasn't "owning the lane" (which i normally try to do) as the lights were red when i came up behind the queue of traffic. i had overtaken the mini and then been re-overtaken when she pulled across me so should have been aware that i was there!
basspine is right, i probably should have reported to the police but didn't think to get her reg at the time. i was more concerned with avoiding an argument as i really couldn't see the point. she obviously wasn't going to admit she'd done anything wrong. she even pushed me at one point.
have to say I fear women drivers every near miss so far has been woman driver. The school run or shopping or late for work I guess. They just don't seem to be aware of whats around them. This week coming up to pass a T junction on commute to work I saw this woman who clearly wasnt stopping at the T junction so I did. It wasnt until she was half way in the road did she see me and I got the the usual look of shock and oh god I didn't see you. What sort of driver dosent stop at a marked T junction>?
If you report it to the police then she will get your details and go after you with a civil claim?
If the cyclelane was there, then technically she was in the wrong for manoevering without checking both sides, but righteous technicalities dont help us much , in future I'd make sure that you're in primary at this point, even if you have to wait in the queue for a few seconds.
i think you did extremely well at not loosing your rage at her... credit to you. i would have almost certainly made things worse. as you say you come out as winner in this one, if your ok. did she not try and blame the damage to her car on you?
While I've been known to do it in the past (notably in france after being cut up at the parapet of a bridge over a rive), I'm not sure slapping cars helps much. All you do is anger the driver and get them in defensive mode, at which point nothing you say will sink in as they feel like a victim.
yeah, i agree with coffeeking, slapping was only meant to tell her i was there so she would stop pulling in towards me which she did. it was undoubtedly what made her do what she did afterwards, so in that respect wasn't very good. but then if that happened in a car (if there were two lanes and someone was veering) then you would use your horn (which as discussed on here the other day is the right use of the horn), but then you have no such luxury on a bike - what use is a bell!?!
she didn't notice the damage when i was there, which was one reason i was happy to stay calm and leave her to be angry...
just remember folks your body is like a carrier bag full of giblets.
Car versus bike aint a fair fight.
i'm well aware of that! i wasn't going out of my way to piss the driver off or looking for a fight, it was bought to me. will revise how i use that junction in future though.
pjt201 - air zound, plenty loud enough to be heard in a car!
an airzound would ruin the lines of my bike though! 😉
even then i'm sure there are drivers who would be pissed off with that.