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Nearly hit a cyclist this morning!

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  • December 5, 2018 at 8:34 am #29181
    freetime101

    Ok so “nearly hit” is a bit of an overstatement, but now I have your attention….

    Travelling to work by car this morning (I know, I know – but it was raining…), I was approaching a set of traffic lights (on green – my right of way), when a cyclist dressed all in black, on a black bike with not a light in sight ambled out across the road. I say ambled as he was in no hurry, despite the cars – this particular stretch of road is a 60 mph limit. 

    It was about 8:10 in the morning so not exactly daylight yet but he did have two small reflective patches on his shoulder….

    Anyway, a tap of the brakes and the world kept turning. My point fellow readers – is a reminder that self preservation is the order of the day! Remember lights and reflectives on these murky mornings!

    Oh, and regardless of who has legal right of way – remember Newtons third law, paraphrased; in a collision, the smaller object usually loses!

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  • December 6, 2018 at 9:12 am #932475
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    Simon E
    Morgoth985 wrote:
    The pitchforks are out today!  Maybe I’m easily taken for a ride (so to speak) but I got the impression that our OP friend was actually a cyclist who on this particular occasion happened to be driving, and was offering friendly advice.

    Who needs the advice? The errant individual he encountered, not people reading road.cc.

    Pointless posts like the OP’s promote the erroneous idea that people who sometimes cycle are a homogenous collective (we are not) and we all need reminding about these things (we don’t).

    December 6, 2018 at 8:32 am #932473
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    morgoth985
    alansmurphy wrote:
    Morgoth, but as some of the sarcastic (or not) responses point out, when we here the daily incidents of a mass pile up on the M6 it rarely tells us whether people went above and beyond the requirement.

     

    “7 people killed in mass pile up on M6 after a black car, without reflective wheel trim, travelling below the average speed of 20mph above the limit collided with another vehicle that could be seen containing an occupant wearing black jeans and no hat” 

    Yes, OK, I take your point, but I think we are slightly at cross purposes.  I will be the first to agree with you that drivers are crap, the media are crap, the law is crap and the way even the crap laws that we do have are enforced and applied is the crappiest of the crap.

    But if it was me, I’d have some lights, I might or might not worry too much about what I was wearing but would probably not go all in black, and I wouldn’t be ambling across a road in low light in the rain.  The law and the environment we live in “should” allow this, I agree, but in practice at the moment I don’t think it’s wise to assume that all drivers will be as alert as our OP.

    December 5, 2018 at 11:22 pm #932471
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    ktache

    Earlier this evening, as I

    Earlier this evening, as I was crossing the Caversham bridge, whilst on the bollard protected cycle route, I saw a small red 4×4 coming the other way, in the middle lane, who had no lights on, not even day light running lights, bit of an older car.  He appeared to be lighting up what I took to be a cigarette.  I think he put his headlights on when I mentioned it to him.  It was not an Audi and no one got hurt.

    December 5, 2018 at 7:01 pm #932469
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    Griff500
    Freetime101 wrote:
    I think perhaps my point has been missed… nevermind…

    I had no difficulty in dealing with this mornings scenario, but it’s a situation that as a cyclist I would try and avoid where possbile. I’m not the only driver on the road and there are many stories out there of cyclists coming off worse on the road and I’d rather not add to it, from either side.

    I think your point was well made, the only mistake you made was suggesting on this site that a cyclist did something wrong. You should know by now that this is against the site rules.  

    December 5, 2018 at 6:52 pm #932467
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    JackBuxton

    Goodness, more people should

    Goodness, more people should jump down OP’s throat and quick! How dare he post a light hearted safety reminder for those that may need to reconsider their attire for riding in low-light/low visibility conditions!!!!!!!

    If cyclists want to stop being victimised for no apparent reason, stop treating others the same f*****g way, otherwise no progress will be made

     

    December 5, 2018 at 6:32 pm #932465
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    Dnnnnnn

    I think the OP’s self-stated

    I think the OP’s self-stated point “a reminder that self preservation is the order of the day” is fair enough. 

    We know that others don’t always honour their Highway Code obligations to preserve us from their two tonne tin cans, so it’s sensible to take some basic precautions, even if not legally-required.

    December 5, 2018 at 6:18 pm #932463
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    Anonymous

    His point is pretty easy to

    His point is pretty easy to get unless you’re one of the non-driving cycling militia. 

    We keep hearing about drivers should be ready to do this and that but how about cyclists get ready not to do stupid shit whilst dressed like ninja’s. 

    Seems to be some strange onus or heirarchy of attention that must be paid. 

