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Old September 12th 09, 07:01 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Doug[_3_]
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Posts: 5,927
Default "Cycling is not dangerous. Cars are dangerous."

On 11 Sep, 19:55, "Brimstone" wrote:
mileburner wrote:
BrianW wrote:
On 11 Sep, 16:43, Doug wrote:
On 11 Sep, 09:36, BrianW wrote:


On 10 Sep, 16:23, Doug wrote:


On 10 Sep, 15:37, "mileburner" wrote:


"Doug" wrote in message


...


That's what it says in this Times article;


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...e/article68281...


And it also says:


"...According to their research, cyclists are at significantly
more risk of being hit by cars on roads that include cycle
lanes.


Gee! No kidding. That's because cycle lanes encourage cyclists to
ride in the gutter and drivers to pass when it is not safe.


On


average, an overtaking car will pass 18cm closer to a bike in a
cycle lane than it would to a bike with which it was merely
sharing a road.


Sure! So long as the bike is in the cycle lane and the car is in
the main lane, everything is fine. No safety distance is
required. That's why cars may come as close as they like.


That is roughly the distance that your pedals stick out from
your cog. Do bear in mind that you also have elbows...


Keep the elbows within the cycle lane then!


...And yet, throughout our cities, provision for cyclists
remains perfunctory at best, and lunatic at worst..."


We know. Stay out of cycle lanes. They are dangerous places to
ride!


Hang on! Doesn't that place the onus on the cyclist instead of on
the source of danger? Shouldn't it be, "Drivers stay well clear of
cyclists because they are much more vulnerable than you and don't
become impatient while waiting to overtake cyclists"?


Of course we should say that to drivers. ?Regrettably, though, not
all will do so. ?Given that the outcome of a collision between a
bike and a car is so much worse for the cyclist, unfortunately
cyclists do have to look after themselves as well.


So you admit it is worse for the vulnerable victim?


Of course. *As I've told you several times, I myself was nearly
killed back in the summer whilst cycling. *The prosecution of the
driver is ongoing.


I was almost wiped out by a van a few weeks back. The driver pulled
out from a farmyard on the left. He was looking toward me but he did
not really see me; he was looking at the tractor behind me and
realised that he could pull out without needing to give way to the
tractor. The things which saved me were 1) I was passing wide (centre
of lane) and I saw him moving out and 2) there was nothing coming
ahead so I could pull across even further.
You can't trust drivers :-(


Nor anyone else with your own safety. Sadly, some people try to and then cry
about it when they come unstuck.

So we should go around daily in the expectation of being killed by
drivers in what purports to be a civilised country?

Question. Suppose I am walking along a pavement and a driver loses
control and mounts the pavement where I am. What action should I take
to avoid this and protect myself?

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