So, going off subject a little, what do cyclists need to do to become better road users, and by that I mean at this moment in time, there are no solid, written in stone, rules stating what gear they should wear, any tests they should take etc.

As kids we (older) people had the cycling proficiency test, this was binned unfortunately (I believe it was compulsary but isnt now?).
What protective equipment should be worn as a norm?
There should be no need for any taxation but some form of insurance other than that on your house insurance, be done for any road user? for at the moment, any cyclist hitting a car (and not the other way round), the car driver is basically classed as being at fault as they have to cough up!

Then, do we introduce a better test for motorists and add obstacles like cycles and horses into the test(s) for better awareness?

Tony

 

You are allowed to undertake on a bike.

Personally when I rode I would we very wary of undertaking such vehicles, and would not if they were obviously going to turn, but ultimately it is the Drivers job to check his left-side mirror.

Were you never told to check the left mirror before turning left?

I got into a row with a guy in a Ferrari once. He over took me fast, immediately cut in and signaled left. I though I am not going to brake for you you ignorant dick (the road was dead quiet), so just undertook him. He obviously saw me go past just before he was about to turn the wheel, got all mad, did not turn left instead followed me then pulled along side then out of the window started shouting about how he was in a super-car, and his visibility was poor out of the mirrors and rear so I should not have undertaken him. It was hard to have a conversation with him in that situation so I told him to **** off then ignored him.

 

I get it, you are one of these people who lay some blame at the door of raped women if they go out wearing a short skirt?

 

I am afraid you are wrong the highway code specifically includes a section for pedestrian.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...code/DG_070108

 

Probably why so many cyclists die....
If they think the above but dont add that part that says "if safe to do so", then they ask for trouble.
A HGV has a blind spot on its inside, it cannot see a cyclst hence they get squashed, and a cyclist may only undertake if no vehicle is turning left (that would be pretty foolish ) as that vehicle still being in front has right of way.
In stationary traffic, yup help yourself (if safe to do so )

Tony

 

How the hell do you come out with some disgusting comment like that? It's not about women being raped is it? It's about two people having an argument on the road, TWO PEOPLE! You owe me an apology!

You know very well what I mean, the cyclist clearly thought he could get clever with the bus driver! Rightly or wrongly the cyclist helped escalate the argument with the bus driver when he could have nipped it in the bud and just ignored him.

Not once have I said he deserved it or the bus driver was right, he did have a choice in his actions when he swerved in front of the bus and that was unnecessary.

 

The HGV only has a blind spot on its inside mirror when it is in the process of turning, when the cab and trailer are aligned it does not. Except for a tiny area immediately below the mirror itself.

Personally like I said I was very wary of such vehicles as I would try and avoid placing my life in the hands of the Drivers roadcraft.

 

"You are allowed to undertake on a bike."

The next sentence is.... but this may result in being crushed under the wheels of a 35 ton lorry

 

I didn't mean to offend you but I was highlighting a similar arguent where the victim is said to have provoked an assault.

 

No, still a blind spot there Tony, the simple rule is, if you cannot see the driver in the mirror, he cannot see you!

Tony

 

And that only applies to the area right under the mirror give or take a couple of feet.

Deaths have been cause by HGV Drivers not checking the mirror properly. Cyclist moving with traffic along side the truck and the truck suddenly turn left without checking with teh cyclist in a position where the mirror gave visibility.

 

If no pavement is available yes,but i'm talking generally,if you're on foot then stay on the footpath.

You know what i'm saying

 

When I was riding a bike. I found it was more sensible to accept that I was vulnerable while on the machine and it was safer to avoid any possibility of a dangerous situation.

It seemed more sensible to me to not overtake vehicles on the left and always to avoid winding up on the left of a commercial vehicle, whether he had a mirror to see you or not.

I saw no point in pushing my luck, and it only took the minimum of anticipation anyway.

Les

 

It is a fine line Leslie. You have to protect yourself but one way of doing that is to be assertive otherwise you end up in the gutter.

 

Tony, you only think there is a couple of feet blind spot on a truck
When I was in the army, we had a car up the side of us, we couldnt see it, and that was no where near as long as a class 1 HGV and a car is more than a couple of feet long (ive also known hgv drivers and instructors).
If a cyclist is stupid enough to go on the inside of a HGV, they deserve to be squashed as the driver has no where near as much visibility as you seem to give them, hence why they want camera's down the blind spots on HGV's.

Tony

 

Here is a link for your information.

http://www.movingtargetzine.com/forum/discussion/598/

 

What is it with some cyclists and a refusal to take sensible measures to protect their own safety ? I am sure the growth in cycling forums has fostered some kind of group mentality where frankly bad and dangerous advice is given and so many cyclists seem to think they have a right to do what ever they like on the road. Any drive through London will show some shocking examples of cyclists who have no concept of how hard it can be to spot cyclists darting around almost stationary traffic. The sliding up the left thing is ridiculous especially when they try to squeeze through a tiny gap barely wide enough for their handle bars in some vain hope that the car driver does not move even a cm left. How exactly is a car driver going to pay attention to road signs, speed limits traffic lights , road markings, their own speedo scooters and motorbikes overtaking on the right and ******** cyclists on the left. All while avioding other cars and pedestrians.
To top it off you have the ***** in this video DELIBERATELY winding up a bus, what mentality has a cyclist reached when they start swerving about to block traffic ? This is not the first video of this behavior I have seen and I have yet too see one of the pro cycling brigade even aknowledge that swerving around to stop a large vehicle is a stupid and dangerous thing to do.

