Almost!
If it wasn’t for the ole woman shouting whoa! whoa! whoa! I would most definitely have hit him.
It was dark, he was dressed in black (FFS!) and side on to me, so I wasn’t aware of any lighting.
Even when my wife (she who must not be ignored, sometimes) was exercising her vocal chords, I still carried on as I simply didn’t see him there.
I was entering a mini roundabout at the time goo.gl/maps/6ju16 and he was coming from my right.
I know I was 99.9% in the wrong on this but, that wouldn’t have helped him much if he was in a HDU.
So you cyclists MUST do as much as you can to make yourself seen by - the nut behind the wheel.
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Easily done...I was passing a cyclist somewhere, a paragon of visibility - flashing red lights, one high, one low at the back and clothing with reflective stripes along the arms and legs, which obviously highlighted the movement of his legs as he peddled...fits in perfect into my rules of visibility.
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Did you get your fish & chips Dog? :)
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>>Did you get your fish & chips Dog? :)
LOL ... nearly had my chips more like it :(
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A few evenings ago my black clad teenage grandson was leaving here to cycle home, (just over a mile). I advised him that despite his bike lights it would be difficult for drivers to see him especially as it was raining. I got a cheery "OK granddad", I wonder how long a teenager who still thinks he is immortal will remember the advice.
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>> I wonder how long a teenager who still thinks he is immortal will
>> remember the advice.
Every teenager thinks they are immortal, it goes with the territory. As for a teenager accepting or remembering advice? You may as well speak to them in Klingon.
Most of them seem to survive tho.
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It's at mini-roundabouts and roundabputs actually that these things happen most often. What happened to Perro is very familiar. I've been in his position and the position of the passenger shouting Whoa!
Why don't the police pull cyclists for being invisible? I'm not in favour of fussy regulations in general but why don't they actually? I suppose toerag motorists are juicier, so we all have to mind our ps and qs to avoid being mistaken for one of those.
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>> Why don't the police pull cyclists for being invisible? I'm not in favour of fussy
>> regulations in general but why don't they actually?
What's the point?
There's loads that do it; it's considered minor; they aren't registered; they don't have to have ID on them; there's no real chance of them listening to your advice anyway (because the sensible comply with the rules in any case); and if you catch a load of verbal abuse, what are you in reality going to do about it?
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>> >> Why don't the police pull cyclists for being invisible? I'm not in favour of
>> fussy
>> >> regulations in general but why don't they actually?
>>
>> What's the point?
>>
>> There's loads that do it; it's considered minor; they aren't registered; they don't have to
>> have ID on them; there's no real chance of them listening to your advice anyway
>> (because the sensible comply with the rules in any case); and if you catch a
>> load of verbal abuse, what are you in reality going to do about it?
Met and City both have blitzes on red light jumpers etc. They were out on the Embankment just east of Temple tube last Friday when I met family for my work leaving do. Saw them, entirely correctly, pull a guy for no lights.
Need to be careful though, advice about helmets and hi-viz is ill-received when presenting issue is crushing by tip/skip lorries.
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>>Met and City both have blitzes on red light jumpers etc.
Hang on there Brompt, don't you advocate jumping red lights when it suits you?
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>> >>Met and City both have blitzes on red light jumpers etc.
>>
>> Hang on there Brompt, don't you advocate jumping red lights when it suits you?
Only as a response to specific badly designed junctions and with proper observation of motor vehicles and pedestrians. Proper observation would also disclose the presence of a Copper.
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Thought provoking post Fido.
What did Mrs Dog see that you'd missed?
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>>What did Mrs Dog see that you'd missed?
I've gorn over it in my mind a few times, the shattered femur, the ambulance, the police, the court summons.
Mrs Dog was sitting in the front passenger seat, so she had full view out and to the right where the cyclist was coming from.
My vision was obstructed to a certain extent, by the wide windscreen pillars on my Forester which could come in handy if a high-sided lorry was to get blown over while I was passing, but do little to aid vision.
We have had a few raised voices about the incident, my concentration was on cars and vans, but it really boils down to fact that I simply did not see him.
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>> My vision was obstructed to a certain extent, by the wide windscreen pillars on my
>> Forester which could come in handy if a high-sided lorry was to get blown over
>> while I was passing, but do little to aid vision.
