[Closed] Motorist tweets of knocking off cyclist...

One of the good things about VED is a lot of people suddenly 'remember' to do their MOT or renew their insurance when they need the tax disk (I know many don't). I suspect that's more of it's reason for existence for the government.

You got a bite Junkyard. 😀

Don't worry excitable1 (aptly named) Junkyard was just teasing. (me specifically I think)

the poster was being fascicious(sp) i suspect.

living up to your name

...what Brian ?! 😉

the poster was being fascicious(sp) i suspect

Sod this for a game of soldiers, I'm back off to the 1D message board. None of these bloody big words or double meanings on there, just a lot of love for each other, the boys, and good quality music !

You got a bite Junkyard.

Don't worry excitable1 (aptly named) Junkyard was just teasing. (me specifically I think)

I though he was one of the characters from 'Down the line'

If he wasn't I bet he soon will be...

A great word - facetious. It's got all the vowels in it - AND THEY ARE IN THE CORRECT ORDER!!

Incidentally, I seem to be seeing far fewer RLJers these days. On my epic trek across London this morning I only saw two, and one was a left turn. They were also the only two people I saw dressed entirely in normal clothes, the lycra louts were impeccably behaved. Except me cutting across two lanes of (admittedly stationary) traffic, because I had no idea where I was going or where I was even meant to go so I had to pull over!

Only go into London one day a week now but I have seen a fair few cyclists being pulled over for RLJing.

Good I say, but they should put those advance stop boxes before the traffic lights as well and enforce them, which they do not.

And they should run a national TV campaign showing cyclists how huge the lorry drivers blind spots are to stop them crawling up the inside of them - i.e. show the lorries some respect to the same level they would like returned.

Bring in strict liability, but also punish cyclists that flout the law.

And ban Addison Lee taxis from the roads...

Nice to know the huge HGV's are being driven by such calm understanding people...

Good I say, but they should put those advance stop boxes before the traffic lights as well and enforce them, which they do not.

Yep! A motorist entering an advanced stop box is breaking exactly the same law as the dreaded RLJing cyclist. Likewise those motorists that cruise through amber lights.

Funnily enough many motorists will tell you that this "doesn't count".

Bring in strict liability, but also punish cyclists that flout the law.

Seems fair - but only if they also punish motorists that flout the law too - after all their potential for harm is far greater than that of a cyclist.

Thanks for the clip Horatio - at the start does Jeremey say she was "getting increasingly frustrated at a bunch of cyclists that were holding her up"

Doesn't that rather contradict the other reports that suggested it was just him and his mate and he was struck head on as she came round the corner?

Edit: never mind I see Carlton corrects him 😀

Lorry driver seems to be complaining about a moped rider too... 😐

I ride through London on normal clothes every weekday on my Brompton.

I'm a good lad and obey traffic signals and the rules of the road.

I often see RLJing and this is by buses, lorries, cars, taxis, motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles. Now, my experience (which is in no way scientific) looking at fellow people on bicycles is that if you look at RLJing and gender, then by far the biggest group of offenders are women.

I'd estimate that of all the women I see riding in London, 85% RLJ

I often see RLJing and this is by buses, lorries, cars, taxis, motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles.

Lorries, cars and taxis jumping red lights. No. Surely it is ONLY lycra lout cyclists that do that?

Apparently not.

I would run a national ad campaign for cycle safety, and have equal time for BOTH sides. Educate motorists to respect cyclists, and educate cyclists to respect the rules and not take the piss.

FWIW the two examples this morning were one of each gender. The bloke sailed through a left turn without even looking, cutting up the inside of a van pulling away also turning left; the woman just sailed straight on also appearing not to look 😯

then by far the biggest group of offenders are women.

Sad, but I have to agree with the above having commuted in London for about 10 years. The opposing lights would changes - several taxis, busses etc would go through on amber then red; when 'my' lights were changing there would be the private cars still coming through, more often than not, singlular female motorists. I'm far from being a misogynist, it's just what I frequently observed.

I'm really hoping that the massive publicity that this stupidity has caused will create a better world for cyclists. Hatred for 2 wheelers seems to be endemic in much the way that most other forms of xenophobia are in the UK. Racism and Homophobia appear to be on the decline thanks to widespread publicity, maybe we'll be next.

I regularly HAVE to jump [url= http://goo.gl/maps/jkVcF ]this set of lights[/url].

In my defence the road I'm coming from is a dead-end (roughly 15 metres long) leading to a boat ramp, the road I'm going to is a dead-end that only leads to the pub, and the one I'm crossing only has traffic in one direction at a time due to the single-lane bridge on it.

Also the sensor on those lights often fails to pick up bikes - I sat there for two complete cycles the other day before giving up. 😕

I'm such a lout

[i]GrahamS and I have had off stw forays into arguing with car lovers on this issue [/i]

I think I've ridden past you a few times on night rides. Was the argument around who was next?

