There's another view on this:
2. Your home is in a really awkward location for public transport.
Move home, save time, protect badgers.
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Driver passes too close despite lollipop on passing side
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2. Your home is in a really awkward location for public transport.
Move home, save time, protect badgers.
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Haven't been on here for years. Good to see you're still active Flecc.
It's always possible, as the Queen often shows when she insists someone should be her guest for few years.
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So to solve his transportation issues, you suggest he commits a crime and gets locked up?
The example shown by the OP was obviously an unacceptable and risky overtake.
I'm a member of several car forums and several cycling forums. The views are often highly polarised on each side of the argument. I regularly see evidence of poor conduct by drivers and also by cyclists. As our roads have become more crowded, there also seems less 'give and take' by motorists / cyclists and in some cases, a strong (and misplaced) sense of entitlement.
Only recently I was out in the car and passed three groups of cyclists on a country road. They were obviously on an organised run, but were following CTC (or Cycling UK) guidance to ride in small groups (of no more than 5) in single file and remain separated by a least 50 meters between groups to allow space for cars to overtake. They were easy to pass safely with little inconvenience to other traffic or to them.
On the same day, I came up behind a large group of 'roadies' who were using the whole width of a small country road and stayed there for at least 1 mile whilst climbing a hill at about 10 mph. They eventually moved into single file and allowed me to pass. I don't understand this mentality as surely all of them will be drivers too and it would have been easy for them to move over for a few moments?
I regularly see some pretty horrendous behaviour by drivers, but as I'm sure many on here will accept, not all cyclists are beyond criticism either.
I'm a member of several car forums and several cycling forums. The views are often highly polarised on each side of the argument. I regularly see evidence of poor conduct by drivers and also by cyclists. As our roads have become more crowded, there also seems less 'give and take' by motorists / cyclists and in some cases, a strong (and misplaced) sense of entitlement.
Only recently I was out in the car and passed three groups of cyclists on a country road. They were obviously on an organised run, but were following CTC (or Cycling UK) guidance to ride in small groups (of no more than 5) in single file and remain separated by a least 50 meters between groups to allow space for cars to overtake. They were easy to pass safely with little inconvenience to other traffic or to them.
On the same day, I came up behind a large group of 'roadies' who were using the whole width of a small country road and stayed there for at least 1 mile whilst climbing a hill at about 10 mph. They eventually moved into single file and allowed me to pass. I don't understand this mentality as surely all of them will be drivers too and it would have been easy for them to move over for a few moments?
I regularly see some pretty horrendous behaviour by drivers, but as I'm sure many on here will accept, not all cyclists are beyond criticism either.
No, I'm saying it is always possible, just very inconvenient at times like Her Majesty's invitation. Coming out of the army very long ago I had seven years of constantly moving and hated it. But it was necessary so I bore the costs and hardships involved which ultimately paid off handsomely.
It's something pedelecs member tillson has also often commented on. Today's population not being prepared to accept any hardship in their long term interests.
The grass really can be greener in the next field, but not necessarily the immediately they all seem to want.
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I've also witnessed the good and bad cycling behaviours you describe, but only to a very limited extent since almost all my movement now is in South London and the immediate home counties of Surrey and Kent,
Perhaps oddly in this very crowded region, we commonly have the opposite of that I've quoted above from your post. Jam packed with motor vehicles and a higher cyclist and pedestrian density than almost anywhere else, the tolerance has never been greater, and I've lived here for 54 years.
I think that because it has become so hopelessly congested, only tolerance, patience and co-operation work now.
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The law should change, and its been long overdue. Drivers are the cause of cyclists deaths. Just how many drivers have been killed by cyclists ?. I think none is the answer there.
So to facilitate this, having an exact law that states a minimum overtaking distance of 1.5m must be written into the statutes and enforced rigorously.
No guidance of the highway code(that some won't recognize as being law), no maybe's no should.
So to facilitate this, having an exact law that states a minimum overtaking distance of 1.5m must be written into the statutes and enforced rigorously.
