Cyclist vs Bus due to ignoring red light

[Cyclone]

But it's not outside their control. That's the point.

 

Brake failure on a car is *very* rare. Cars have dual circuit split brakes. They have an emergency brake which people call a handbrake.

 

How many people test those every morning before they set off? Almost no one does unless they've been through IAM or polcie driving courses I'll bet. If they did they'd find a problem before the end of the driveway.

 

If they crash due to failure then it's their fault for not testing it to start with.

 

With the bike - it's very rare for a cable to snap unless corroded (ever heard of a car "handbrake" cable snapping? It's not excatly common). So it comes down to poor maintenance.

 

We enforce maintenance in cars with an annual MOT test. Now that's overkill for a bike because lets face it if a bike does fail the only eprson whos likely to be injured is the cyclist, and it's therefore been brought on themselves, and they also use the roads by right and not by licence.

 

It is however incumbent on all to ensure that vehicles are maintained correctly, that important things like brakes and steering are not going to fail, and that you can stop before a red light, even if half of your brakes fail.

 

Very rare, so you admit that it's possible then.

 

Cables do snap, and until they snap there's no warning that it's going to happen.

 

There are no end of unexpected mechanical problems that can occur without warning, and in no case can it be deemed to be the operators fault.

[truman]

Very rare, so you admit that it's possible then.

 

Cables do snap, and until they snap there's no warning that it's going to happen.

 

There are no end of unexpected mechanical problems that can occur without warning, and in no case can it be deemed to be the operators fault.

 

There are lots of mechanical problems that can be avoided by regular maintenance and checks..

[Cyclone]

There are lots of mechanical problems that can be avoided by regular maintenance and checks..

 

Didn't claim that there were weren't.

 

Doesn't alter the point that some occur without warning and could occur soon after regular maintenance.

[truman]

Didn't claim that there were weren't.

 

Doesn't alter the point that some occur without warning and could occur soon after regular maintenance.

 

I think "no end" was over egging a bit

[Guest sibon]

But it's not outside their control. That's the point.

 

Brake failure on a car is *very* rare. Cars have dual circuit split brakes. They have an emergency brake which people call a handbrake.

 

 

I had a total brake failure in an MG Midget, some years ago. I found out about it half way down Long Lane in Loxley. Not an experience that I'd recommend to anybody.

 

There are lots of mechanical problems that can be avoided by regular maintenance and checks..

 

In this case, I'd just had my rear brake pipes replaced. The increase in pressure on the braking system did for my front pipes. Then I lost all of the fluid.

 

Sometimes, things are unpredictable, even when you think that you have done the right thing.

[Cyclone]

I think "no end" was over egging a bit

 

Fair enough, replace with "some".

[Obelix]

Very rare, so you admit that it's possible then.

 

Cables do snap, and until they snap there's no warning that it's going to happen.

 

There are no end of unexpected mechanical problems that can occur without warning, and in no case can it be deemed to be the operators fault.

 

But they don't occur regularly at all. They are very rare. To guard against this, you have backups - in the case of this cyclist the backup - the rear brake wasn't up to the task. If he'd ensure that his braking system - the system not just the cable was up to the job he could have put on his rear brake and stopped.

 

His braking system was at fault and that is down to him as a rider.

 

Just been working on a friends Landy. The brakes on that suddenly stopped being as good as they could be - we found a seized caliper. That's akin to the snapped cable - but because there were three other calipers still working just fine - and a transmission brake - also fine - the braking system never failed. All that failed was one small component.

 

---------- Post added 04-06-2015 at 15:28 ----------

 

I had a total brake failure in an MG Midget, some years ago. I found out about it half way down Long Lane in Loxley. Not an experience that I'd recommend to anybody.

 

 

 

In this case, I'd just had my rear brake pipes replaced. The increase in pressure on the braking system did for my front pipes. Then I lost all of the fluid.

 

Sometimes, things are unpredictable, even when you think that you have done the right thing.

 

Presumably the handbrake still worked though, and the brakes worked well enough until you'd pumped all the fluid out the system? Or was it old enough to only havea single circuit brake?

[Cyclone]

The rear brake functioned as well as it ever would or could... It worked as designed.

 

I'd say it's a design problem with the bike.

[alchemist]

The rear brake functioned as well as it ever would or could... It worked as designed.

 

I'd say it's a design problem with the bike.

 

Speaking from a position of admitted ignorance on the subject of fixed wheel bikes. Why would someone choose to ride on roads, which many threads on here have indicated and many studies have proven, are potentially dangerous to cyclists then choose to ride what seems to be a cycle that is more dangerous than a standard one?

[altus]

Speaking from a position of admitted ignorance on the subject of fixed wheel bikes. Why would someone choose to ride on roads, which many threads on here have indicated and many studies have proven, are potentially dangerous to cyclists then choose to ride what seems to be a cycle that is more dangerous than a standard one?

 

For cyclists who compete, it encourages a smooth pedalling action and gets your legs used to pedalling very fast. This is particularly useful for track cyclists where the rules say they must have a fixed gear. Most competition cyclists do it on longer rides with fewer traffic lights, etc.

 

For commuters, it's mainly a hipster affectation.