A bit too early in the morning?

Tina Eager wrote:
Had a near miss with a cyclist this morning, trying to put it down to it
being 7am and not everybody being at their brightest.
On my way to work in the car, driving through early morning residential
streets of the kind where there are very few people/cars moving at that
time. Downtown Herne Bay - not exactly a heaving metropolis.
On this particular road I was turning into there is a narrow section
controlled by traffic lights and I was pulling up to a T junction with
the lights about 10 yards to my left. The lights were on green my side (
you can see them from round the corner). Suddenly, as if by magic, a guy
on a cycle comes through the narrow section (and he must have come
through against the lights) at fairly high speed and tries to turn right
into the road I was about to turn out of. He almost ended up sitting on
the bonnet of my car! He didn't actually corner, just swerve towards the
turning in an arc rather than at a right angle, and he crossed the
dotted lines on the wrong side of the road! Lucky for him I was able to
slam on the brakes, but it was a near miss. As good as a mile maybe but
still too close for comfort.
Anyway, no harm done but it made me think. What if he had ended up
embedded in the front of my car? Injuries to him for sure (btw given the
lycra I suspect it was a "him" - women don't tend to come in that shape,
but with the helmet on I couldn't see for sure so it may have been a
female). There's a small question of insurance, and my no claims
discount and all sorts of stuff round that scenario. That's without the
possibility of serious injury to him, hospital, blood and guts all over
the place.
Anyway, if it was you ... wake up please! Tomorrow I might not be quite
as alert! You also owe me a pint to restore my shattered nerves!
- Tina Eager



why you worried about no claims- it would only be lost if he claimed
against you, because he was an irresponsible cytclist then he probably
didnt have 3rd party insurance so damage to your car would be coffed up
by you, then if you could track hime down or if he didnt die youd have
to persuade him or take him to court, a pita none the less



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Tina Eager wrote:
Had a near miss with a cyclist this morning, trying to put it down to
it being 7am and not everybody being at their brightest.


Sounds like empty streets complacency syndrome - there's never a car there
in the morning as he cuts the corner and one wasn't expected. Put it down
to just one of those near accidents which according to another thread, don't
happen.

As for insurance, if it was enough to damage the car it is unlikely he could
run away and almost everyone has third party liability insurance through one
route or another which would pay out in those circumstances.

Tony

--
"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."
Mark Twain

elyob wrote:

the
lycra I suspect it was a "him" - women don't tend to come in that
shape,
but with the helmet on I couldn't see for sure so it may have been a
female). There's a small question of insurance, and my no claims
discount and all sorts of stuff round that scenario. That's without
the
possibility of serious injury to him, hospital, blood and guts all
over
the place.
Anyway, if it was you ... wake up please! Tomorrow I might not be
quite
as alert! You also owe me a pint to restore my shattered nerves!
- Tina Eager



why you worried about no claims- it would only be lost if he claimed
against you, because he was an irresponsible cytclist then he probably
didnt have 3rd party insurance so damage to your car would be coffed up
by you, then if you could track hime down or if he didnt die youd have
to persuade him or take him to court, a pita none the less


This thread is very difficult to understand.

Well as I see it , we have a car driver that was pulling out of a side
road that is complaining that a cyclist turned across them.But I may be
wrong.


--
Marc
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Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

Although I don't condone cyclists who ignore red lights, from your
description it sounds like you were also partly at fault.

Let's not be too harsh. The tone is much less combative than others we've
seen on a similar topic, and I like the line about owing the OP a pint ;-)

Truth is, all road users have brown trouser moments every now and then.

I think the universal lawis "Anyone that suprises us scares us , so it
must be them that was in the wrong" , this applies whether you are
walking, cycling or motoring.