No guidance of the highway code(that some won't recognize as being law), no maybe's no should.
Use a helmet cam.
Send any dangerous driving video to the rozzers and (so long as the number plate is legible) the motorist will get a fine and points on their license
lt certainly works in London, perhaps too well, but other cities are following the lead.
Send any dangerous driving video to the rozzers and (so long as the number plate is legible) the motorist will get a fine and points on their license
lt certainly works in London, perhaps too well, but other cities are following the lead.
You've made assumptions. I can't move house every time I have a new contract, not knowing where it will be. It's cheaper to build large offices in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps you have been out of work too long? One job for life is no longer the norm.
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I do, all the time now. It's funny how some newspapers call cyclists with cameras "Vigilante cyclists", when all they are doing is going about their normal lives, with the addition of a camera just in case one of the many drivers who couldn't give a damn about their safety, do something dangerous they can be prosecuted for. And about time!
Nothing awful happened tonight. I took a longer route to avoid narrow roads, but there were several unnecessary hair raising close passes less during the day.
I have a friend who like I used to commutes by bike (acoustic) from Middlesex I think into central London. He is tech savvy unlike myself and post clips of his bad experiences. I think it might just be the volume and intensity of the traffic that means you are going to encounter poor driving more often. My own 10 mile minimum commute between two towns was connected by a B road that is regarded as dangerous. What I realised was that the timing of when you used the road in relation to the volume and impatience of the drivers varied almost by the minute. I was a shift worker with daily variable start times. I knew how the volume of traffic changed and when to avoid it. I also bought an electric mountain bike and developed a beautiful mostly of road route to work, that took longer but pretty much avoided cars. I still had to on acasion use that road when it was busy, and coped in the way you have, with a high Viz jacket, and bright flashing rear light, and on my road bike a rear view mirror. I knew the pinch points and was not afraid to move out to stop an impatient vehicle pass me at a dangerous for me point. I quickly moved over when it was safer. My previous job was all about minimising risk. You should ride where ever you need to but thinking hard about any ways you can to reduce your personal risk is very worth while. I still got overtaken very badly on accession.
I'll continue to do whatever I can to avoid problems. That first close pass video was really disappointing, given that I was using a side lollipop reflector. I really should have reported this pre-lollipop close pass, but it's been over 14 days. Too late. A second rear-facing camera would have been useful.
The daytime close passes yesterday were annoying. In the same situation with no oncoming traffic in the other lane, some drivers allowed sufficient space, while others whizzed by very close
I could easily overwhelm my local Police service with close passing cases all by myself.
The assumption is yours, that is completely the opposite of my life, since I made the decision at 16 to never to be bored by sticking with just one job longer than necessary to perform it well. Given the simplicity of so many jobs, I lost count of how many jobs I've had very long ago. That jnb swapping even included leaving management jobs three times to start again from the floor in different employments.
My other 16 year old decision was to retire at 50, which I almost achieved, retiring in my early fifties over 30 years ago.
Regarding your moving and working on various contracts, I knew someone for a number of years who had his own solution to that. He lived in a motor caravan so he lived where he worked. I don't suppose he was alone in doing that.
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That was very dangerous passing, way beyond lacking due care and attention.
Trouble with cameras at night is they are so easily dazzled by headlights from front or behind they often can't record the number plates clearly.
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It will never happen of course, all we ever get from government is half cocked measures that are ill thought out and often then ignored, forgotten or withdrawn.
I made the point about the Covid fines, but it seems no-one saw the relevance, so to explain:
We were told that separation and mask wearing were so essential that they justified massive fines reaching £10,000.
But last Autumn when it became clear the measures weren't working, the government blithely told us we'd just have to learn to live with Covid and stopped all the compulsion and fines.
So what had justified immense fines suddenly became perfectly ok and no offence at all.
It will be no different with this highway code measure, once the reality sinks in that the 1.5 metres is impossible in many cases, such as paralysing London's commuting and commerce. Do you see 1.5 metres separations in the photos below? The web is packed with similar photos.
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