Motorists to be prosecuted for passing cyclist with less than 1.5mtr clearance!

[Alan Quay]

Whether the rule is 1.5M or 6" doesn't really matter. I'm sure that any regular cyclist that rides on the road has had many incidents where motorists have deliberately run too close for no reason other than to intimidate the cyclist. I guess that's what the police are trying to eliminate. It's pretty obvious when it happens. There should be no excuses and instant prosecution for dangerous driving.

I've even had a bus do it, presumably because I held him back a bit after using one of those cyclists zones at the traffic lights. He half overtook me then pulled his front in as close as he could get to the curb so I had no option but to brake and let him go. There was no other traffic other than what was behind him.

Bus driver did something similar to me once. Then he stopped at the next bus stop.

They don't half scream and yell when you pull 'em across that little counter by the throat.

 

[Izzyekerslike]

I partly agree, but what annoys me is that car manufacturers and phone manufacturers have not done more to make phones automatically connect wirelessly to the car radio, I know more modern cars do this but there must be ways of having a cheap gadget that could update older vehicles.

Life moves fast, if you snooze you lose, people are trying to survive, if a tradesman misses calls for potential work because he is stuck in the car in traffic that could be loss of income. London traffic is mad and could mean a large amount of a persons time is 'out of contact', this is not competitive and wrong!!

There are loads of Bluetooth devices that are excellent and just clip onto your sun visor.. I use a few different cars during the week and use a JABRA Cruiser 2. Excellent clarity and almost as good as a built in device.

 

[Gubbins]

Mine is just too clever for me.. There is a little button on the steering wheel that you press and then tell it what you want or where you want to go.. I have experimented with it by asking for Radio 2, or navigate to nearest petrol station, and it either replies with "Pardon" in a very nice female voice, or it rings my mother!

 

[Smart eBiker]

Mine starts calling the wrong people, maybe my British accent! I have given up using it its a stress as it starting saying "calling ******* " and I don't want to speak to them.

I don't have a lot of friends so its mainly one of my private member clubs in London, my tailor, the gardner, cleaner, or one of a few michelin starred restaurants

 

[flecc]

I don't have a lot of friends so its mainly one of my private member clubs in London, my tailor, the gardner, cleaner, or one of a few michelin starred restaurants

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You omitted probation officer and the electronic tag monitoring centre.
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[Gubbins]

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You omitted probation officer and the electronic tag monitoring centre.
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Let's not forget your fellow orchestral buddies

 

[Crockers]

How about fitting one of those arms you see on Continental bikes? But instead of a red reflector have a spike that will scratch anyone coming too close.

Or Chariot blades on the wheels.

 

[KeithMac]

I've seen it get gradually worse over the last 10 years, used to be rare to get close passes by a car but now it's nearly a daily occurrence..

 

[Smart eBiker]

Now 6 points for using a phone!

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/6-points-for-phone-use-while-driving-now-time-to-get-dangerous-cyclists.25563/

 

[Gubbins]

Now 6 points for using a phone!

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/6-points-for-phone-use-while-driving-now-time-to-get-dangerous-cyclists.25563/

Or 50 lashes

 

[flecc]

I'm totally opposed to all in vehicle distractions and would like all forms of phone use banned, including hands free. I won't even use in-car entertainment, radio etc., since virtually all of a driver's attention should be outside the vehicle.

Many years ago the government's Roads Research Laboratory was asked from their huge experience of accident investigations what would be the most effective way of reducing accidents.

After consideration their reply was, putting drivers into separate compartments in vehicles, showing how highly they rated distraction as a cause of accidents.
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[Gubbins]

I'm totally opposed to all in vehicle distractions and would like all forms of phone use banned, including hands free. I won't even use in-car entertainment, radio etc., since virtually all of a driver's attention should be outside the vehicle.

Many years ago the government's Roads Research Laboratory was asked from their huge experience of accident investigations what would be the most effective way of reducing accidents.

After consideration their reply was, putting drivers into separate compartments in vehicles, showing how highly they rated distraction as a cause of accidents.
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In such an extreme case would the driver be in danger of becoming too detached and nodding off?

