A rush hour collision between a cyclist and a motorist, who pulled across three lanes before hitting the rider, has sparked a heated debate on social media, where motorists have claimed that the female cyclist was at fault for failing to avoid the collision – with some drivers even claiming that the rider deliberately steered into the vehicle.
The clip, which was captured by the dash cam of cyclist Gary’s Transit van, was posted on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter on Thursday night and has since been viewed over 170,000 times.
It shows a hi-vis-clad female cyclist riding in a bus lane East Bridge Street, just outside Lanyon Place railway station, in the direction of Belfast city centre at around 7.45am in the morning, when a motorist, travelling in the opposite direction, pulled across three lanes and hit the rider, who emerged relatively unscathed from the collision.
This morning heading into Belfast city centre. ? @theJeremyVine @MikeyCycling @StormontCyclist @anneramsey740 @CyclingUK_NI @PassPixi pic.twitter.com/aKsUibpXT4
— Gazza (@garyarrell) January 25, 2024
Describing the collision, Gary said: “I did not let the car across, I was leaving the gap for the car on the left emerging. But the driver indicated and pulled across so quickly, assuming it was clear to go, he didn’t check.
“He didn’t see the cyclist because he plain didn’t look for it. His reactions were good when he did to be fair. He had stopped (just about) but the cyclist was on the brakes and slowing down.
He continued: “The cyclist could have anticipated a little better, but her head is clearly up and she is on the brakes. Can’t brake and swerve at the same time on two wheels or you’ll hit the deck.
“We all have a duty of care on the roads but no you can’t rely on anyone these days. Some take that duty of care more seriously than others.”
Despite Gary’s rather balanced appraisal of the collision, the clip – rather inevitably – led to a deluge of motorists claiming that the cyclist was solely at fault for the crash.
“If the cyclist was paying attention, he/she could have avoided that,” wrote Kesh. “Also, the car clearly hasn’t seen the cyclist coming due to visibility being blocked by cam car.”
“Car stopped the second it saw the cyclist, the vehicle recording blocked the view of the other driver seeing the cyclist, cyclist didn’t apply his brakes in time because he was travelling too fast at a busy junction,” added another user.
“Bike’s fault. I’m not even trying to cause an argument,” said Earl. “When filtering you have to take responsibility at junctions. The bike just went for it. Car has a right to turn and it would have been impossible to see the bike in them conditions.”
Some motorists, meanwhile, even attempted to claim that the cyclist had intentionally made contact with the motorist’s vehicle to cause the collision.
“It might just be the camera angle, but if you slow the video down just as the cyclist comes into frame, it looks like he changed angle to make sure he made contact with the car,” wrote Kevin. “Also he could have narrowly avoided the car by pulley slightly to the left.”
“He’s done the equivalent of sticking your leg out to make contact with the defender to win a penalty,” agreed LF. “Shocking dive, yellow card worthy.”
Car was in cyclists blind spot and wasn’t in hi-viz. cyclist didn’t stand a chance.
— FoobarSaunders (@FoobarSaunders) January 26, 2024
That particular argument was swiftly condemned by Gary and other Twitter-using cyclists.
“Didn’t change direction and she was attempting to brake in a straight line. If she had changed direction with the wet road on the brakes the most likely outcome was her falling off anyway. She did NOT intentionally hit the car,” said Gary.
“Another person who feels the need to bend over backwards to find a reason – ANY reason – why the car driver shouldn’t be blamed. Do you seriously think we cyclists deliberately try to get hit by cars? WHY???” asked Ymke.
Finally, Andreas summed the whole debate up: “I see the comments are mostly that the cyclist was at fault for (checks notes) cycling.”
.@PSNIBelfast driver of CMZ 3116 pulled diagonally into the bike box, getting unnecessarily close to both the cyclists and the white car, then decided to get out, nearly hitting the other car and scream at the cyclists for having the audacity to point out the bike box. pic.twitter.com/zWBX8K244f
— The Belfast Urbanist ? (@BelfastUrbanist) January 12, 2024
Ironically, the hotly debated collision took place mere yards away from another incident that caused a mini-social media furore two weeks ago. That incident, which happened on the same road but in the opposite direction, saw a driver pull diagonally into a bike box, almost colliding with cyclists and an adjacent car.
After the cyclists had pointed out the motorist’s mistake, he then emerged from his vehicle to berate the riders, holding up traffic as the lights turned green.