 

agreed i have a pcv licence and i have heard of and witnessed runners and riders getting knocked down even killed by going down the nearside its stupidity simple as that.

 

Just a quickie this.

As i woke this morning from my drunken slumber,i may of typed some things on this thread that may of been taken the wrong way by some,especially about the bus reverse thingy,yes i was a little worse for wear and had a banging head this morning.Lifting some weights will put me right though

So i Apologize to anyone who thought it was bad.

Cya

 

not to worry mate we have all done it and your correct about reversing,it is illegal for pcv to reverse on public roads bus staions are coverd by the insurance public roads are not

 

It has already been stated that it is not clear he was doing that. Firstly I do not seem him look over his shoulder, secondly there is a junction coming up and it was possible he was getting ready to filter right. It is also possible he was avoiding some pothole.

It looks to me like at the start of the video the cyclist is holding the middle of lane which he is entitled to do. It is also a logical place to be if you want to filter right since this is a defensive position, that is to say it stops a car overtaking in the same lane so the cyclist does not have to worry about moving to the right of the lane to filter right. It short it stops the cyclist getting boxed in.

Bad place for the bus to overtake also since the junction is coming up and the right lane is exclusively to filter right. It is possible the Driver realised his error and in his rage drove at the cyclist.

 

Cyclist corner

damn


These cyclists are quicker than I thought

 

tis shocking to watch either way,soooo lucky he didnt kill the cyclist

 

I laughed at that vid! Any more??

 

If you pop into the Commuting forum on Bike Radar what you'll find is the exact opposite: the committed cyclists roundly (and I mean vigorously) decry any stupid cycling.

There have been many (many, many...) discussions about cycling habits and trust me, those of us who commute on a bike are probably more p*ssed off with the idiot manoeuvres than you lot.

The problem comes down to ignorance on both parties (and a spectacular lack of courtesy) Some people on bikes simply don't see themselves as road users - these are the ones who treat Red lights as pretty colours by the road, and pavements as an extension of their route. The basic mentality (IMHO) is that they see themselves as pedestrians but using a bike to get around, not their feet. As such they continue to act like pedestrians not road users - they don't look, they don't anticipate, they don't think that while cycling is SAFE, you are VULNERABLE.
Then you get the motorists who see the cycling road users as an inconvenience, they slow them down (for seconds, and then they get caught up in traffic and God help me, try and BLOCK the bloody cyclist...) Who spout about taxing the cyclists (THEY ALREADY ARE) or insurance (as said: LIABILITY not insurance) or fecking number plates (like this stops all the illegal driving going on)

I have as many run ins with idiots when cycling as I do when driving, that is to say: very little. In fact I find my cycle commutes more friendly - it's easier to engage with people when you're outside of the steel box. I act like a road user and generally I get treated as one, I just wish more people would take the time to do the same

(incidentally, for all those people trying to legislate and tell cyclists how to act on the road.... do you cycle often? If not, it's like to tell someone how to drive when you haven't passed your test - you have no experience... There are books like Cyclecraft that teach you how to cycle on the road, and 'taking the lane', i.e. the middle line IS recommended when approaching pinch points or sections where overtaking is dangerous)

 

Suppose he could have asked the passengers to get off the bus, "while I attend to business".

 

maybe he was one of those really annoying cyclists that video everything and then put it on youtube lol.

pretty disgraceful though yes.

 

I would say that is incorrect tbh, you can see the rear of a trailer but not necessarily the entire length of the truck, take that as an indication rather than gosple (those diagrams), if you are behind a HGV then its best not to encrouch into any of the near side whilst its stationary and to stay behind said vehicle (one of the reasons they want camera's fitting so they can see down at road level).

Tony

 

Really as a cyclist it isnt worth goading someone with a 10 plus tonne vehicle, that wears hot, sticky shiny arsed nylon trousers two sizes too small clamping their vitals and cutting into the big belly, someone who has to put up with smart arsed schoolkids, confused grannies, mentals and has to drive exclusively in town centres and be cut up all the time.

Bus drivers have to drive a godawful huge lumbering vehicle and stop every 10 feet like a diabetic Alsatian at a lampost exhibition, they don't get paid very well and generally treated like **** by the operators, other drivers and passengers, they have to deal with loose change all day and hit timetables, they have to do shifts at all sorts of times through busy places, people do allsorts on buses, vandalise them, have sex, vomit, ****, ****, **** and all sorts.

Not condoning it, but I can see how people snap and do something stupid because they have the means to do so, not condoning what he did, it was stupid and potentially lethal but as a cyclist myself I may remonstrate with another road user but I would not taunt someone in control of something that can swat me like a fly as people do silly things when the red mist descends and a 20 lb push bike is always going to come off worse, you can be in the right and still retain the moral high ground from under a bus but as your innards squirt from your eye sockets it isn't much use, the bus driver can go to prison but you are still dead, right and wrong are one thing, but common sense and self preservation should take precedence, its like a caveman winding up a T-rex and wondering why he has no head.

 

Except it isn't a T-rex but a bloke.