--
Marc
Stickers,decals,membership,cards, T shirts, signs etc
for clubs and associations of all types.
http://www.jaceeprint.demon.co.uk/

Daniel Auger wrote:
On 8 Sep 2003, Tina Eager wrote:
Although I don't condone cyclists who ignore red lights, from your
description it sounds like you were also partly at fault. Whether or not
you ought to turn into a road depends on whether the road is clear, not
on whether it ought to be.
Perhaps slowing down a bit more at that turning might help?
--
Daniel Auger - (Please remove Granta to get a
valid address.)




But the OP had not yet made the turn, she was about to turn left out of
a side road at T junction. She jammed on the brakes to avoid the
collision. How can she be at fault at all ? From my reading the cyclist
cut the corner, the OP stated that the rider was on the wrong side of
the dotted line, that is, the drivers side. The driver can not be at
fault if she stopped in her lane and the cyclist was on the wrong side
of the road. The driver took evasive action which is the correct thing
to do, what more could she do ?

The tone of the posting is not mean't to castigate all cyclists IMHO,
just a wake up call to us. No need to be apportioning blame, as the OP
said no harm was done.



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Oops I snipped the wrong part of the reply ! Sorry, I hope you
get the gist



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"marc" wrote in message
. co.uk...
elyob wrote:


why you worried about no claims- it would only be lost if he claimed
against you, because he was an irresponsible cytclist then he probably
didnt have 3rd party insurance so damage to your car would be coffed
up
by you, then if you could track hime down or if he didnt die youd have
to persuade him or take him to court, a pita none the less


This thread is very difficult to understand.

Well as I see it , we have a car driver that was pulling out of a side
road that is complaining that a cyclist turned across them.But I may be
wrong.



I think it was the worlds longest sentence mixed with a dashing of bad
spelling that flummoxed me.

I had a near miss which I'll share to show you shouldn't take anything
on trust:

Bus, stuck in traffic, about 1.5m from kerb with a (useless, but that's
another story) cycle lane between. It's been there, about 50m short of
the bus stop, for at least one traffic light cycle.

I go past on the inside (yes, I know, but there was no easy way to the
offside from where I started).

Halfway past, someone pops out of the centre doors, right in front of
me. I hadn't even seen they were open.

But I stopped dead and she never knew I was there until I spoke to her.
So, like the OP, I'm glad it was me and not someone less awake/alert.

Colin McKenzie

On 9 Sep 2003 21:02:20 +0950, MSeries wrote:

But the OP had not yet made the turn, she was about to turn left out of
a side road at T junction. She jammed on the brakes to avoid the
collision. How can she be at fault at all ?

Well, at the very least she's driving without proper observation,
since depsite all the assurances motorists come up with, cyclists
don't appear out of nowhere.

From my reading the cyclist cut the corner, the OP stated that the
rider was on the wrong side of the dotted line, that is, the drivers side.

I don't think you can tell much at all from teh description, actually,
because teh description is too vague. For example, she says the
cyclist didn't actually corner, but then she says he did make the
turn. Also, teh story doesn't quite hang together in that she
describes observing the cyclist come through the pinch-point, which
is 10m away, but had to slam on teh brakes to avoid said cyclist, who
didn't make a sudden manouver. I'm not sure slamming on of brakes is
compatible with observing a cyclist make a progressive manouver from
that distance.

The driver took evasive action which is the correct thing
to do, what more could she do ?

Take teh action earlier and thus avoid slamming of brakes?

Also, how credible is it that a a cyclist would ride straight into the
front of a car that's been in plain view for some time, without
taking any evasive action? What seems a good deal more credible is
that a motorist didn't observe properly, assumed a road was clear
based on circumstantial evidence, was surprised when a cyclist
'appeared' in front of them, slammed the brakes on without cause, and
then wanted to let off steam about it. Then again, as I said, the
account was so disjointed that just about anything could have
been what actually happened..

regards, Ian SMith
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marc wrote:

I think the universal lawis "Anyone that suprises us scares us
, so it
must be them that was in the wrong" , this applies whether you
are
walking, cycling or motoring.

I must be getting tired I read that last line as - walking,
cycling or moroning.

--
Mark