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Live blog: Edinburgh primary school bike bus; Peter Sagan in bizarre relay race; chauffeur in road rage incident says his manoeuvre “was perfectly safe” + more
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Fri, Oct 26, 2018 08:55
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Latest Comments
wtjs 10 hours ago
@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn't even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury's, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.
bikeman01 12 hours ago
Gustav Gullholm.. that's not a good look mate
mdavidford 14 hours ago
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
jaymack 15 hours ago
As Mary Whitehouse never said - one doesn't have to read the article if one doesn't want to read about an off-road bicycle.
Rendel Harris 16 hours ago
@FionaJJ In London they're allowed to stop on single and double yellows to deliver packages or empty pillar boxes; in practice they take this as carte blanche to park wherever and whenever they want, such as this chap on the Brixton Road who pulled into the bus/cycle/motorcycle lane without indicating, as I approached at 20mph, to park on a red route, response to a remonstrance, "I suppose you never get post delivered do ya?"
FionaJJ 17 hours ago
@Rendel Harris We have a pavement parking ban, but around here at least, royal mail vans are already exempt, subject to certain caveats, such as allowing at least 1.5m, and only being stopped to do their work.
FionaJJ 17 hours ago
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right. I'm now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name - Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters. It's apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I'm not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they'd been given a demonstration with that equipment, they'd have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
Geoff Ingram 19 hours ago
Have put drop bars on a 2001 B1 mtb, a 2007 stumpy hardtail and a 2010 stumpy full suss. In all cases fairly basic conversións leaving gearing and wheels broadly the same and concentrating on correct positioning of bars and fit. Oddly, with all 3 I was happy with the result when recently done, but after a few months found that the extra speed on easy trails was more than offset by the lack of ability (probably mine) on tougher routes and finally preferred flat bar with slammed and inverted stem as best overall compromise. Good fun playing around, though.
mark1a 19 hours ago
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
mattw 20 hours ago
This is a strange reactionary knee jerk overall. But what is this "are essentially motorbikes in disguise" waffle? "One letter claimed that high-powered electric ‘e-bikes’ were “essentially motorbikes” in disguise, with many being used without lights, helmets, or any hi-vis clothing." Surely, they simply ARE motorbikes?
23 thoughts on “Live blog: Edinburgh primary school bike bus; Peter Sagan in bizarre relay race; chauffeur in road rage incident says his manoeuvre “was perfectly safe” + more”
Quote:
I’m going to go with, “Because it was signposted as a left-turn-only lane, so them’s the rules, innit?”
Sorry, based on this limited
Sorry, based on this limited evidence, I’m with the driver.
MarkiMark wrote:
So you think the rules don’t apply? Awesome.
”It was perfectly safe” is the driving equivalent of “it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye”.
vonhelmet wrote:
In all fairness, it doesn’t say that the chauffeur said it was perfectly safe for the cyclist…
MarkiMark wrote:
If you watch the longer version of the vid, you can see the driver drifting left towards a parked white van, presumably cutting off the cyclist who he is still driving along next to having a chat.
MarkiMark wrote:
“limited evidence” is the problem.
The driver has released an edited video which only shows what happens after the traffic starts moving at the lights. The cyclist is clearly already annoyed – but we’re not allowed to see what the driver did to upset him.
Instead we get the driver going straight on in a left only lane then pulling alongside the cyclist and berating him before overtaking and pulling in to block him. Why? Up to the point the cyclist had done nothing wrong, yet the driver feels the need to drive alongside and lecture him and when that doesn’t work stop him to complete the lecture.
The driver knew he’s done something wrong, but he won’t let us see what it was.
“It was perfectly safe”,
“It was perfectly safe”, sorry matey, but It’s not your call.
don simon wrote:
Ah, but you are forgetting, he’s a professional driver….
As for the cyclist, I would have used the other side of the wheel, save damaging the rear mech.
Many comments on this and
Many comments on this and linked posts follow the maxim that the cyclist is always right because he’s a cyclist right?, and the driver is obviously always wrong because they’re all dangerous idiots. It’s a very blinkered way of looking at things. As a regular cyclist around London I see moronic cyclists who shame the rest of us (and yes, moronic motorists also). I suspect only a couple of people know the facts about who was in the wrong in this case. The cyclist, however, has done himself no favours at all in deciding to commit criminal damage to get his point across.
ridiculouscyclist wrote:
I think that driver was obviously wrong for driving straight on from a “left-only” lane and then using his vehicle to block in the cyclist. The cyclist didn’t react well, but it’s very easy to over-react when idiots are putting your life at risk with their idiotic driving.
hawkinspeter wrote:
On the one hand you have someone making another human feel threatened by the incorrect and intimidating use of their car. On the other hand you have someone making another human feel threatened by throwing a bike against the car and through wagging their finger.
