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Overtaking cars?

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  • August 23, 2014 at 11:39 pm #22219
    cbrookes75

    Hello all

    The other day I was confronted with a situation I never thought I would encounter, I was travelling downhill pretty rapidly and was forced to brake quite a bit as the car in front was tootling along at about 15 to 20 mph. My question is, should I have overtaken the car? and If I had tried to overtake and the buffoon sped up, who would be in the wrong? If any of you have any experience of these issues I’d be very glad to hear it! Thanks!

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  • August 28, 2014 at 6:57 pm #811207
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    Tinternet_tim

    WiznaeMe wrote:I may be in a

    WiznaeMe wrote:
    I may be in a minority of one, but I’m not convinced that the British Cycling guide to filtering is a clever way to move through traffic. It advises cyclists to overtake on the outside of queuing traffic adjacent to oncoming vehicles. I can’t see how this gives us a big enough gap. :/

    I HATE passing on the inside of cars and avoid it whenever possible. I find drivers rarely check their nearside wing mirror and there is far to much chance or being left hooked, squashed against the curb/squeeze out or as the other person says ‘having a door opened on you’.

    If you pass on the right, I find drivers use their mirrors much more, possibly because they are thinking about motorbikes and worried about damaging their cars? Or maybe it is just natural instinct to check the right more often as that is where you assume the danger is coming from.
    Saying that, I do quite often find that drivers on my daily commute see you coming and then edge towards the middle of the road to try and stop you getting passed….

    The funniest instance was a queue of stationary traffic at some lights. I passed about 20 cars, got close to the lights and slotted in behind the 2 car in the queue waiting for the lights to change. The woman behind in an MPV jumped on the horn and started to rev the engine to close me out of the gap which I was already in. I looked over my shoulder, shook my head and ignored her. When the lights changed she accelerated hard, swerved on the other side of the road to overtake and then cut me up, only to join another queue of traffic about 50 meters down the road at a roundabout….Oh how I laughed 🙂

    August 28, 2014 at 6:37 pm #811205
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    andrewduffy

    WiznaeMe wrote:I may be in a

    WiznaeMe wrote:
    I may be in a minority of one, but I’m not convinced that the British Cycling guide to filtering is a clever way to move through traffic. It advises cyclists to overtake on the outside of queuing traffic adjacent to oncoming vehicles.

    I got taken out by a passenger door whilst passing stationary traffic on the left. Badly broken finger, bruising and bent bike. 3 months later my finger is still stiff and I’m only just back into cycle commuting. I now think VERY carefully before passing on the left. Passing on the right you are unlikely to encounter a door opening (who gets out in the middle of the road at lights?) and you can clearly see oncoming traffic.

    Of course, sometimes it’s just best to be patient and wait!

    August 27, 2014 at 4:34 pm #811203
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    rggfddne

    Think I’ve overtaken a couple
    Think I’ve overtaken a couple of learners B-)

    Okay in principle, but as others have said err on the side of caution until you know WHY they’re going slow. Quite often it’ll mean lost.

    August 27, 2014 at 4:09 pm #811201
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    Sit at the back and be quiet

    OldRidgeback
    Yes they DO
    OldRidgeback
    Yes they DO slide about an awful lot don’t they. Look at the steering mechanism and you will see a collection of worm gears, drums and chains, more like the steering mechanism on a 19th century sailing ship than anything that would normally be considered roadworthy! Also most of them don’t have brakes, apart from a parking brake!

    August 27, 2014 at 4:08 pm #811199
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    Sit at the back and be quiet

    OldRidgeback
    Yes they DO
    OldRidgeback
    Yes they DO slide about an awful lot don’t they. Look at the steering mechanism and you will see a collection of worm gears, drums and chains, more like the steering mechanism on a 19th century sailing ship than anything that would normally be considered roadworthy! Also most of them don’t have brakes, apart from a parking brake!

    August 27, 2014 at 4:03 pm #811197
    0
    Sit at the back and be quiet

    I can’t really remember ever
    I can’t really remember ever overtaking a car on my push bike but I have done it many (thousands of) times on my motorcycle in 40+ years of “shiney side up” riding. With experience you develop a sort of “sixth sense” about whether it’s OK or not.
    General advice though; car drivers who are driving a bit strangely are worth giving a wide berth ‘cos it usually means they aren’t concentrating and they’re about to do something unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

    August 27, 2014 at 2:31 pm #811195
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    sodit

    Never overtaken a car but
    Never overtaken a car but have passed a tractor but I think it was about 500 years old (ok 50)

    August 27, 2014 at 11:05 am #811193
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    DaveE128

    What others have said – be
    What others have said – be careful. One scenario to watch out for is that they may be about to make a U-turn. You wouldn’t necessarily spot this in the same way as an upcoming right turn as obviously a side road is not needed.

    August 26, 2014 at 3:33 pm #811191
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    tom_w

    I think the standard good
    I think the standard good advice of making eye contact with the driver before executing the manoeuvre probably applies here. Keep an eye on their rear-view and wing mirror, if there not glancing at you they are probably oblivious to your presence.

    August 26, 2014 at 1:17 pm #811189
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    farrell

    OldRidgeback

    OldRidgeback wrote:
    Leeroy_Silk wrote:
    One of these bad boys!

    Aha, a soil compactor then. Steamrollers haven’t been built since the 1920s. I thought you’d overtaken an old roller going to a traction engine/steam event.

    I’ve done this though, up in Cheshire.

    For something referred to as a traction engine, they don’t half slide about the road an awful lot.

    August 26, 2014 at 1:09 pm #811187
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    OldRidgeback

    Leeroy_Silk wrote:One of

    Leeroy_Silk wrote:
    One of these bad boys!

    Aha, a soil compactor then. Steamrollers haven’t been built since the 1920s. I thought you’d overtaken an old roller going to a traction engine/steam event.

    August 26, 2014 at 10:57 am #811185
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    pants

    Joeinpoole wrote:I think you

    Joeinpoole wrote:
    I think you have to be *very* careful in such situations. Cars going slowly often mean the driver is trying to make a decision over what to do next …

    What this guy said, this morning I was nearly hit by a van driver on the phone who rolled out onto a round about as I was approaching, because he was going so slow I assumed he was stopping (It was my right of way anyway as I was on the roundabout). I had to shout to avoid being hit.

    August 25, 2014 at 4:32 pm #811183
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    glynr36

    It’s common sense really, if
    It’s common sense really, if something is coming the other way you’ll have to wait till it’s safe to do so.

    August 25, 2014 at 4:05 pm #811181
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    WiznaeMe

    I may be in a minority of
    I may be in a minority of one, but I’m not convinced that the British Cycling guide to filtering is a clever way to move through traffic. It advises cyclists to overtake on the outside of queuing traffic adjacent to oncoming vehicles. I can’t see how this gives us a big enough gap. Their diagram shows the rider four cars lengths away from an oncoming car with no place to return to a safe place. Perhaps I’ve picked this up wrongly and there is an example of how to do this somewhere on YouTube. :/

    August 25, 2014 at 2:56 pm #811179
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    glynr36

    Just pass them on the right,
    Just pass them on the right, crank up the speed a bit and don’t pull straight in so they have time to see you.

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