Stupid Cyclist

cyclist is a bit of a prat but the van driver takes the biscuit, as for a cyclist needing more space than the width of the bars/bike, you do need it, cars going past closely at 30+ can suck a bike in and make the rider fall off
 
Oh, posts about collisions caused by handlebars. Here's mine.

I was filtering through heavy traffic and just about to pass a dodgy pimped out BMW when an empty drinks can was dropped from the passenger window. It was so close to me that I had no way to avoid it and it wrapped around my front tyre. Total lack of control as the can caused me to slide and my bull bar collided with the BMW wing mirror, causing it to seperate from the rest of the car and fall to the ground.

Jordan wannabe is furious as I dump the wing mirror in her lap, shouting about how I owe £400 for a new mirror. I tell her that where it not for her littering, her wing mirror would still be in place. I ask if she wants to report it to the Police but also point out that they may not be happy about her out of date tax disk. I then proceed on my way.
 
Sp00n said:
He's some sort of "vigilante", someone should make him a super hero suit to wear as well.
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And there is a pattern to it too - black cabs "cut him up", he yells, red buses "cut him up", he yells, mopeds "cut him up", he yells, he's an ambulance short of high score in this game.
 
snowdog said:
Cyclists need to stop taking themselves so seriously, you do not need as much space as a car !

Of course, they shouldn't even have as much space as they are trying to claim in the UK, I really can't see why they aren't forced to keep to the left when sharing a lane with cars like here, not keeping as much to the side as possible simply means a fine, that's how it should be, cycling will fail if you get them claiming a whole bloody car lane.

That said, the infrastructure in parts of that vid is quite ridiculous, a cycle lane BETWEEN 2 car lanes ? WTF !? That lane should be on the left, not between 2 car lanes, that is ridiculously dangerous.
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You've clearly never cycled properly on the road if you fail to understand why the Cyclist is allowed this much space by the department of transport.

Let's go through a few reasons shall we:

- Cycling close to the kerb is dangerous. There tend to be drains and potholes, it's also where all the crud and rubbish gets swept to. You've also go the fact that Pedestrians tend to randomly step out into the road, the closer you are to the pavement, the less likely you are going to be able to avoid one when they do this. You could also clip your pedals causing yourself an accident.

- The Highway Code and Department of Transport recommend overtaking a cyclist with as much room as a car because it's safer and doesn't spook the cyclist. This may be something a serious cyclist is used to, but what about children and women as I pointed out in an earlier post. If you buzz them, not only are you frightening them, you could result in them having an accident.

- So if a cyclist is up against the kerb in busy traffic how are they supposed to turn right? This is why the Cyclist has the right to be in the primary position because they may need to make a turn. If you stick yourself against the kerb you've got no way of being able to do that.


Finally, since you referenced this particular incident, need I point out that in the video there are cars taking up the whole left hand lane, meaning the cyclist was the only one who was correctly in his own lane. There was no way he could go any further left if he tried. Idiot.
 
Got to admit that some of these camera carrying cyclists do seem to get in a lot more incidents than anyone else but not all of them. In fact not even most of them.

Further to Nexus post, DOT recommends that cyclists position themselves around 1m from the edge of the road, further when passing parked cars. Speaking of which, I nearly got doored this morning coming though Kingston. Don't really fancy a broken collarbone or ribs.
 
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v0n said:
And there is a pattern to it too - black cabs "cut him up", he yells, red buses "cut him up", he yells, mopeds "cut him up", he yells, he's an ambulance short of high score in this game.
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This again :rolleyes:

So you are in your car, somebody cuts you up, so you hit your horn.

You are on your push bike and somebody cuts you up, so you hit your horn.... oh wait a minute, what horn?

See? :rolleyes:
 
[DOD]Asprilla;18380494 said:
Further to Nexus post, DOT recommends that cyclists position themselves around 1m from the edge of the road, further when passing parked cars. Speaking of which, I nearly got doored this morning coming though Kingston. Don't really fancy a broken collarbone or ribs.
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Seriously? 1 meter? That's almost the middle of the lane.

Having said that, I did watch a lady get doored a couple of weeks back, some guy in a van just opened his door straight in to her face and she went flying, stupid women didn't have a helmet on either but man... why didn't the bloody van driver check? Why don't people do this?!
 
Nexus said:
This again :rolleyes:

So you are in your car, somebody cuts you up, so you hit your horn.

You are on your push bike and somebody cuts you up, so you hit your horn.... oh wait a minute, what horn?

See? :rolleyes:
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I refer you to this vid of his -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyhrJ2OkT9s


I can appreciate in some of his vids that he is being cut up by idiot motorists (like the Prius at 13 seconds in I think it is pushing him around at the lights) but to then scream at the motorcyclist (38 seconds in) for nearly hitting him is a bit far given that he PURPOSELY positioned himself to the centre of the lane he was in as the motorbike approaches when he could have just as easily moved to the left of the lane and both would have had plenty of room... You know, side by side like pedal cyclists do all the time without swearing at each other.

