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So are you trying to get someone killed!!!

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  • October 9, 2014 at 11:39 pm #22545
    mathelo

    That is what the angry driver said to me as he passed me from the oncoming traffic after an 18 wheeler flatbed passed me and just about pushed him off the road.

    This is the first time I’ve experienced this sort of thing. I knew it was only a matter of time before I experienced an angry driver but more importantly, I’m wondering if I should have done something different from a safety perspective.

    I wasn’t doing anything unusual. This was a gentle incline, lets say 5%. I was moving along in the range of 10-15 mph. I was hugging the side of the road but there was really no shoulder. The truck driver was giving me plenty of clearance but he was definitely taking up both lanes on this narrow 2 lane road. Being big and heavy, he isn’t particularly maneuverable. I’m not sure he had much choice other than to wait and just follow me.

    So I don’t think I did anything wrong here but if he had hit the oncoming car I would have certainly contributed to that event. Maybe not from a legal perspective but in the cascade of events that could have led to an accident.

    So what do you guys think of this scenario? Should I have done something different? Should I have pulled over and waited for him to pass? What would you have done?

    I should point out this flatbed stopped further up the road to onload the backhoe he was transporting. Simply stopped in the road like he owned it. Of course, he probably didn’t have much choice and this is a lightly traveled road.

    Thanks!

    Louis

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Viewing 4 replies - 16 through 19 (of 19 total)
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  • October 10, 2014 at 7:36 am #817423
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    brooksby

    I’m pretty sure that you are
    I’m pretty sure that you are not responsible for when or where or if the person behind you overtakes. If you are holding a line, and in an appropriate position on the road, then it is entirely up to the following vehicle to make that decision. Certainly not your fault.

    Mind you, HGVs (IMO) do generally figure everyone else will move out of their way, because if you hit a HGV while in another vehicle, it isn’t the HGV that will come off worse…

    Mind you (2), expecting cyclists to pull over “just because” seems to be a very common attitude…

    (Warning – Anecdote: I got into a row with my mother-in-law over it recently, as she was complaining that a cyclist had been cycling along a road near her home and its a winding road, and there wasn’t room for people to overtake, and there was a big queue, and he should have pulled over. Apparently this was because he was “just a cyclist”. I asked if she pulls over and lets larger vehicles or more powerful vehicles pass her? She said no, and asked why. I pointed out that they paid more VED than her and therefore by her own argument doesn’t that mean they have more right to the road than her? She went quiet after that đŸ˜‰ )

    October 10, 2014 at 6:29 am #817421
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    Martyn_K

    The only thing you maybe did
    The only thing you maybe did was hold a passive position on the road which led the truck driver to think that a pass was possible. But without being there, seeing the road and conditions it’s impossible to comment accurately.

    What we don’t know from your description of the event is if there was a good view up the road. If there was, then there was obviously a good view down the road too. Which means that the car driver is as much at fault for not anticipating and slowing down for the truck to pass (once the truck is ‘out there’).

    Keep riding, be positive and don’t let drivers bully you.

    October 10, 2014 at 5:34 am #817419
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    Colin Peyresourde

    You didn’t do anything wrong.
    You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s the motorists that need to modify their behaviour.

    October 10, 2014 at 3:35 am #817417
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    kubla

    you can’t be pulling in
    you can’t be pulling in everytime someone wants to pass, the lorry is the vehicle at fault for not passing at a safe juncture. The irate car driver is blaming you for the lorry’s inability to pass you safely.

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