Middle age women in white Range Rovers

+1

I was surprised to be impressed by Carlton, very calm level headed. I'd worried he would be a them and us type, proved wrong I was. pretty obvious the lorry guy wasn't listening to what other people were saying.

"Can you rant about cyclists for a few minutes?"

"Too bloody right I can"

"You're booked"

GrahamS - I don't think I have ever stopped at those lights.

GrahamS - I don't think I have ever stopped at those lights.

I feel obliged to, cos I'm usually wearing the Sustrans hiviz vest.
And also I don't like fuelling the "cyclists don't stop at red" thing.

But to be honest they are utterly pointless and in a saner world of personal responsibility there wouldn't be any lights there at all.

I once got warmly congratulated by an old boy for having the good character to stop at them... as him and his mate drifted through them on their bikes.. 😆

On the whole RLJ thing I just treat every junction as if it had a ASL. The one outside work has probably a 40m gap between the stop line and the roundabout it's controlling. So I could either sit there and hold trafic up riding onto the roundabout (by the time I got there the cars coming from the right could be on green). Or just go straight through the 'red light' and stop at the roundabout (as the light itself is still visible) and wait there so I'm not fighting it out with a load of fustrated idiots in tin boxes.

If the roudabout was actualy set up for bikes then I'd obay the letter of the law, untill then I'll just do my own risk assessment and ride accordingly.

I just treat every junction as if it had a ASL

Me too - good sense.

Once upon a time i jumped a couple of sets of red lights in succession with a police van closely following me from behind. I was late as usual and giving it the clappers, the lads in the van seemed not to disapprove at all.

ASL's, complete rubbish.

Just given drivers a new line to pull up at, meaning the cheeky space that bikes and motorbikes used to have available to pull into at the front is often gone. If the ASL is clear, then a motorbike is expected to filter and stop between the rows of traffic - and if you're following that motorbike then you're stuck. And because even a cyclist shouldn't enter it through the solid line then in most cases you must filter on the far left if you want to use - and in some cases even a cyclist can't legally enter it because it's ALL solid white line.

No wonder they're not enforced.

My old commute had a left turn then down a road where vehicles could not pass me for about 1/4 mile. I could obey the lights and then hold them all up or jump them and be clear by the time they turned green. The later was also safer for me

She has apologised!
http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2013-05-22/im-sorry-says-cycle-tweet-girl/

For tweeting, not the rest of it. Oh well.

That ITV video is absolutely unbelievable. I hope it's an edited version that cuts out her apology for hitting him in the first place.

Sorry my arse, what a cretin

National? You wish. The whole world has heard about this by now, love. 😆

Is that edited ? She seems to be only be sorry about what the consequences have been for her rather than for doing a hit and run or hitting someone...she does not seem to get the point.
It must be edited

Yes, I too am confident that she has entirely seen the error of her ways and is now a changed, good person.

Slightly longer version here:

Where she says "she would obviously apologise" but she didn't hit him his handlebar just "donked the mirror".

Oh and "I'm a cyclist myself" 🙄

Permission to get very excited about her reply please !!!!!

Permission granted!

with a bit of luck, she will loose her job, possibly her driving lisence,this is the only things that these morons will understand, when they get hit in their pockets, as far as all theses car tax debates, i think you give these morons too much credit, do you really think she would have behaved any differently if cyclists had a tax disc in front of their bikes,they only spout out the tax crap because thats the way they justify the way they feel about cyclists,it all comes down to one thing, were in their way full stop, how many times have you drivers seen a vehicle speed past you to only catch them up at traffic lights, nothing to do with tax, all about getting one car in front, its about time the government took its head out of its arse and started handing out siffer sentences, the only way these drivers will listen is when their jobs and driving lisences are on the line, instead of having a slap on the wrist and a small fine, theres enough speed cameras to catch these idiots, its just not one of the governments priorities, after all if loads of these drivers lost thier jobs who would pay their benefits, my rant over .

She doesn't to me come off to well in that video/interview at all, apology to the cyclist as almost an after thought, her career may be over, against the fact she could of ended somebody else's career or even their life, and just exactly can it be blown out of proportion?

That video doesn't quite have the desired effect, does it... She's clearly sincerely remorseful for the accident and her inability to drive safely, that's the overwhelming message I took from that.

and just exactly can it be blown out of proportion?

No, you've got it wrong, it's been "blown out of [i]precaution[/i]"

Bollox, Steviecapt has got far more excited about this than I could have ever done !

that video is horrific

"...if i could take back doing that tweet i would."

NOT SORRY ABOUT HITTING THE CHAP ARE YOU?! shes just sorry she got caught. i hope this event has ruined her life.

She's clearly sincerely remorseful for the accident and her inability to drive safely, that's the overwhelming message I took from that.

That's definitely the bit she's most sorry about.