And in December, footage released by West Midlands Police, showing the moment a 71-year-old cyclist was left with a bleed on the brain, a broken shoulder, and a broken ankle after a driver ignored give way markings and caused the collision, provoked a wave of social media users queuing up to defend the motorist’s driving.
Despite the motorist being jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving, some claimed that the cyclist was “irresponsible” and “shouldn’t have been going that fast”, and that they were “probably breaking the speed limit but clearly not proceeding towards a major crossing with caution”.
Responding to those questionable replies, BBC and Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine, who cycles around London and posts videos of his travels on social media, wrote: “Watch the red car. Watch the cyclist. Now ask yourself, ‘Was the woman on the bicycle to blame in any way for that collision? Should she have avoided it?’
“If your answer is any version of yes, YOU MUST stop driving and surrender your driving licence to the authorities.”
39 thoughts on ““Looks like the cyclist deliberately made contact with the car”: Driver pulls across three lanes and hits cyclist – and motorists claim cyclist was at fault”
As drivers are happy to
As drivers are happy to demand that cyclists do everything, and more, to avoid collisions, what did this driver do to avoid hitting the cyclist? The question includes the basic premise of ensuring the road ahead is clear… (for the smart arses, given the cyclist was there, the driver could not have been 100% sure and therefore shouldn’t have moved).
How was I supposed to make
How was I supposed to make that turn – you tell me
You wait until it is safe to
You wait until it is safe to do so. Why is that such a hard concept? You tell me!
Sarcasm
Sarcasm
So… the car blocks the path
So… the car blocks the path and so the cyclist is at fault? Wet roads, cars in different directions, and victum-blaming is alive and well.
Best to scrub a bit of speed
Best to scrub a bit of speed in those situations – plenty of previous videos.
If that were me, I’d mark myself down with a road craft error. (*)
The driver is a total and utter £#@&%$€ though, absolutely no thought at all. In the words of HP – you wouldn’t drive like that over a bus lane.
* For clarity, last time in London on a CS highway, I avoided 2 left hooks due to having seen this sort of thing on video. One earned me a “fuck off”.
Why? The cyclist has a clear
Why? The cyclist has a clear open dedicated lane. They aren’t filtering.
I literally explained it with
I literally explained it with 2 personal examples.
I like to think with decent
I like to think with decent road craft and 40 odd years experience I would have eased off and been on the brakes just in case the Muppet* driver decided to pull across without looking. In reality though I have off moments with my road craft and I probably would have ended up with the same result here. There is a massive difference though between having a slight off day on the advanced road craft and failing to make even the most basic checks that the way is clear before pulling across a live lane. One is excusable if regrettable, the other should lead to prosecution for careless driving.
* Other adjectives are available and are far better at describing the total lack of care shown by this driver but I don’t like online swearing!
I hope the driver is
I hope the driver is prosecuted and gets a decent fine and insurance hike.
I’ve certainly increased my awareness of emerging hazards from previous videos like this and various dashcam ones.
Although you can’t avoid them all – pure luck in me not being wiped out by this moron.
I hope the driver is
I hope the driver is prosecuted and gets a decent fine and insurance hike
You can hope, but he won’t be, under the ‘can’t be bothered/ insufficient resources’ rule
LeadenSkies wrote:
IMO the vast majority of collisions have resulted from two things
1) a road user making a mistake, driving contray to the highway code
2) another road user failing to bail them out for that mistake
The fault of the collision is road user 1, but aside from being hit from the rear while stationary, road user 2 normally has an opportunity to save them.
Cyclists are generally very good at 2, so it sticks out when it doesn’t happen. But all this talk of advanced roadcraft and anticipation is basically saying cyclists normally cover for driver error, why didn’t this cyclist cover for this drivers error?
Almost all near misses shown have responses about how the cyclist COULD have avoided the collision, despite the evidence that they did actually avoid the collision, so it basically comes down to “could have avoided it better”
Guarante that if a pedestrian or cyclist had stepped/rolled out in front of a driver in a clear lane and then stopped, other drivers would not be laying the balme at the driver for not slowing down to anticipate problems. In fact if a driver had been travelling at the speed of the cyclist in the clip, they would have been applauded for being slow and careful, at exactly the same speed described as “going for it” when a cyclist does it.
