SMIDSY

Had an interesting experience this morning as the ‘bad guy’ (i.e. motorist) in a SMIDSY with a guy I see commuting all the time. I turned right out of a t-junction having thought I’d looked to my left enough to see if the coast was clear. Next I saw was an angry cyclist in my rear-view mirror.

The weather was awful, dark skies and heavy rain. The guy had a small Knog Frog-style blinkie (pointing diagonally towards the ground) and dark kit but a fluoro bike. I should have seen him but didn’t and I’m always very aware of checking for cyclists. Fortunately, we missed each other, no-one was hurt but a fright on both parts and a tongue-lashing at the next set of lights. He then put headphones in but that’s one for another day…

Anyway, it gave me an insight into how we behave as cyclists/motorists, how easy it is to be missed at a junction and how we react. I apologised to the guy who wasn’t having any of it, acknowledged my mistake but I said his blinkie pointing down and dark clothing didn’t help me see him in the conditions, even though it’s my responsibility to check the coast is clear. I’ll be double-checking in future so lesson learned there.

My point is that even with a cyclist sitting at near enough 6 feet on the road, with (questionable) lights and a bright bike I STILL didn’t see him with just a quick look. As a cyclist this is scary but reinforces the need to anticipate and pre-empt other road users not seeing me. We just cannot assume that we’ll be seen. He was incensed when I said his dark clothing made him more difficult to see against a dark sky and I can see his point as it’s my responsibility to check the road is clear before pulling out. However, don’t we have a responsibility to our own safety to be as visible as possible to counter idiot motorists like me? I’m not talking head to toe hi-vis but brighter lights and clothing can only help us all to be seen more easily and reduce the risks to ourselves. Yes, cycling around in dark kit looks cooler but if you’re commuting in filthy weather it just doesn’t make sense.

Secondly, we’ve all been on the end of a SMIDSY as cyclists and screamed and gestured at motorists, assuming that they’ll meekly sit by, listen to and accept our validly made points and we’ll never encounter them ever again… I’ll be seeing this guy 4 days a week both in my car and on my bike and he didn’t know who I was or what I was like before he rapped on my window and shouted. It’s important to be assertive on the road but maybe we’d be better to remember to take a breath and pause before chasing down cars and knocking on windows.