Classic SMIDSY averted by an alert passenger. If I'd been the cyclist I hope I'd have been watching you and trying for eye contact. Failing that the brakes are covered and I'm ready to stop if I need to.
I'm sceptical of value of hi-viz as a cure all panacea for being seen - green. pink or orange weskits all look washed out grey under street lamps unless headlights catch the Scotchlite tape - anything pale will show up as well.
Dressing in black though is adding an unnecessary level of risk.
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>> If I'd been the cyclist I hope I'd have been watching you and trying for eye contact. Failing that the brakes are covered and I'm ready to stop if I need to.
The cyclist was totally oblivious to just how close he came to being knocked orf his bike, if it wasn't for my 'alert passenger'.
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>>SMIDSY
I had to look it up, so on the off chance that there is anyone else as uninformed as me...
"Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You".
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>> My vision was obstructed to a certain extent, by the wide windscreen pillars on my Forester which could come in handy if a high-sided lorry was to get blown over while I was passing, but do little to aid vision.
One reason I detest modern car design.
Some cars are like a mobile pill box, just slits as windows.
Yes, the small windows and wide pillars may make the bodyshell stronger, but makes the likelihood of not seeing other traffic higher, and thus increases the chances of a collision.
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It is easy done Dog.I sometimes ask Diana to have a look at her side when she is a passenger with me.Approaching a crossing or awkward roundabout.As you are older any help will do.>:)
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>>It is easy done Dog.I sometimes ask Diana to have a look at her side when she is a passenger with me.Approaching a crossing or awkward roundabout.As you are older any help will do.>:)
My missus has always done that whilst I'm driving, Dutchie (says a lot about my driving!)
It annoys me really - I'm the blimmin driver after all ... no fool like an old fool :)
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I and a couple of chaps spent an hour or so fixing up the village Christmas tree this morning.
I was cold but dry and bright, and at least 30 roadies, most in small groups, passed by. One of the chaps is a regular himself and commented that he had been trying to buy a new cycling shirt but they all seemed to be black. From then on I took note and every one was predominantly black. Crackers.
Don't be too hard on yourself Dog. I think I might have posted this link before - if this is correct, and I have no reason to think it isn't, it's something every driver and cyclist should know - and I imagine almost none do.
www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/
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The original article referred to in the above link -
goo.gl/DnpvFq
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Manatee's fighter pilot thing is good. 'Move your head or you're dead!' Yes, you have to be very busy at all junctions, basically you have to be springing about inside the car like a gibbon. That's only a slight exaggeration. The other good tip is to check everything at least twice.
Two problems set in with age and experience: a slowly stiffening neck/diminishing peripheral vision, and familiarity with local junctions which we all know can lead to overconfidence and trouble.
Dunno if I'll dare to go out tomorrow, the way it's starting to sound.
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First off, all credit to you for your frankness on the event. Sometimes though, a near miss can be a good thing however upsetting or unsettling it seems at the time.
You'll likely not "not see" the next one. In fact, you'll be acutely more aware, for a while anyway.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sun 8 Dec 13 at 20:51
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>>www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/
Excellent advice - for drivers and cyclists alike, thanks and THINK BIKE!
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A mate of mine parked his Nissan Note in front of a cyclist on a roundabout last Sunday. He has a few nice ugly dents on the rear door and wing but fortunately the cyclist was shaken but unhurt. He put his hands up straight away and admitted it was 100% his fault, despite the insurance company trying to suggest he could find a way of blaming the cyclist. £500 worth of damage to the car plus whatever to fix the bike (The front wheel would no longer turn apparantely) and the cyclist graciously accepted the apology and a lift home.
Matey was quite embarrassed as he is a motorcyclist himself and knows all about drivers pulling out without proper observation. It happens, there but for the grace of God etc.
Last edited by: Robin O'Reliant on Sun 8 Dec 13 at 21:26
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Nice little roundabout there, Bonz....but what's all that green stuff by the roadside and stretching into the distance ?
We don't have it round here.
Ted
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It's probably arty fish all, Teddy, like the moo cows in MK.
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>>>It was dark, he was dressed in black (FFS!) and side on to me, so I wasn’t aware of any lighting.
I had one the other day on a bmx swerving all over the unlit road. They are lucky to be alive imho!
