Near Miss of the Day 408: NHS worker's everyone-back-to-work birthday gift

I thought that to start with, but as AlsoSomniloquism spotted, there was actually a green filter for straight on.

Looked like the pedestrians were all on the other side of that fence, on the big wide footpath instead of next to the road.

Caught between a rock and a hard place I guess - flout social distancing or suffer the grief you'd get from drivers for taking primary to give pedestrians 2m passing distance. Although the latter would avoid clipping those drain covers too.

There seems to be a divide on this one.
Some think you should, some think that the contact time is so low, the hazard of moving out is more risky.
As I expected, pedestrians move into the road to avoid others, so I'm in the first camp.

In the quiet country lanes of Suffolk where there is ample room about 50% of cyclists don't care a hoot for keeping 2 metres from pedestrians or fellow cyclists. Those will be the ones complaining loudest about close passing. I know it's a pain to assume every driver you pass is going to pull out on you but it gets very cold and lonely in the churchyard. My old ex-navy uncle always told me it was foolish to attack a battleship in a rowing boat as you never would win.

I'm not sure what you are alluding to there Bill. Are you saying that on the main road you slow down at every single minor road ' just in case'?
That you expect every single stationary car you pass to pull out and hit you ?
There is only one remedy for that.

Ideally yes, I've been lucky that driver's have hung back up until now letting me move out but as the traffic is getting denser it's harder to do so. Fortunately I still can but it looks like it will be harder in London to do it safely

Do you expect every driver to do that then ?

I'd have been on the tarmac, as I'd have been more central in the lane.

I do indeed expect every driver to do that, and sometimes worse, luckily, I am pleased that most of them don't.

Whilst I expect the worst and very often not disappointed, approaching a red light like that...ok so hold on a mo how is traffic in the left lane even able to move forward to enable the silver car to pull across in the first place? Am I missing something obvious there ?

I wouldn't have expected that,id probably still be thinking wtf did the car directly ahead just do,and the silver car doesnt even indicate and I would have been slap bang on the painted arrow line centre lane, so I'd have been hit.

"Whilst I expect the worst and very often not disappointed, approaching a red light like that...ok so hold on a mo how is traffic in the left lane even able to move forward to enable the silver car to pull across in the first place? Am I missing something obvious there ?"

Green straight on arrow at the bottom of the lights so straight on traffic is filtered on whilst the rest turning right have to wait until fully changed. I suspect the cyclist and most of the traffic is used to that road layout whereas the sharing driver (probably normally uses Public transport and now using a car for social distancing) is not. 

But if you really followed that, you would never make any progress.
In this scenario, you would never advance past the last car in L2 just in case. I don't think that would make you too popular with those behind, and you might even get rear ended !

It's not about stopping just in case, more of being ready to take action, not giving it the beans, and keeping fingers on the brakes, flat bars for me and newish single finger hydraulics.  And keeping a beady eye on the most suspicious looking vehicles and drivers.  Been a victim of the Great British driving abilities too many times to ride without an impending sense of doom and paranoia.  In traffic anyway, the past few weeks were a joy, especially the early part.

Looking at the driver, the wheels, the positioning of the vehicle, listening for the merest change in tone of the surrounding engines, wondering what might happen, ready to take action.  Easing off the power, not sitting heavy on the seat, ready to move.  Anything that can give me the edge.

A bit like looking over the shoulder when approaching a pinch point/pedestrian refuge or a painted SLOW.

Or the head being on a constant swivel when coming upon a roundabout, judging multiple speed, position and inferring drivers intensions, something non cycling drivers don't seem to.

I had assumed that's how most of us on here rode.

Not sure that is quite the same as you said before and clearly here you would have had to stop !

To me it looked more like the driver had swapped from L1 to L2 and also I would have been more central to prevent someone tryinig to squeeze by in L1 before the lights (as it is essential to be in front), hence I would have ended up on the tarmac.

I like to watch these without reading the text first to hopefully improve my own hazard perceptions. As 90% of the traffic had given plenty of room I was anticpating the choke point first which didn't happen. I then thought it was the lights and that car as it was further over then the others in the queue. It was still fast though. 

(He was almost taken out by the peds about to cross over just past the raised section).

I wouldn't have filtered in the other lane with oncoming traffic at the end though as a personal preference. 

They definitely bumped over a manhole/drain cover at one point, which I'd personally consider being bit close to the kerb...

Not allowed? Think how many employers use 'pool' vehicles day to day. You think Royal Mail no longer use their fleet of vehicles now as an example?

I did say not allowed if they aren't cleaned. My employer also has hundreds of sites closed at the moment which the staff are asking to be 'deep cleaned' before they will agree to reopening. I'm enjoying my last week of cycle commuting of empty roads before the cars are all back, I expect Monday will be much busier.