Cyclone Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I was driving the car which the cyclist nearly went under. The car in front of me was turning right from a junction on the left in between a row of stationary cars on my side of the road. She edged out slowly to see if any cars were coming from the opposite direction and because the cars on my side were stationary she did not look for anything else coming. The next thing I see is the bike crashing to the floor (along with the cyclist) and the bike hitting my car. The front bike wheel went under my wheel and bent and the cyclist hit the ground but did not really come that close to going under either my car or the one that pulled out. I opened the window to see if she was alright but her only concern was that her bike was damaged. My personal opinion is that the cyclist should not have been overtaking at a junction but I don't know what the highway code stipulates on this. Luckily everyone was ok. So the cyclist was filtering, passing the line of stationary traffic using the centre of the road, and a car pulled out from the left between stationary cars and didn't see the cyclist until it was too late for either of them to avoid the collision... Probably 50/50 by the sounds of it, the cyclist was not doing something they shouldn't, but possibly should have been going slower. The car was also not doing anything wrong, but needs better observational skills. It could just as easily have been a motorbike, which would probably have been going faster than a cyclist. ---------- Post added 23-10-2013 at 14:29 ---------- I very much doubt you would Manage to recover anything and no just generalising cyclists all the same !! In the same way that all motorists are like the idiot who went through the tram gate, then a red light over a pedestrian crossing and then tried to make an illegal right turn over another pedestrian crossing yesterday. I assume you won't be objecting to this generalisation since you're so fond of them. (AskMID said that car was uninsured btw, and DVLA says there is no record of the number plate). ---------- Post added 23-10-2013 at 14:30 ---------- OMG are you for real!!!!!! That is my opinion, how would it not be safer for anyone other than the cyclist? Yes, it's a simple question. Are you going to answer it? How do motorcyclists learn to ride their motorcycles, oh yes, under instruction on the roads. Try again. What do you think an L plate on a motorbike means? I don't know do most cyclists hold full driving licenses? Can you show me your proof? I probably could. I won't as evidence clearly isn't of much interest to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalithic Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 Probably 50/50 by the sounds of it, the cyclist was not doing something they shouldn't, but possibly should have been going slower. The car was also not doing anything wrong, but needs better observational skills. It could just as easily have been a motorbike, which would probably have been going faster than a cyclist. That's pretty much how i'd call it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 A safer cyclist would be less likely to collide with pedestrians and other cyclists, also less likely to cause an accident with a moving vehicle, which may swerve into something/someone in order to avoid a careless cyclist Lots of maybes and mights in there. Cars DO cause accidents and DO kill people. Cyclists, even good ones, are most likely to be the victim of an accident than the cause, and even bad ones that are the cause are most likely to hurt only themselves. ---------- Post added 23-10-2013 at 14:36 ---------- Talk about blow things out of proportion Did you read my original post? 'It would be a lot safer for everyone if cyclists had some kind of road safety course and test before being allowed to cycle on the roads' gawd give me strength, I'm off for some cake now, so my fat arse will be your fault. Your statement simply isn't true though is it. At best "it would be a tiny bit safer". But in reality the imposition of the restrictions would discourage cycling, and one of the key factors in cyclist safety is how many cyclists there are on the road! So in the real world your idea would decrease road safety. A sense of perspective is important, but actually understanding what you're talking about even more so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 How would it be safer for anyone other than the cyclist? How do you propose that they learn if they can't go on the roads? Don't most cyclists hold full driving licenses (I'll help you out here, yes they do). It'd be safer for all road users, we all share the same roads. If a cyclist does something stupid it could cause other vehicles to crash while avoiding them. They can hit pedestrians. They'll usually come off worse in a collision with a heavier vehicle, but they can still cause damage, smash windscreens, etc. There are a minority of cyclists with no road sense at all, they give all other cyclists a bad name, they're a danger to themselves & others. There should be a compulsory test for cyclists without a car or motorcycle license before they're allowed on the road unsupervised, like there is for motorcyclists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey69 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Would car drivers also look in their wing mirrors before opening their doors!.. in the dull lighting conditions recently they just seems to miss me with my bright green florescent jacket on coming to overtake them when they have parked up. extra care needed i think!! for every one:hihi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eater Sundae Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 It'd be safer for all road users, we all share the same roads. If a cyclist does something stupid it could cause other vehicles to crash while avoiding them. They can hit pedestrians. They'll usually come off worse in a collision with a heavier vehicle, but they can still cause damage, smash windscreens, etc. There are a minority of cyclists with no road sense at all, they give all other cyclists a bad name, they're a danger to themselves & others. There should be a compulsory test for cyclists without a car or motorcycle license before they're allowed on the road unsupervised, like there is for motorcyclists. That might be a logical conclusion, but only if the "minority of cyclists with no road sense at all" are the ones who have had no training on any vehicle (car or motorcycle). If the bad cyclists are a general cross section of adults, then most of them will already have had driver training. If that's the case, the problem is with them, not with whether or not they have already had some sort of road training on another vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 It'd be safer for all road users, we all share the same roads. If a cyclist does something stupid it could cause other vehicles to crash while avoiding them. They can hit pedestrians. They'll usually come off worse in a collision with a heavier vehicle, but they can still cause damage, smash windscreens, etc. There are a minority of cyclists with no road sense at all, they give all other cyclists a bad name, they're a danger to themselves & others. There should be a compulsory test for cyclists without a car or motorcycle license before they're allowed on the road unsupervised, like there is for motorcyclists. No, it wouldn't. As I explained it would be more dangerous. Such accidents are so rare that I can't remember one being reported. There are a minority as you describe, and I don't like them, but the solution is not some sort of compulsory test, it makes no sense, it would increase road danger, it doesn't make sense for children and the only requirement to ride a small engined motorbike is to get a provisional license and do a CBT. A CBT FYI includes only 2 hours of driving on the road, and the entire thing is done within a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky B Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Why are some on such a downer with cyclists ? I'm not one myself but i always allow them extra room as they are so much more vulnerable than us motorists. I don't get it. :/ Is that because you've read and can follow the highway code? Or just that you're not so far up your own backside you can recognise other road users are human beings in control of a vehicle, not just a vehicle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megalithic Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 Is that because you've read and can follow the highway code? Or just that you're not so far up your own backside you can recognise other road users are human beings in control of a vehicle, not just a vehicle? Haha. It's just commonsense and courtesy isn't it. I personally think a lot of the angst is due to cyclists being able to make progress when we motorists can't. It's a bit silly really isn't it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squiggs Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Haha. It's just commonsense and courtesy isn't it. I personally think a lot of the angst is due to cyclists being able to make progress when we motorists can't. It's a bit silly really isn't it. Quite Like heading along Shalesmoor towards town, there were a couple of large vehicles in the nearside lane - I do NOT filter down the nearside of such vehicles, cycle lane or not, so I filtered through the standing / occasionally crawling traffic between the 2 lanes. A motorcyclist was ahead doing just the same but SOME cars seemed to deliberately pull across just so that the motorcyclist couldn't pass. Despite the fact that he'd have been well away and cause zero hold-up for them, just an infantile "It's SOOO UNFAAAIIIR!" attitude to anyone else being able to make progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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