Reminds me of an incident a while back (a year or so). I was driving at about 15mph towards a T junction late at night. I was driving slowly because it was a blind junction to a busy road and I was anticipating having to come to a dead stop when a couple of youngsters on bmxs came off the main road, on my side of the road and ended up almost over my bonnet! Again, all in black, no lights. I did wonder if they were on the rob!?
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>>
>> Nice little roundabout there, Bonz....but what's all that green stuff by the roadside and stretching
>> into the distance ?
>>
>> We don't have it round here.
>>
>> Ted
>>
Don't wish for too much green stuff, our car hating council use shrubbery to restrict lines of sight to slow the traffic flow at roundabouts.
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And I as a pedestrian(wearing bright orange jacket)was almost hit in the opposite way.Elderly woman staring out of side window of car and not looking to front!
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I would call that a "Self preservation failure". I would not step in front of a car in that situation unless I was sure the driver had seen me.
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I didn't because I could see where she was looking-that's why I am still here.I got an abject apology tho'.
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>> I would call that a "Self preservation failure". I would not step in front of
>> a car in that situation unless I was sure the driver had seen me.
Getting eye contact at roundabouts etc is helpful in the car but on two wheels or two feet it's vital.
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>> Don't wish for too much green stuff, our car hating council use shrubbery to restrict
>> lines of sight to slow the traffic flow at roundabouts.
>>
Maybe I should add "If they can't justify traffic lights". Which is their preferred option.
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Similar happened to me recently too, Dog. Except my near victim was a silver Toyota Corolla coming out of a misty morning. I shot across a crossroads, hadn't seen the car coming from my left, and it just about missed the end of my car as I sailed across its bows. Really frightening. I had only looked once and hadn't registered it. Now, I always look twice.
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Silver (or grey) see, not the easiest of car colours to spot on a misty morn.
The crazy thing about my close encounter (as I've said) is that I still carried on when my missus was saying whoa! whoa! whoa!
What's she on about now, I thought, I had an empty roundabout so I just intended to carry on entering it without stopping, like most of us do, presumably ... if it's safe to do so.
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There's a crossroads on a tiny rural road I often use, where it is really difficult to see even when stopped. Having looked carefully in both directions there is still an element of luck, because in theory something could still be coming from either obscured direction.
I have never met another vehicle on the road, let alone at the crossroads. I had the wicked thought that there would actually be a lower risk of accident from simply putting my foot down and not looking than from stopping.
(I know the consequences of that one in a million accident would be more serious of course)
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>>There's a crossroads on a tiny rural road I often use, where it is really difficult to see even when stopped
We exit from our little lane onto a rural road most days, I stop, turn orf the wireless and the blower if it's on.
I then sit there with the window open listening intently for anything coming along the road before pulling out.
Just as well I don't drive a car with one of those noisy diesel engines.
:}
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>> >>There's a crossroads on a tiny rural road I often use, where it is really
>> difficult to see even when stopped
>>
>> We exit from our little lane onto a rural road most days, I stop, turn
>> orf the wireless and the blower if it's on.
>>
>> I then sit there with the window open listening intently for anything coming along the
>> road before pulling out.
We await news of your collision with a milk float.
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.
>>
>> We await news of your collision with a milk float.
>>
or a cow or a horse and rider or worse still some old fool in a Subaru who is half blind
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... or a Prius or other hybrid running on electric juice, or a Rolls-Royce wafting along at 50...
To bung in a bit of thread drift, there's a long bit of A road coming out of one of our small towns that used to be 40-limited, but has now been reduced to 30. Sensible people still go at 40 there, although the 50 they used to get away with now seems a bit risky.
Today they were mimsing along at 25. The reason was two hi-viz-coated coppers or council officials aiming what looked like a modern piece of military ordnance at the approaching cars from the road verge. They often lurk there although given the hi-viz you can't really call it lurking.
But what is it that induces people to exaggerate by going five or ten mph slower than they need to to avoid a pull or NIP, like tremulous learner-drivers? It's annoying, pathetic and a bit dangerous. Damn ignorant yokels. Almost as bad as them Lunnon folk.
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>>
>> But what is it that induces people to exaggerate by going five or ten mph
>> slower than they need to to avoid a pull or NIP, like tremulous learner-drivers? It's
>> annoying, pathetic and a bit dangerous. Damn ignorant yokels. Almost as bad as them Lunnon
>> folk.