If you look at 27 seconds in, he passes a pedal cyclist in the exact same manner as the motorbike passes him. Now you could argue that there was an island in the middle of the road at this point but are you telling me (honestly) that this cyclist would NOT have overtaken that other cyclist at 27 seconds if it happened at that point ??


I don't think anyone can argue that this guy doesn't help himself at times.
 
The guy is deliberately putting himself in harms way to get some "good footage", this much is clear.

Having said that, he is catching some terrible drivers.
 
Sp00n said:
Seriously? 1 meter? That's almost the middle of the lane.

Having said that, I did watch a lady get doored a couple of weeks back, some guy in a van just opened his door straight in to her face and she went flying, stupid women didn't have a helmet on either but man... why didn't the bloody van driver check? Why don't people do this?!
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Yup, 1m. We also aren't recommended to use cycle tracks and lanes if our speed exceeds 18kph. There are loads of guidlines for cyclists that most people simply aren't aware of and so think we are just being random or annoying.

This morning was typical. The road is pretty narrow and car parking on both sides mean that cars can't pass in both directions. I thought I'd do the considerate thing and ride about 50cm from the parks cars so that those beind could get past. As a result I could have ended up in hospital (thank god for cycle commuter spidey sense). It was bloody close, especially as there was a car going past as well.
 
Nexus said:
This again :rolleyes:

So you are in your car, somebody cuts you up, so you hit your horn.

You are on your push bike and somebody cuts you up, so you hit your horn.... oh wait a minute, what horn?

See? :rolleyes:
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I'm not that bothered about yelling-for-horn in general, it's the way this guy does it - the pattern in his videos seems to be: he's in the middle of the road/bus lane (often with cycle lane right beside him), car/bus/moped tries to overtake, he speeds up, car/bus/moped tries in desperation to overtake again, he maintains the speed, now both are too close for comfort, he yells. Not on a single occasion do we see him turn around to see what happened to the vehicle he didn't let pass in the first place or if there is any tailback caused by him being in the middle of the road/bus lane and fighting for penis length of the road with larger vehicle.

Nothing he does is illegal (although not letting vehicles overtake is against highway code), he's of course entitled not to use cycle lane, be in the middle of the lane/bus lane, he has no obligation in law to not maintain his speed and there is no code to prohibit him from speeding up if he chooses to. But one would hope he would notice the pattern - if you have close encounters with just about every kind of professional driver - in vans, in cabs, in buses, on delivery bikes, maybe there is something you do to co-create or aggrevate the situation?
And then there is the "point to make over my dead body" element to his actions - just because drivers cutting him up are in the wrong (and they mostly are), it doesn't mean he has to actively fight with them for space after bad manouvre is done. Why fight? Why squeeze through? Why continue to plow into the side of vehicles and yell? It's just a piece of tarmac. Just let the idiot that cut you up go.
 
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[DOD]Asprilla;18380612 said:
This morning was typical. The road is pretty narrow and car parking on both sides mean that cars can't pass in both directions. I thought I'd do the considerate thing and ride about 50cm from the parks cars so that those beind could get past. As a result I could have ended up in hospital (thank god for cycle commuter spidey sense). It was bloody close, especially as there was a car going past as well.
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I've got to be honest with you, I probably would have cycled on the pavement in that situation :o

I've actually been observing the cyclists around here more since this thread started and I am beginning to understand a lot of what they do and the challenges that you guys face on the roads. Unfortunately, as with motorists, there are those which just blatantly flaunt the rules and do whatever they wish, shouted at a women yesterday, she ran a red light and I nearly ran her over, no helmet on, no lights, completely oblivious to the world around her.
 
Another example of his silly thinking - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiV9xq6_BQg&feature=related

Can't see what the motorbike actually does very clearly but, again, the cyclist seems happy to let other pedal cyclists to "share his lane" as well as being ok with overtaking a cyclist within the same lane but seems really annoyed when a motorbike does the same even though the only real difference is it has an engine.

Why does he seem to have a problem with motorbikes riding past him taking up the exact same room as a pedal cycle yet he doesn't when its a cycle overtaking him or vice-versa ??

Just seems like double standards to me.



p.s. - in some occasions, this guy has a valid point but he ruins all this by portraying a general superiority complex to motorised vehicles.
 
v0n said:
Why fight? Why squeeze through? Why continue to plow into the side of vehicles and yell? It's just a piece of tarmac. Just let the idiot that cut you up go.
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As I've mentioned in a number of posts, and it's not an excuse just a rationale, cyclists get bullied by other traffic a lot. We are only human and can only take so much of it. It's logical to say give way, but logic doesn't always win.
 
What an idiot in the van, I used to ride on the roads a lot in kingston, luckily where i was there is quite a lot of cycle lanes.

Cant believe the guy in the van had the audacity to say what he said, typical dim brained white van driver.
 
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