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and shouldnt cars be insured
http://road.cc/content/news/99161-police-confiscate-£170000-mclaren-after-driver-hits-cyclist
and the whole of the mets 2500 road policing unit are to take zero tolerance against all road users flouting the road laws.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24989985
in the pop out window interview
You probably could but if it takes 23 mirrors to cover them all then it's a bit of a nightmare trying to see them all. something like this is probably what's needed.You would have thought it would be very simple to come up with a better mirror system to remove the blind spot completely.
I have seen that before too Graham and it does look promising. However as is often the case it is something that needs to be looked for rather than being forced upon people. A proper ad campaign that sits in bewteen all the adverts about lazy bears and thieving kids is what is needed.
I can't believe people still filter up the inside/left of vehicles.
I'm acutely aware of my vulnerability when I'm on a bike and i wait in traffic or filter down the right of traffic using the crown of the road so I'm at my most visible... the same way I ride my motorbike actually.
If there is an HGV, coach etc turning left I'll wait behind it rather than move alongside it....sadly the militant lycra warriors I often see in town don't help themselves.
deviant: please don't fall for the Boris notion that cyclists killed by HGVs have somehow brought it on themselves by filtering down the side.
That isn't always the case.
I can't believe people still filter up the inside/left of vehicles.
Some of our road infrastructure encourages it - cycle lanes that have an ASL at the front for example. So the cyclist quite reasonably uses the lane to filter, only to find a car stopped in the ASL. What then?
Ransos...wait in traffic?
We all know cycle lanes aren't perfect but you're under no obligation to use them.
I ride my road bike like I ride my motorbike and find it much safer than spending my time on a bike in the gutter using poorly thought out cycling infrastructure.
Graham S... well aware that not all cyclists contribute to their own accidents, often the motorist is at fault.
My issue is the holier than thou attitude from some cyclists who believe they can do no wrong and see the car as 'the enemy'.... its pathetic and it only takes a healthy dose of common sense to ride safely on the road.... the one near miss I've had was when I moved up the inside of a car at a roundabout and he turned left nearly hitting me.... His fault?.... Absolutely.... but taking the high ground won't do me any good if I'm six feet under so I don't do that kind of thing anymore.
it only takes a healthy dose of common sense to ride safely on the road.
Common sense helps - but when "common sense" involves deliberately ignoring the provisions that are [i]supposed[/i] to be there to protect us then there is something wrong.
Ransos...wait in traffic?
Which is what I do. My point is that in the example I gave, our road infrastructure encourages cyclists to put themselves in danger. It's not reasonable to expect all cyclists to know that, especially if we want it to be a means of mass transport.
Do these lorries fail to indicate? Are the indicators not very visible or not used well enough in advance?
I can imagine a safety system where the steering wheel can't be turned past a certain angle without indicating for a minimum period. That angle could be related to and change according to speed so that the vehicle can still react safely at speed or park. Then make sure the indicators are highly visible and possibly audible. And finally add very close object detection for imminent collisions such as maybe 1 foot - just enough room to potentially survive without setting the alarm off at every piece of street furniture.
On an aside - there have been examples of police schemes stopping motorcyclists & advising them about wearing protective clothing, so its not just cyclists getting special treatment 😕
Wait in a lorries blind spot? Which is what you're suggesting unless I've misread ransos example.Ransos...wait in traffic?
not got any links to hand but I believe atleast one of the tipper truck incidents last year the driver didn't indicate.Do these lorries fail to indicate? Are the indicators not very visible or not used well enough in advance?
hmmm thats one idea, but sounds like it could have scary consequences "Argh my car wont turn what do I do?" (whilst still travelling obviously, braking always seems to be the last resort). I've been filtering passed car near junctions and they suddenly swung a left. If they had been indicating no way would I have filtered (or I'd have gone down the right of them) had a guy this morning, I was passing him as he started to speed up straight on or left ahead I'm not indicating as I'm going straight on neither is he, I look around a few times trying to figure out where he is going, he slowed down seemingly unsure of what I was doing but he didn't slow down to get behind me just enough to block me in as he cut left left alongside me (he did indicate mid manoeuvre)I can imagine a safety system where the steering wheel can't be turned past a certain angle without indicating for a minimum period.
DONK...not suggesting that a cyclist waits in the blind spot, that is the existing problem with vehicles turning left, they cant see the cyclist close, down and to their left...they cant even do a quick shoulder check as you could if you were checking the right side of the vehicle as the steering wheel is the wrong side for this kind of incident.
I'm suggesting waiting in line, like the rest of the traffic.
Some cyclists seem to have this obsession with getting places ASAP and it leads to stupid behaviour like running red lights, filtering down the inside of vehicles etc....its almost like the militant ones are out to prove a point about how much quicker a bike can be in the city, its pointless if you're dead.
If a junction, roundabout etc looks dangerous then just wait in line with the rest of the traffic until you can be sure of turning left without a large vehicle squishing you, its really not that hard but some of the lycra clad warriors i see in town seem to have a great deal of difficulty with it.
If I won the lottery, I would buy a massive box of front/rear lights and multi-packs of batteries to hand out to people who I saw riding without lights.
Can't say it would be top of my list!
I reckon appropriate algorithms could be worked out in conjunction with GPS. They've been developing self driving cars for years whereas my suggestion would be simpler given that you still have the driver. It could force people to drive more considerately and safely if they know they need to indicate and or slow down a bit. Forcing drivers to think ahead could calm things down considerably. Unfortunately I doubt that there's the will at the moment to introduce a potentially costly system unless it allows people to overcome access restrictions.