>>
The new Bypass round our town centre has a 40mph limit. Amazing how many go up and down it at 30mph..
Local paper had an amusing rant from a reader about the very subject. he reckoned that chances are a mimser would be an OAP in a flat cap whilst a speedster would be under 50 with a baseball cap..
Guess what the mimser I followed down the bypass at 30mph was wearing. He was an OAP in - a baseball cap...
Just shows you cannot pigeonhole people.
Last edited by: madf on Mon 9 Dec 13 at 16:17
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>> He was an OAP in - a baseball cap...
How do you know he was an OAP madf? He might have been a strong young fellow in the prime of life but with one of those lived-in faces, and some people have grey or white hair or are going bald from an early age... I bet Perro looks much older than he is...
I hate baseball caps, although I tolerate them on some people under 40. Like cricket caps they remind me of school uniform caps, an affront to anyone's dignity if you ask me. But I am funny about hats in general. No one's perfect.
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I orften wear a baseball cap and I'm 61 years young, it's a sort-of Khaki coloured Barbour jobbie.
I mainly wear it to keep my thin fine longish hair in place, or I'd look like Worzel Gummidge.
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>> I orften wear a baseball cap and I'm 61 years young, it's a sort-of Khaki
>> coloured Barbour jobbie.
>>
Me too, it is warm and waterproof, as I am nearer 70 I know the peak should be at the front. :-)
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>> it's a sort-of Khaki coloured Barbour jobbie.
>> I mainly wear it to keep my thin fine longish hair in place, or I'd look like Worzel Gummidge.
Basically then Perro you resemble one of those cannibal mountain rednecks in Deliverance... Not my favourite sartorial style, but since it's you I suppose, er...
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My favourite titfer tat at this time of year is a Karrimor lumberjack type hat with ear flaps, which I curl upwards.
If ye saw me in that, plus my red check lumberjack (type) shirt, when chopping wood, you'd think I was the real thing
:}
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"If ye saw me in that, plus my red check lumberjack (type) shirt, when chopping wood, you'd think I was the real thing"
What like
He cuts down trees. He skips and jumps.
He likes to press wild flowers.
He puts on women's clothing
And hangs around in bars?!
:-)
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>>He cuts down trees. He skips and jumps.
He likes to press wild flowers.
He puts on women's clothing
And hangs around in bars?!
Outed!
I cut down trees, I wear high heels, suspenders and a bra.
I wish I'd been a girly - just like my dear Papa.
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How do you know he was an OAP madf
Saw his face clearly in profile as he went round a roundabout at the bottom. Looked about 72 ish..
Last edited by: madf on Mon 9 Dec 13 at 17:09
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>>or worse still some old fool in a Subaru who is half blind
:-D
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I don't object to baseball caps per se but I really couldn't imagine a set of circumstances when I'd feel the impulse to actually wear one. Same with medallions really and identity bracelets. They exist, and others choose to wear them. So be it, but It's really difficult to imagine catching sight of yourself in the hall mirror on the way out and thinking, "Ah yes, that's the look for me" while wearing any of the above. Or a football jersey for that matter. Or grey shoes. Or three-quarter length trousers.
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>> I don't object to baseball caps per se but I really couldn't imagine a set
>> of circumstances when I'd feel the impulse to actually wear one. Same with medallions really
>> and identity bracelets. They exist, and others choose to wear them. So be it, but
>> It's really difficult to imagine catching sight of yourself in the hall mirror on the
>> way out and thinking, "Ah yes, that's the look for me" while wearing any of
>> the above. Or a football jersey for that matter. Or grey shoes. Or three-quarter length
>> trousers.
>>
I feel just the same about tattoos.
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I don't have any tattoos either but I had thought of having a pair of swimming shorts tattooed on.
Just think how convenient that would be. It might though necessitate having something else dramatic tattooed on my back, I had thought perhaps of a giant eagle which would open its wings as I spread my arms which should, in theory at least, distract any casual onlookers attention from the, by default, somewhat dishevelled looking shorts.
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Giant eagle and a Swastica Humph you stand out.;)
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Codger in Subaru knocks cyclist orf bike - R.P.
