log in
register

Car rolling backwards

  • Creator
    Topic
  • September 10, 2018 at 2:57 pm #28931
    brooksby

    Just wanting to vent a bit.

    I’m cycling to work this morning on a shared-use path – through Abbots Leigh just outside of Bristol.

    I go to cross a side road (from the left, for any cars coming out of that road).  I was coming out from behind the pub you can see here – https://goo.gl/maps/tejryrhLjcp – I was crossing from left to right across this streetview picture (The footpath was turned into a shared-use path and upgraded a couple of years ago, and the council announced at that time that they had no intention of making any sort of changes to priorities on any of the side roads, as that might hold up the traffic…).

    Anyhoo: the side-road appears clear, but as I reach the kerb a small hatchback type car races up to the give way line, angled slightly to the left and with the driver *only* looking to her right, clearly intending to turn left out onto the main road.  Having to change my line at the last minute I go up the side of her and around the back – I was about three feet behind her car (maybe two).

    I’m nearly out of the way when she decides to finally move forward onto the main road, but she clearly was trying to hold her car on the clutch, as she rolls back before catching the car again on the clutch bite: her car knocks my back wheel and rack with a crunching sound. She brakes, rolls down her window as I shout, and opens by saying that I’ve run into her, until I point out that she’s rolled back and hit me.

    She then shouts that I should have given more space to safely pass behind her, and I point out that I was ready to go out onto the road when she approached it at speed and only looking to her right (at no point did she look to her left), and what if I had been a child?

    She gets out of her car, starts to move down the side of her car toward the rear then has to leap back in and put the handbrake on as her car starts rolling backward (!!!).

    She carefully inspects her rear bumper, tells me off again for passing her too close, how its all my fault and she hopes I’ve learned my lesson, and then drives off.

    (Five minutes later I wish I’d laughed at her when her car started rolling away without her in it, and maybe said that it proved my point…)

  • Creator
    Topic
Viewing 5 replies - 16 through 20 (of 20 total)
1 2
  • Author
    Replies
  • September 15, 2018 at 7:11 pm #926927
    0
    RMurphy195
    hirsute wrote:
    I notice a lot of drivers rollback these days, even on a gentle incline.

    I think it’s because they just use the brake, then swap to the accelerator.

    The last one rolled back a couple of feet, and I banged on her side panel, as I thought she was going to hit the car behind (I was tucked away in a hatched area out of harm’s way).

    And to John Smith, you might want to check the driving test examination about rolling back.

     

    Its becasu they don’t use the handbrake – a damn nuisance if you are behind them whatever your vehicle.

    September 15, 2018 at 4:00 pm #926925
    0
    Hirsute

    I notice a lot of drivers

    I notice a lot of drivers rollback these days, even on a gentle incline.

    I think it’s because they just use the brake, then swap to the accelerator.

    The last one rolled back a couple of feet, and I banged on her side panel, as I thought she was going to hit the car behind (I was tucked away in a hatched area out of harm’s way).

    And to John Smith, you might want to check the driving test examination about rolling back.

     

    September 12, 2018 at 9:48 am #926923
    0
    hawkinspeter
    John Smith wrote:
    Whilst in an ideal world everyone would have perfect cluch control and never move backwards, the reaity is that the vast majority of people do roll backwards to a greater or lesser extent when setting off on a hill. I’d suggest either giving much more room, waiting until the road is clear or not using that bit of rubbish half arse infrastructure at all and riding in the road. Thats a truly crap bit of shared-use path, not even some paint. I can’t realy blame the driver in this case. 

    Really?

    You can’t blame the driver for not being in control of their vehicle?

    If you can’t move forwards without rolling backwards then you need to learn to control your vehicle in a safer environment before endangering other road users. It is completely your own responsibility and nothing to do with infrastructure, hills or any other tired, lame excuse.

    September 12, 2018 at 9:41 am #926921
    0
    John Smith

    Whilst in an ideal world

    Whilst in an ideal world everyone would have perfect cluch control and never move backwards, the reaity is that the vast majority of people do roll backwards to a greater or lesser extent when setting off on a hill. I’d suggest either giving much more room, waiting until the road is clear or not using that bit of rubbish half arse infrastructure at all and riding in the road. Thats a truly crap bit of shared-use path, not even some paint. I can’t realy blame the driver in this case. 

    September 12, 2018 at 8:10 am #926919
    0
    morgoth985

    When you catch someone out in

    When you catch someone out in that sort of situation they’ll swear that black is white rather than admit their own failings.  At least when you get an over the top defensive reaction I suspect they know deep down they’re wrong, even though they’ll never admit it.

  • Author
    Replies
Viewing 5 replies - 16 through 20 (of 20 total)
1 2
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.