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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
kil0ran 1 hour ago
I was a few bikes away from the fatal collision during Ride London a few years ago, I barely avoided the victim's dog which was running loose. Definitely one of those slo-mo adrenaline fuelled moments and I was only doing about 40kph. At lead out speeds it really doesn't bear thinking about.
open_roads 1 hour ago
@Xenophon2 "That’s a lot of batteries to keep track of, to the point that I have a dedicated charger with 3 m USB-C cable in my office, another one at home. Can’t imagine having to deal with another battery such as on the Flight Attendant." Top tip: In reality most of the SRAM stuff lasts a month or two even with pretty heavy usage. I just charge all the batteries on the last Sunday of every month and have yet to be caught out. The SRAM batteries are so cheap / small / light it's also worth keeping a spare in a saddle bag or similar.
ajuk.uk@gmail.com 2 hours ago
@chrisonabike There does seem to be evidence that 20 mph limits work on roads that already lend themselves to such low speeds, and I do think the lack of a 25 mph limit option is an issue for some roads. Speed limits should especially not be set very low in the hope that many or most drivers will only exceed them by a set amount because, not only is it not true that many people drive like that, the opposite can happen. Instead of targeting the drivers most likely to cause harm, you're putting the prohibition onto the behaviour of more sensible drivers and forcing the police to target them. The DfT guidance used to have a paragraph calling out this presumption. The extent to which road design and conditions at the time dictate traffic speeds is too stark to ignore. I've seen urban roads with signed 40 mph limits have lower average speeds than some roads with posted 20 mph limits. And yes, that road in Gloucester has signs openly inviting drivers to go faster, and almost none of them do: the non-compliance was about 2%. Compare that to over 99% non-compliance on some roads in Wales. What I'm mainly talking about is the increasing imposition of 20 mph limits on much higher-standard main roads. That's where you see extreme levels of non-compliance. In some cases, the average speed has even been known to go up after the limit has gone down. Showing such contempt just brings speed limits into disrepute and my contention is that drivers should take speed limits seriously.
ajuk.uk@gmail.com 2 hours ago
@chrisonabike There does seem to be evidence that 20 mph limits work on roads that already lend themselves to such low speeds, and I do think the lack of a 25 mph limit option is an issue for some roads. Speed limits should especially not be set very low in the hope that many or most drivers will only exceed them by a set amount because, not only is it not true that many people drive like that, the opposite can happen. Instead of targeting the drivers most likely to cause harm, you're putting the prohibition onto the behaviour of more sensible drivers and forcing the police to target them. The DfT guidance used to have a paragraph calling out this presumption. The extent to which road design and conditions at the time dictate traffic speeds is too stark to ignore. I've seen urban roads with signed 40 mph limits have lower average speeds than some roads with posted 20 mph limits. And yes, that road in Gloucester has signs openly inviting drivers to go faster, and almost none of them do: the non-compliance was about 2%. Compare that to over 99% non-compliance on some roads in Wales. So no, when speed limits match the road, compliance is much higher, but speeds are not. What I'm mainly talking about is the increasing imposition of 20 mph limits on much higher-standard main roads. That's where you see extreme levels of non-compliance. In some cases, the average speed has even been known to go up after the limit has gone down. Showing such contempt just brings speed limits into disrepute and my contention is that drivers should take speed limits seriously.
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@jaymack Yes...to an extent, and I'm happy at the moment with my twelve-year-old Dura Ace mechanical, but I must admit when I had Ultegra Di2 I did notice not so much the ease of shifting but the perfect trimming of the gears after every shift so that the chainline was always absolutely perfect and that did enhance the simple pleasure of being outside, for me anyway. At least until that day I forgot to charge the battery which died at the turnaround on an eighty-mile ride and had to ride a very lumpy forty miles home stuck in 50x14...
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@Daclu Trelub Well no, given that I object to the use of derogatory slurs against people with mental health issues I think I'll "bother" the person who's using derogatory slurs against people with mental health issues. Have a little think, if capable: if your mother or someone else close to you had dementia or mental health issues, would you be happy for people to be pointing at them mockingly saying, "Looks like she's a few chips short of a fish supper"? Stop it.
Daclu Trelub 3 hours ago
@Rendel Harris Go and bother somebody else with your opinion.
jaymack 3 hours ago
I'm sure electronic gears, pedals, seat posts etc. are each a modern marvel but they all seem to solve a problem I've never encountered. However I have encountered others faffing while searching for batteries, cables and even a firmware update. All of which just gets in the way of cycling's simple pleasure - being outside
Rendel Harris 3 hours ago
@Daclu Trelub Yeah...that sort of expression is OK when being jocular about someone who's a bit dense or slow on the uptake, is it really appropriate for someone who quite obviously has mental health/dementia issues?
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.