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#1
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A close thing .....
........ and I was in the car.
As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to work. This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside. There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have hit her. Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure. What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes. Regards, David (who has had his rude awakening this morning) |
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#2
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A close thing .....
What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes. Kind of agree. I work for two companies (currently trying to shift from one profession to another with only limited success so far!). Anyway, it means I am constantly moving between two locations through the centre of the city. So often I catch myself fiddling with the radio, trying to work the CD player or picking something up off the flow and forgetting to look out for cyclists. Sometimes I have to give myself a good talking to. Oxford is full of cyclists and you often become very used to them and almost blind to them too. |
#3
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A close thing .....
"David K" wrote in message ... ....... and I was in the car. As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to work. This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside. There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have hit her. Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure. What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes. Regards, David (who has had his rude awakening this morning) I imagine as you were in a lane and not indicating she would have assumed you were not going to change lane. A reasonable assumption I would have thought. Were there any road markings you also failed to see? ie she may have been in a left turn lane while you were not. When you say "I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure" do you mean you would have gone for it even though you weren't sure you were clear to? |
#4
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A close thing .....
On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:25:21 -0000
"David K" wrote: There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have hit her. Obviously I don't know about your case, but therein lurks a common fallacy. Cyclists (and indeed motorcyclists) are very good at emergency escapes that may seem impossible from a driver's perspective. Think yourself on the bike. You're aware of the cars around you, and ready to take evasive action if one of them does something stupid in your direction. What would you have done, and would it have ended up as anything worse than a curse-and- swear-at-the-moron incident? -- not me guv |
#5
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A close thing .....
clodhopper wrote:
"David K" wrote in message ... ....... and I was in the car. As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to work. This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside. There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have hit her. Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure. What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes. Regards, David (who has had his rude awakening this morning) I imagine as you were in a lane and not indicating she would have assumed you were not going to change lane. A reasonable assumption I would have thought. Agreed. I am am in no way blaming the cyclist here. I have put my hands up and admitted I did not see her even though I feel I looked - obviously not well enough. Were there any road markings you also failed to see? ie she may have been in a left turn lane while you were not. No other road markings. I was stopped in the outside lane contemplating a change of lane. When you say "I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure" do you mean you would have gone for it even though you weren't sure you were clear to? I was not going for anything. The inside lane was completely free from cars as there was a van parked a car length or so behind me. There was a car turning right ahead and unable to cross the oncoming traffic. The inside lane was free of cars but I did not pick up the cyclist. Having checked, there appeared to be no reason not to make a safe change of lane. This was not a quick dart 'the traffic is slow in the outside lane and I'm in a hurry to work' change of lane. I was stopped and thinking about it. For some reason I stopped (I had started to turn the wheel and move ever so slightly towards the inside) and decided not to change. Could it have been that I satisfied myself there were no cars but subconcsiously picked up a cyclist? Maybe a bit implausible but for whatever reason I didn't change lane and I'm relieved. Looking back I imagine that the parked van may a blocked my view of the cyclist who was able to overtake it and return to the inside lane without me picking her up. David |
#6
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A close thing .....
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#7
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A close thing .....
David K wrote:
....... and I was in the car. As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to work. This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside. There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have hit her. Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure. What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes. Regards, David (who has had his rude awakening this morning) the danger with lane filtering is that you are passing though cars blind spots, years ago i did see a photo of a car with a impressive marked out area that couldn't be seen by mirrors. some cars are better than others but all at least that i've used have had fairly big blind spots. and yes bikes be that motor or pedal can suprise one. roger |
#8
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A close thing .....
Learn from motorcyclists and always make a 'lifesaver' observation over the appropriate shoulder before moving out or over. You probably don't need to look particularly hard as long as you turn your head - peripheral vision is pretty good at picking up the movement of anything coming up behind you, and any extra observation is better than none. Also when you use your mirrors check them twice and you're less likely to be surprised.- Hide quoted text - True. I rode a motorbike for many years and recently my last head check stopped me from going into the path of a speeding car who thought they would sneak past me even though I was obviously indicating right and sat in the middle of my lane ready to turn ages before he arrived speedily on my tail. The one muscle cramp I never moan about at is the one in my neck from checking what those pesky drivers are up to behind me. I must also start remembering that in my car, I am that pesky driver! |
#9
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A close thing .....
Following on from David K's message. . .
This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside. ISTR years ago when I would drive to London I'd specially adjust my nearside wing mirror to see inside cyclists better after they appeared from nowhere. As a 'cyclist being a driver' you get used to anticipating where these events are more likely, but what does that say about the rest of them. -- PETER FOX Not the same since the bookshop idea was shelved www.eminent.demon.co.uk - Lots for cyclists |
#10
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A close thing .....
David K wrote:
....... and I was in the car. As I, driving back from a meeting in Didsbury this afternoon, was turning off the M6 I noticed a Preston-bound cyclist using the roundabout. The junction has a left filter lane which I was about to use to head towards Preston. To my amazement, the cyclist stopped on the cross-hatching between the left filter lane and the remaining two lanes to wait for traffic to pass. I suspect he will still be there now. What I completely fail to understand is why the chap decided to make this potentially dangerous manoeuvre rather than either continuing to use the roundabout (he must have already negotiated the more dangerous of the two) or using the alternative cycle route, which has actually been built to a decent standard. Cheers, Luke -- Lincoln City 0-2 Southend United (AET) Swansea City 2-2 Southend United We went up twice with Tilly and Brush |
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