    Drivers – pay attention at all times, have ESP and the ability to predict the future 

    Motorcyclists – still pay attention but filter as fast as you want and be ready to be in the right when someone changes lanes as you 120 between them. You’re vulnerable and must be treated as such….even at 120. 

    Cyclists – you’re smaller and will rarely kill anyone apart from yourself so you pretty much can do what you want unless you’re riding a fixie. Ideally you should be wearing hi-viz, have lights and be sober but any or all of those above can be ditched and anything that happens to you probably won’t be your fault. Drunk though a railway crossing….sad and tragic, trains need to slow down. 

    Pedestrians – do what the hell you want. Best form is to never break eye contact with a mobile phone and think about hazards for even a second. You have the moral highground, so off you go…..”pedestrians have the right of way” THAT’S THE  LAW YEAH!

    December 5, 2018 at 5:46 pm #932461
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    CygnusX1

    A muppet ninja? Think I know

    A muppet ninja? Think I know who you are looking for…

    December 5, 2018 at 5:28 pm #932459
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    LastBoyScout

    Saw another example of your

    Saw another example of your ninja cyclist going the other way to me this morning – all in black, on a black bike, with hood up, no lights, in the rain.

    Couldn’t help thinking “Muppet!” – would be quite easy for someone to miss them in the spray and cause another statistic.

    I find it so hard to comprehend why people don’t use lights when decent ones are so cheap and widely available.

    December 5, 2018 at 5:24 pm #932457
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    don simon fbpe
    alansmurphy wrote:
    don simon wrote:
    alansmurphy wrote:
    Freetime101 wrote:
     

    Nothing really, wear what you want and cycle where you want, bro 🙂 

    The only point to my story is a friendly reminder that in the interests of self preservation – be safe be seen!

     

    You saw him/her, so much so you had time to check out their bike and attire and adjust your seed accordingly.

     

    So… what was the point again?

    Eye bleach, please????

     

    I was looking to start a helmet debate!

     

    No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Fingers in ears! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! That’s not working. No! No! No! No! Fingers in eyes!

     

    December 5, 2018 at 5:09 pm #932455
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    alansmurphy

    Morgoth, but as some of the

    Morgoth, but as some of the sarcastic (or not) responses point out, when we here the daily incidents of a mass pile up on the M6 it rarely tells us whether people went above and beyond the requirement.

     

    “7 people killed in mass pile up on M6 after a black car, without reflective wheel trim, travelling below the average speed of 20mph above the limit collided with another vehicle that could be seen containing an occupant wearing black jeans and no hat” 

    December 5, 2018 at 5:09 pm #932453
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    don simon fbpe

    Quote:

    Nearly hit a cyclist this morning!

    In all fairness, there’s one or two ’round here where a bit of a slap would do no harm.

    December 5, 2018 at 4:56 pm #932451
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    hawkinspeter
    Morgoth985 wrote:
    The pitchforks are out today!  Maybe I’m easily taken for a ride (so to speak) but I got the impression that our OP friend was actually a cyclist who on this particular occasion happened to be driving, and was offering friendly advice.  The Highway Code quotes would seem to be at least arguably satisfied by the fact that he did in fact see the cyclist in time and reacted accordingly; nonetheless it sounds like the cyclist hasn’t done himself any favours.  Whilst I agree we shouldn’t bear anywhere near the duty of care that motorists should, due to the balance of risks etc, that doesn’t mean we have no responsibility at all.

    I’m going to need to know how to find him though to pass the message on.

    Was he from around Bristol?

    December 5, 2018 at 4:43 pm #932449
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    morgoth985

    The pitchforks are out today!

    The pitchforks are out today!  Maybe I’m easily taken for a ride (so to speak) but I got the impression that our OP friend was actually a cyclist who on this particular occasion happened to be driving, and was offering friendly advice.  The Highway Code quotes would seem to be at least arguably satisfied by the fact that he did in fact see the cyclist in time and reacted accordingly; nonetheless it sounds like the cyclist hasn’t done himself any favours.  Whilst I agree we shouldn’t bear anywhere near the duty of care that motorists should, due to the balance of risks etc, that doesn’t mean we have no responsibility at all.

    December 5, 2018 at 4:41 pm #932447
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    alansmurphy
    don simon wrote:
    alansmurphy wrote:
    Freetime101 wrote:
     

    Nothing really, wear what you want and cycle where you want, bro 🙂 

    The only point to my story is a friendly reminder that in the interests of self preservation – be safe be seen!

     

    You saw him/her, so much so you had time to check out their bike and attire and adjust your seed accordingly.

     

    So… what was the point again?

    Eye bleach, please????

     

    I was looking to start a helmet debate!

     

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