[NOtotheEU]

The first bicycle video from the driving instructor I really rate but most of you love to hate! He gets left hooked (but not hit) by a German SUV, who’d have guessed?

To be fair I can see why most people on here don’t think much of him as in another recent video video he says

“You have to look after cyclists because they don’t really read the traffic and read the roads as well as they could do” which is an odd take given that 99% of his ‘driving fails’ are drivers.

On the plus side he then goes on a rant about how mobile use while driving is getting to “ridiculous levels” and “I think it’s about time we had some harsher penelties . . . . as 6 points & £200 doesn’t seem to be working” so I’m sure he’s now going to support Cycling Mikey. OK, I won’t hold my breath.

Topic

[HoarseMann]

IanMSpencer wrote:

IanMSpencer wrote:

my 2012 C Class has a better system than my other half’s much newer car).

I concur. The limit/cruise stalk on an older Merc is great – but they’ve binned it off on the new models for some hateful fiddly buttons on the steering wheel. One of the steering wheel buttons is some sort of touch sensitive joystick – hated it!

At least they brake for you downhill to keep in the limit, instead of just beeping at you if it drifts over the limit – which is what some cars do, even ones with collision avoidance systems that will apply the brakes in that situation.

[chrisonabike]

Unfortunately the thread (and

Unfortunately the thread (and a couple of others it seems) has been left-hooked and now no-one’s thinking about what we were doing before that.

Clearly there’s a market for attention here in which I shouldn’t be buying… actually, time for a ride.

[Rendel Harris]

All of Great Eastern’s

All of Great Eastern’s comments have now disappeared from all threads on this site, which I assume means that the moderators have finally deleted his account. If my assumption is correct, thank you mods!

[mark1a]

Well this has escalated since

Well this has escalated since I first read this article. 

[IanMSpencer]

Mercedes have had a class
Mercedes have had a class-leading limiter for over 25 years. Light as a feather stalk, easily accessible with hand on wheel, 1 and 5moh increments, easy to count and timed just right so it is easy to set without looking. So once it is set, no need to do anything until a speed change.

25 years ago, the basic operation unchanged (now linked into brakes to retain auto control down hills). The VAG system is really naff in comparison, the Vauxhall system was ok, the Renault on a hire car was nearly incomprehensible. These manufacturers must be aware of the Merc system but can’t get near it. It is a feature that makes me stick with them (I’ve had 2 since 1999, my 2012 C Class has a better system than my other half’s much newer car).

[jh2727]

IanMSpencer wrote:

IanMSpencer wrote:

Moreover, the fundamental premise was flawed. I doubt anyone would suggest cruise control was ever a suitable device for driving in urban traffic, even with distance protection (adaptive cruise). Allowing your speed to be determined by the car in front, even within the speed limit, rather than the surroundings is wrong. Speed limiters are an appropriate device and I find them useful to allow me to concentrate on surroundings rather than needing to check how fast I am going (a quiet modern automatic with a torquey low revving diesel gives very little feedback on what actual speed you are going).

My car has adaptive cruise control and also a speed limiter.  Now obviously the technology varies a little bit with different manufacturers, but I find the speed limiter is completely unusable.

I can easily set the speed limiter to my current speed, just the same as with cruise control – but setting it to a chosen speed is nigh on impossible, because the increments are in 1mph – so if I see a change from 30 to 20 mph, I’d have to press the down button 10 times (or hold it for a long period so that it does a 10mph – and hope, or watch it to make sure, that it doesn’t do two jumps. The speed limiter will only limit my acceleration, and not decelerate when I set a lower speed. To maintain a steady speed, I need to keep my foot on the accelerator.