I don’t disagree one bit. I
I don’t disagree one bit. I certainly don’t blame the cyclist in anyway, I even said that I thought I would have had the same outcome despite 40+ years of road cycling ) driving experience.
Roadçraft / anticipation / situational awareness – call it what you will – is something that I try to deploy when driving just as much as when walking/ cycling and yes it often allows me to correct or minimise other people’s mistakes but I only ever deploy it for entirely selfish reasons in that I don’t want to be involved in a collision, even one that isn’t my fault.
Could someone let Earl know
Could someone let Earl know that the car does not have the right to turn if he can’t see that the way is clear!
I think Kesh needs the same
I think Kesh needs the same lecture:
If a driver in a queue leaves a gap, you can’t assume that it’s okay for you to go through – you still have an obligation to wait until you are *absolutely certain* that there’s no other moving traffic (even traffic on two wheels).
““When filtering you have to
““When filtering you have to take responsibility at junctions. The bike just went for it. Car has a right to turn and it would have been impossible to see the bike in them conditions.””
Except A this wasn’t filtering, because the cyclist was in a clear lane, if the bus drives up the bus lane, no one would ever describe them as filtering.
But it’s interesting that according to Earl it was Impossible for the driver to see if the lane was clear in the conditions, yet still concludes that it is the cyclist (proceeding in a straight line in a clear lane with no give way markings) that “went for it” and not the driver who, by Earl’s own description, couldn’t possibly see if the lane they were crossing was clear.
You do have to wonder if some
You do have to wonder if some people even think for two seconds before they post.
Drivers don’t seem to
Drivers don’t seem to understand that cyclists can’t stop anywhere near as quickly as they can and don’t have the luxury of 4 wheels for stabilisation. I’m sure any cyclists of any real amount of miles will have had to slam on their brakes only to find that their wheels lock up mighty easily and 1cmx10cm of rubber x2 does not make for a fast or comfortable stop when travelling at speed.
I guess the idea that most drivers don’t have the foggiest about cycling is probably at the core of almost every anti-cyclist bingo bollocks you see on social media when cyclists and cars are involved.
The front wheel doesn’t
The front wheel doesn’t actually lock up, because of the huge weight transfer from fast braking. That is also the reason the rear wheel will lock up far more easily. For emergency stops one should train oneself to brake on the front only. And lock the arms straight to avoid hitting the handlebars and thus getting thrown over.
marmotte27 wrote:
You can certainly lock the front wheel in the wet. I know, because I’ve done it on purpose practising emergency stopping in an empty parking lot. You’re right that proper braking technique involves pushing hard on the bars so your body doesn’t go forward (much) and therefore you don’t do an “endo.” It also results in less weight transfer to the front, therefore less grip on the front tyre.
If you’re really sat up and
If you’re really sat up and back, with the bike completely straight, it should still be *very* difficult to lock up the front, even under emergency braking in the wet. If you do, obviously, v quickly ease and re-apply the front brake – or else you’re definitely going down.
The rear you’re likely going to lock up, unless you’re absolute pro with incredible dual-hand fine motor skills and reactions, who can modulate the back while also emergency braking on the front – or you have a shit rear brake.
Hard braking on the rear can give you a fraction more time to catch the front if it locks before it slides out.
I know I’ve locked the rear
I know I’ve locked the rear fairly easily, and I think front is a lot lot harder, but I’m sure I’ve done it, because the wheel skidded and then the whole bike pivoted forward, around the front wheel axle and I hadn’t hit anything at that point.
The other times I’ve needed to do an emergency stop, ive crashed before it locked up, snapped brake cable, and slew to the right as I steered to avoid the collision.
But tbh I’m not really focussing in the lock ups in those moments
Drivers don’t seem to
Drivers don’t seem to understand that they have to follow the rules of the road. There, simplified it for you.
Lucky for the driver of the
Lucky for the driver of the car that it wasn’t a bus in the shared, and freely running, inside lane.
Lucky for the driver of the
Lucky for the driver of the car that it wasn’t a bus
Ah! but they actually look for hard steel buses!
Well, I’m not going to see
Well, I’m not going to see the video due to where it’s hosted, but there’s a simple test to see whether you are correctly applying road laws or just favouring a specific type of vehicle – swap the roles of the cyclist and driver or maybe swap the cyclist for a bus and then see if your opinion drastically changes.