Stacking those threats up against each other, the cyclist under-reacted. The driver needs to grow a pair and be thankful he wasn’t twatted.
ridiculouscyclist wrote:
In this case though… the driver has admitted to driving improperly… because he judged it was safe to do so. Rules are put in place because people are clearly incapable (by constant demonstration) of making effective judgements themselves.
The cyclist does indeed do himself no favours however… these situations never end well, so why bother engaging with these idiots? The only time to do so is when you are certain you can stay calm and rational… which is very rarely (never) in the hear of the moment.
ridiculouscyclist wrote:
Get some T-Cut, I’m sure the scratch in the bonnet will buff out.
Well that’s a ridiculous
Well that’s a ridiculous first post.
There’s a couple of key points to me – rarely does a cyclists mistake lead to an innocent party losing their life. Secondly, it’s apparent who was in the wrong, the taxi driver was deliberately using the wrong lane to not sit behind a right turning lorry, he said so himself.
Well played on the “I’m a cyclist” bit though…
alansmurphy wrote:
Well, thanks – you’re clearly a nice, amiable chap.
ridiculouscyclist wrote:
He has his moments.
I found the longer version
I found the longer version others have mentioned, which is misrepresented by the headline in the London Evening Standard.
The guy on the bike knows where the traffic is – all to his right – except that when the chauffeur goes straight on from a left turn lane, he’s got a vehicle (driven by an impatient driver) right behind him. I completely understand why he’s unhappy about that.
When the chauffeur acts like the police and pulls him over by blocking him into the kerb, and saying ‘you’re in trouble now’ several times, I suggest that’s a threat, not the behaviour of an innocent victim of road rage.
The main thing concerning the paper is how much did the car cost, which says everything you need to know about Britain in 2018.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Even before it gets that far it’s clear the driver wants an argument, he rolls down his window and starts shouting accusations at the cyclist. . . and on a par when everyone I’ve ever had a “discussion” with about their driving style, he KNOWS he was in the wrong, because he simply refuses to allow the cyclist to say more than 3 words before interrupting him again.
Ever had that discussion that starts with “Why don’t you use the cycle lane ?” (In this case a shared use, narrow, down a hill under a roundabout, pick an arm in the centre while trying to peer through the concrete walls, and back up the hill on the other side . . . followed by “you cause queues by not using that cycle lane” . . having pointed out I actually follow the road at the same speed as the other traffic (owing to the give way lines etc) I then get the “You ride through the roundabout too fast, doing 40-60km/h”
StuInNorway wrote:
never really a discussion though, is it? Which is why in my experience if you respond at all the only correct response is “why don’t you fuck off?”
If it was a “perfectly safe”
Watching the longer version quoted above, it sounds as if the driver pulls in front, alongside him and then pulls over – using his vehicle to block him in. I’ve had it tonnes of times before. In too much of a rush to wait, then pull over and stop to have a ding-dong with you.
“I didn’t pull in front of
“I didn’t pull in front of you”, “it’s on camera”!
Sorry mate but if I employed you as my chauffeur*, you would be looking for another job due to lack of integrity, honesty and for allowing my vehicle to be damaged to the tune of £1500 because of your idiocy.
I have seen the footage. You did not adhere to the traffic regulations at that junction and proceeded to engage in a totally avoidable altercation with someone who looked at you. You also then DID deliberatly pull directly in front of the cyclist who YOU antagonised and therefore YOU are reponsible for the outcome.
Here is your P45, now go and work for someone who is happy for you to put their family at risk whilst you are driving them around town.
*Assuming that this is a personal hired chauffuer
Pushing50 wrote:
Mini cab driver, in my experiance hardly professional and the majority fall far below the driving standards of black cab drivers in London. Although sometimes that is not a vey high bar.
As well as the paperwork and lanugage tests perhaps TFL should make them pass an advanced driving test?
Driver cant drive. Cyclist
Driver cant drive. Cyclist shouldnt have responded.
Did the cyclist smack the car or did the driver just pull in anyway ?
Not worth the hassle getting involved.