 

[flecc]

In such an extreme case would the driver be in danger of becoming too detached and nodding off?

I don't see why if they are paying attention to their driving as they should be. If a driver gets too tired their responsibility is to stop driving, that's always been the case. The fact is that there's been many recent cases of drivers falling asleep at the wheel and causing accidents, despite their having in car entertainment.

For half the time vehicles have existed, they didn't even have radios, they were an extra which few afforded, but I don't remember seeing lots of drivers nodding off then.

Fundamentally if a driver has reached the stage of needing some form of in car stimulation to remain awake, they should have pulled over and stopped driving. Conducting a ton or more of vehicle at speeds which kill or maim is a huge responsibility which requires total attention at all times with no exceptions.
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[Smart eBiker]

Cyclists are more of a hazard and stress to drivers I think with tim darting in and out of cars, they should be on separate paths if you want stress free drivers.

They need to look at everything else that distracts drivers as I said, passengers, especially ban ALL children under 17yrs of age, adverts by the road, traffic lights, lorries, pedestrians, cyclists, other drivers, pretty women, architectural beautiful buildings, knock down all the tourist sites visible from the road in London, the list goes on, at the end of the day I don't agree with texting while driving but there has to be a better solution than this money making scam as it will raise insurance premiums and be a winner for all sorts of industries. For goodness sake the percentage of deaths and accidents, firstly if they are directly proved to be linked is minimal to the daily use by people, my way of dealing with it would be to have a law that gives immediate custodial sentence if you are found to have caused death by text. Why put drivers who are quite capable of speaking on their phone and driving in the same category of idiots who are not!

 

[flecc]

Why put drivers who are quite capable of speaking on their phone and driving in the same category of idiots who are not!

The two cannot be separated so must be subject to a common law.

That can be for the idiots, inconveniencing those who feel they can do both safely, or the law can be liberal for those who want to chat freely, at the cost of the deaths and maiming caused by the idiots.
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[Gubbins]

Cyclists are more of a hazard and stress to drivers I think with tim darting in and out of cars, they should be on separate paths if you want stress free drivers.

They need to look at everything else that distracts drivers as I said, passengers, especially ban ALL children under 17yrs of age, adverts by the road, traffic lights, lorries, pedestrians, cyclists, other drivers, pretty women, architectural beautiful buildings, knock down all the tourist sites visible from the road in London, the list goes on, at the end of the day I don't agree with texting while driving but there has to be a better solution than this money making scam as it will raise insurance premiums and be a winner for all sorts of industries. For goodness sake the percentage of deaths and accidents, firstly if they are directly proved to be linked is minimal to the daily use by people, my way of dealing with it would be to have a law that gives immediate custodial sentence if you are found to have caused death by text. Why put drivers who are quite capable of speaking on their phone and driving in the same category of idiots who are not!

Perhaps you should charge your Monica to just ebiker

 

[OldBob1]

Maybe our smart car makers should make the car entertainment and phone blue tooth only active when the vehicle is stationary or fit the car with a wireless blocker.

 

[flecc]

Maybe our smart car makers should make the car entertainment and phone blue tooth only active when the vehicle is stationary or fit the car with a wireless blocker.

We are likely to get something like these at the present rate of increases in the in-car devices.

The range of possible distractions is getting daft now. For example the interative touch screens giving a wide range of options on demand are going to tempt drivers into operating them while peering at the screens down on the dashboard during driving. Some cars now have two such screens!

Add those to fiddling with in-car entertainment devices, checking and operating dashcams with screens, GPS devices, smartphones etc, plus interacting with passengers and attention to driving is bound to suffer.

Having the interactions all cut off while a vehicle is in motion plus a ban on all loose devices is probably the answer.
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[Smart eBiker]

I think better training during the driving test of how to answer your phone, dial and text would be a good start. Could even include how to watch movies and drive with one eye, all possible as enough people do it already!

 

[flecc]

I think better training during the driving test of how to answer your phone, dial and text would be a good start. Could even include how to watch movies and drive with one eye, all possible as enough people do it already!

Slighty amended, "do it badly already".

AKA multi-tasking, the art of doing two or more things badly at once.
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