From the description, the turning vehicle is nearly always going to be at fault as they should only turn when safe to do so. I really think there should be some kind of public information films to address these kinds of collisions and have driving professionals and maybe police (only the ones that aren’t carbrained, though) clearly explain the rights and wrongs.
Something similar happened to
Something similar happened to me last year, riding down the seafront. Bright sunshine, mid-afternoon, 160lm strobe on the front of the bike… Driver on opposite side of the road turning right was flashed out by another, they pulled across my side of the road and I went straight into the side of their car. They did get out and see if I was OK, we swapped details, in the event, they were more upset than I was, so remorseful and apologetic – ended up not taking any further as I’d stopped hurting, the bike was OK and I’m thinking that they have not made the same mistake again.
Something similar happened to
Something similar happened to me on Saturday. The difference was I was riding my motorbike, a large sportsbike with the headlight on. The Mercedes driver somehow didn’t see me, which suggests he was either distracted or driving under the influence. My Suzuki is not some teeny little moped with a feeble glow of a 6V lighting system. Luckily I managed to stop without hitting his car. He gave a little wave of appreciation as he drove away.
Probably not the best
Probably not the best approach in my experience. A woman driver broke my left leg (and gave me a fair amount of road rash too) entering a roundabout when I was on it. Admitted it was her fault at the time, then told her insurers I just fell off. Luckily there were witnesses.
Another good reason to carry
Another good reason to carry a camera or to use your mobile phone if possible after an incident: someone I know who works in insurance recently advised me that if somebody admits to fault at the scene try to get them saying it on camera (not illicitly, ask “can we just talk on camera to agree on what happened?”) because in 80% of cases (she reckoned) when people admit liability, when they get home and realise the consequences in terms of increasing premiums and potential police action they change their story.
Anecdotally, in three motorcycle incidents which were unequivocally not my fault (I was in others which definitely were my fault, but these were hit from behind whilst stationary at a red light, hit from the side by a driver erroneously turning into a no-entry street and bike hit whilst parked in a motorcycle bay) in the two when I was knocked off the drivers were incredibly upset and apologetic and both called me in the evening to make sure I was alright and whether I had been to the hospital and could they do anything to help me… and when I contacted their insurance companies both of them denied liability and in the absence of witnesses (because stupidly I had thought they were so apologetic I didn’t need any) I got nothing. Many hundreds of pounds out of my own pocket on repairs later, lesson learned.
Yes, yes and yes in my long
Yes, yes and yes in my long experience on two wheels, both with and without an engine.
There is no better
There is no better demonstration of society’s obsession with cars and driving than so many people blaming the cyclist when it is clearly the driver at fault. This is clearly a huge problem, and happens every time such a video is posted, so it is obvious that many drivers are so utterly biased that they cannot think logically: rather worrying if you’re a vulnerable road user.
How was I supposed to make
How was I supposed to make that turn – you tell me
Any way you like, provided
Any way you like, provided its legal and doesn’t endanger other road users.
Got to get to the car wash !
Got to get to the car wash !
Exact same thing happened to
Exact same thing happened to me in Glasgow a good few years ago, just at the junction by the Kent Fish shop on Argyle st – all but in front of the Finnieston polis station. Except the woman didn’t see me at all, and I went right into her wing.
Since then I prefer filtering down the outside of the cars in urban areas – as motorcyclists typically do. The oncoming traffic can see me, and I can see them.
I’m pretty sure Ashley Neal
I’m pretty sure Ashley Neal could find some fault with the cyclist…..
Any idiot can walk, cycle,
Any idiot can walk, cycle, drive, police and judge.
The consequences of these idiots being allowed to proliferate increases dramatically with driving, policing and judging.
The only consolation walkers and cyclists can take from this is benefits to their health if not killed, arrested or locked up by the latter.
In the dark at commuting time
In the dark at commuting time I would have cycled across that junction more cautiously; just my point of view.
An aside, I’ve had my fair share of near misses and myself and/or the car have managed to stop to avoid a collision. I can obviously go faster on my road bike but stopping quickly with my hands on the hoods is another matter. My heavier commuter hybrid has a 20+ year old hydraulic Magura rim brake on the rear and a pretty hefty hydraulic disc brake on the front; that’s some serious stopping power that has saved me on a number of occasions (not sure I’d have stopped in time on the road bike), and I can keep my hands on the levers to react quickly.