With adapative cruise control, I decide what speed is safe, and set the target speed accordingly – it then gently accelerate or brakes to reach that speed. It maintains a safe distance from the vehicle in front (a larger gap than most motorists allow), however it doesn’t always detect cyclists, particularly if they are cycling close to the kerb or in a cycle lane, so I need to be aware of that. If I see (say) a change speed limit from 30 to 20, I just tap the speed down button twice and by the time I reach the new limit, it will invariably have slowed to the new set speed. If I see a sharp bend or hidden junction, I can tap the speed down or use the foot brake if necessary. When I’m back on the straight, I can tap the speed back up again (or before, because it doesn’t really do much accelerating until the steering is straight). If I need to make small adjustments to the acceration, it will allow that, anything more than small adjustments and it disengages immediately – I always have full control via the pedals. Because I don’t need to keep the accellerator pressed to maintain a constant speed, I can drive with my foot covering the brake pedal – however I find the adaptive cruise control is normally already slowing my vehicle before I even start to think about braking. The important thing is that that the vehicle speed is always under my control – with the exception the emergency collision avoidance features – it is just a that I am using better tools to control it than just brake and accelerator pedals.

[AlsoSomniloquism]

Where did you go to if you

Where did you go to if you don’t mind me asking? Less hilly place then the Black Country?

[anagallis_arvensis]

I posted this comment on the
I posted this comment on the YouTube vid, my question is what do you expect the cyclists to do with the information? I can’t really see how they can respond in a safe manner so I struggle to see the point.

[ktache]

I kind of liked it, I was

I kind of liked it, I was there for a few years either side of the millennium, I thought coming back to Reading, drivers were worse and then those around Farnborough really sucked.

[Jenova20]

NOtotheEU wrote:

Jenova20 wrote:

 

I think you’d have a different experience after cycling in Birmingham for a few days. The drivers are absolutely trying to kill cyclists.

It’s not just me then, a lot of Brummie drivers really are dangerous lunatics.

Birmingham is statistically the most dangerous city in the UK for cyclists. Kind of glad I moved. Though, at the same time this might validate my confusion at the amount of dangerous driving i was constantly exposed to and reporting to WMP.

Source: https://road.cc/content/news/where-are-britains-safest-cities-cycling-292617

[Hirsute]

https://mobile.twitter.com
https://mobile.twitter.com/carlafrancome/status/1550933170555682816

“My 5yo daughter asked to cycle on the road today (as she always does), because it’s so wide and not full of lamp-posts etc.

I chose a quiet stretch on a Sat morning and we rode 2 X 2. But within 30 seconds a driver hooted us to get out of their way. It made her jump.”

[NOtotheEU]

Jenova20 wrote:

 

I think you’d have a different experience after cycling in Birmingham for a few days. The drivers are absolutely trying to kill cyclists.

It’s not just me then, a lot of Brummie drivers really are dangerous lunatics.

[IanMSpencer]

To be fair, it’s not just
To be fair, it’s not just cyclists, they are not very keen on drivers, motorbikes or pedestrians either, and there are regular suicides by car too. Last year we had one 14 year old rolled a car and killed himself in a momentary lapse of attention, and 4 or 5 young people managed to drive into the M42 at about 60mph – unfortunately the builders hadn’t allowed for a 5 metre high ramp at the end of a residential cul-de-sac.

To be even fairer, having seen his videos, they are littered with local scallys doing the same sort of driving round his way, so I suspect he doesn’t need the road trip to find out for himself.

[giff77]

I’ve read a couple of similar

I’ve read a couple of similar reports on that one as well. In some ways I can agree of the perception that some pedestrians have of the bell being aggressive. I’ve witnessed when out walking cyclists pinging a bell like there was no tomorrow and it comes across as a strident out of my way announcement. And usually done at speed. 

On the rare occasions I use shared paths I’ll ping from at least 10 metres out and scrub my speed until I’m past. It allows them to bring their animals to heel if they have one. I will slow down more and ring again if they’ve  not heard and maybe call out politely. I find that this usually works and only on the rare occasion will I encounter a stubborn pedestrian who refuses to budge. 

[Jenova20]

Ashley Neal wrote:

Cycling is without doubt more dangerous, but I’ve never been close to being hit in 30+ years of cycling on the roads. What does this tell you? and it’s not that I’m just lucky! I don’t need better infrastructure (although it would be nice for the less able)

I’m always told that a majority of cyclists are drivers, well if that’s the case I can tell you a majority of drivers are poor. Anyone in this thread up for a free assessment drive with me? Time to put your cards on the table.

I think you’d have a different experience after cycling in Birmingham for a few days. The drivers are absolutely trying to kill cyclists.

[Author]

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