I don't know if this is always the case, but from what I've observed with several cars it seems to be the case that the indicator flashes alternately to your dashboard, and that the dashboard flashes first. So many people seem to indicate as they manoeuvre, perhaps as they brush the control as they turn the wheel. Therefore they might think they're indicating just about in time when in fact they're already well into the manoeuvre.
..the militant ones are out to prove a point ... lycra clad warriors ...
It really is incredibly depressing to hear language like this on a bike forum. 🙁
..the militant ones are out to prove a point ... lycra clad warriors ...It really is incredibly depressing to hear language like this on a bike forum
The wording is not ideal but I can appreciate the sentiment. I do think that some cyclists, be it in lycra or not, do not do themselves any favours weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights etc. I just think that if we want and expect other road users to treat and respect us like a motor vehicle we should ride as though we are in charge of a motor vehicle.
I just think that if we want and expect other road users to treat and respect us like a motor vehicle we should ride as though we are in charge of a motor vehicle.
I want and expect other road users to treat me as if I'm a cyclist.
we want to be treated like a legitimate road user we don't want to be treated like a car because we aren't remotely similar.I just think that if we want and expect other road users to treat and respect us like a motor vehicle we should ride as though we are in charge of a motor vehicle.
(normally) Cars don't wobble, cars don't fall over, cars don't get blown several feet sideways in strong winds. We are different and need to be treated as such. Drivers want to be able to get passed us asap in free flowing traffic but some get into a right tizzy when we pass them in heavy traffic, they can't have it both ways. We're different but we still have every right to be there
more to the point, the idea that i can't expect to be treated with respect because other people (who happen to also ride bikes) are idiots, is a little odd.
if we want and expect other road users to treat and respect us like a motor vehicle we should ride as though we are in charge of a motor vehicle
You mean ignore any road laws that don't suit us and aggressively bully other road users that get in our way?
It really is incredibly depressing to hear language like this on a bike forum.
You've not been coming here long then. Depressingly frequent.
ome cyclists, be it in lycra or not, do not do themselves any favours weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights etc. I just think that if we want and expect other road users to treat and respect
blah blah blah blah
Bez, of this parish, [url= http://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/the-most-basic-respect/ ]puts it very well [/url]
[i]Respect does not have to be earned.
You can walk out into the street, see hundreds of people whom you’ve never met before in your life, and you can respect them. You can let them do what they’re doing, wear what they’re wearing, say what they’re saying. It’s perfectly normal and natural and – by and large – everyone does this. It’s basic respect that we all have for each other by default.
Yet, somehow, many people seem to have a philosophical problem with extending this to the idea of driving in such a way as to simply ensure that these people stay alive.[/i]
Bez, of this parish, puts it very well
Bez linked to this blog article on Twitter about an hour ago:
http://primlystable.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/dead-cyclists-missing-helmets-and.html
What I was trying to say is that we as cyclists should obey the the laws of the road. Too often I see cyclists that do not.
Furthermore I do want to be treated like a motor vehicle, meaning that other road users would let ke know of their intentions by using indicators, give me ample space when overtaking, don't cut me up etc.
I am quite looking forward to leaving the office tonight and hope to find a policeman to discuss the lack of helmets with. sadly being out of the centre chances are I wont see one.
Bez, sums it up nicely.
C'mon folks they should be focused on lights. I see enough numptys cycling in the dusk /dark without and its a personal hobby to point it out as I pass them.
What I was trying to say is that we as cyclists should obey the the laws of the road. Too often I see cyclists that do not.
Yeah, I agree we [i]should[/i], but so [i]should[/i] motorists.
Why should cyclists only expect respect if every single one of them obeys a set of rules that other road users regularly ignore?
Surely if anyone should be sticking to the rules it is the folk behind the wheel of vehicles that injure 200,000 people a year?
So now [s]the village idiot[/s] Boris is blaming it on headphones
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/boris-johnson-considers-banning-cyclists-headphones
I do think that some cyclists, be it in lycra or not, do not do themselves any favours weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights etc.
and every single car user is such a paragon of virtue
In any group you get those who dont obey the rules but when the heavy metal boxed dont do it we are more likely to get injured folk.
I have yet to hear anyone point out that some car drivers drive really badly so we can show a lack of respect to them all
Its not my fault , and their is **** all i can do about, if other road users drive poorly. Give me some respect please for I am vulnerable as I am not in a large metal box designed to protect me in the event of a crash
I gave up on these threads even on a "cycling community" the car is king and we are dicks for cycling
Sad isn't that even on a cycling forum we still get bullshit about earning respect and obeying the rules.
[b]Everyone[/b] has a right to respect on the road.
[b]Everyone[/b] [i]should[/i] obey the rules of the road.
I want to be treated like a human being who may have a wife, a husband, kids, friends, and not have anyone risk my life or anyone else's because of their selfish need to get where they want to be 10 seconds faster than they were going to before I appeared 'in the way'.
What I was trying to say is that we as cyclists should obey the the laws of the road. Too often I see cyclists that do not.
Despite many laws of the road existing for the benefit of motorists, I agree with you. However, the consequences to others of cyclists breaking the law are rather different to motorists...so which do we focus on?
what a dickSo now the village idiot Boris is blaming it on headphones
so wearing earphones prevents cyclists from hearing an audible warning that lorries don't currently have? Epic logic.He (DCS Jones) said he shared Johnson's worries about headphones. "There is, I think, good call for lorries to have audible warning signals when they're turning left, but cyclists with headphones won't hear them.
Where can I buy these headphones that completely block out the noise of an HGV engine idling next to me? They sound great.
I'm genuinely amazed at the way the cyclists of london are getting it in the neck despite the fact the hard evidence of why people are being killed is there for all to see.
The RLJ argument needs to do one. It's completely irrelevant. As are headphones.