Cyclists !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eloise posted:

winkyincanada posted:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41028321

With 4 or 5 people being killed by motorists every single day on UK's roads, one wonders why this particular one is news.

Interesting perspective presented... https://www.theguardian.com/en...rious-driving-charge

No kidding.

"It is no coincidence that the one death of a pedestrian involving a cyclist is the one case where a manslaughter charge has followed. This is reported to be a first."

The first ever pedestrian death where a manslaughter charge was sought. Wow. That seems simply outrageous.  It's always interesting that a lightweight cyclist at 18mph is considered wanton and furious, yet motorists piloting 2 tonnes of metal and doing twice that speed are considered to be just a part of traffic. The guy that killed 4 cyclists years ago in Wales was convicted of having bald tyres, that was it. Cyclists perhaps can't help but feel a little persecuted.

The piece is well-written and thoughtful, in my view.

Eloise posted:

winkyincanada posted:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41028321

With 4 or 5 people being killed by motorists every single day on UK's roads, one wonders why this particular one is news.

Interesting perspective presented... https://www.theguardian.com/en...rious-driving-charge

In a much fuller way, the Guardian article says the same thing as I did in an earlier posr: there is no way the 18mph, let alone the "up to 14mph" also quoted is furious driving (cycling). In my view the conviction for that was wrong, and a dangerous precenedent for other cyclists should they be involved in a collision with a pedestrian, regardless of the remainder of the circumatances.

winkyincanada posted:

Eloise posted:

winkyincanada posted:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41028321

With 4 or 5 people being killed by motorists every single day on UK's roads, one wonders why this particular one is news.

Interesting perspective presented... https://www.theguardian.com/en...rious-driving-charge

No kidding.

"It is no coincidence that the one death of a pedestrian involving a cyclist is the one case where a manslaughter charge has followed. This is reported to be a first."

The first ever pedestrian death where a manslaughter charge was sought. Wow. That seems simply outrageous.  It's always interesting that a lightweight cyclist at 18mph is considered wanton and furious, yet motorists piloting 2 tonnes of metal and doing twice that speed are considered to be just a part of traffic. The guy that killed 4 cyclists years ago in Wales was convicted of having bald tyres, that was it. Cyclists perhaps can't help but feel a little persecuted.

The piece is well-written and thoughtful, in my view.

"Mrs Briggs' family said they plan to campaign for tougher cycling laws to protect pedestrians"

I'm all for protecting pedestrians, but let's not lose sight of the fact that motorists kill 400 per year in the UK alone. Tougher cycling laws won't fix that. In fact, if the UK were to go down the path that NSW has, where cyclists are being fined off the roads altogether, pedestrian deaths will possibly increase in proportion to the extra driving (mitigated perhaps by the extremely slow speeds brought on by the resulting gridlock).

I was wiped out on my bike this morning. A Mini simply pulled out of her drive as we were passing at about 30mph. My head left a big dent in her bonnet but luckily I just have cuts and bruises, although the bike sustained damage.

This followed two near misses this week. In spite of my fondness for Guinness I seem to have become invisible.

People on this thread have expressed all sorts of opinions about cyclists, but our vulnerability to powered vehicles is clear. We should all take our driving/riding/walking responsibilities seriously and never take other road users for granted.

Stu

Well said Stu. Glad you're ok. Went out on my bike tonight here in Devon. Only twice did I nearly get killed, that's good going but was staying well off the main routes. 

stuart.ashen posted:

I was wiped out on my bike this morning. A Mini simply pulled out of her drive as we were passing at about 30mph. My head left a big dent in her bonnet but luckily I just have cuts and bruises, although the bike sustained damage.

This followed two near misses this week. In spite of my fondness for Guinness I seem to have become invisible.

People on this thread have expressed all sorts of opinions about cyclists, but our vulnerability to powered vehicles is clear. We should all take our driving/riding/walking responsibilities seriously and never take other road users for granted.

Stu

Stu, sounds like you had a lucky escape from serious injury. Take care in case you get any late reaction concussion symptoms after banging your head. 

I'm in the market for a helmet-camera [and also a dash-cam for my car] i know they won't stop an accident from happening but are an essential aid for incident reporting and damage/injury claiming.

Debs 

I was riding my mountain bike last year down a busy road that goes down a hill. I was doing perhaps 45km/hr. There was an off ramp ahead of me part way down the hill to my left where cars can peel off, I was going straight ahead, but a 4WD overtook me and then turned left just in front of me to go on this off ramp. I was not expecting this and not only was there the shock of his arrant stupidity, but he also had a large trailer that had a sailing boat on it. I missed mutilation or death by about 30cm as I just missed the rear of the trailer. I am never riding down that road again. It is much safer riding down off camber rooty and boulder strewn mountain bike tracks than riding on the roads.

Why were you riding  a "mountain bike"  down a busy road? 

Just asking...

Kiwi cat posted:

I was riding my mountain bike last year down a busy road that goes down a hill. I was doing perhaps 45km/hr. There was an off ramp ahead of me part way down the hill to my left where cars can peel off, I was going straight ahead, but a 4WD overtook me and then turned left just in front of me to go on this off ramp. I was not expecting this and not only was there the shock of his arrant stupidity, but he also had a large trailer that had a sailing boat on it. I missed mutilation or death by about 30cm as I just missed the rear of the trailer. I am never riding down that road again. It is much safer riding down off camber rooty and boulder strewn mountain bike tracks than riding on the roads.

There's one road junction I cross every day, a junction at the bottom of a 200 yard straight slope, single carriageway. The approach is 30mph limit and changes to 20mph at the junction.. Almost invariably a car (and I don't mean the same one each day) will accelarate to considerably over 30 to overtake me (I will be up to 30 myself by not far down the hill) slam on its brakes and turn left cutting directly across my path. I'Ve learnt to cycle out near the centre of the road - but still occasionally an idiot still swings out and overtakes and then cuts in and across. A blast on my air horn down't stop them, but passers by look so at least there would be witnesses in the event of an accident. It is tempting to get a handlebar camera and send recordings to the police.

Tony2011 posted:

Why were you riding  a "mountain bike"  down a busy road? 

Just asking...

The mountain bike trails were on top of the hill and there was actually a mountain bike trail that went down parallel to the road. However it is very technical and I have fallen off it more than once, so I took the main road. Never again.

 As a general observation over thousands of kilometres ridden on the road, vehicles turning across the oath of my bike have offered the"hairiest' moments.

Guys.....

.....the last few posts have mentioned cyclists doing c.30mph and virtually unable to stop in the event that somebody pulls out of a driveway or sideroad etc.

If a motorist mentioned on this forum that he was doing c.30mph and only just managed to swerve to avoid a child running out into the road, or a cyclist who pulled out of a sideroad, he would be crucified (and rightly so).

We ALL have responsibilities, both to ourselves and others. Well, IMHO.

Innocent Bystander posted:

Kiwi cat posted:

I was riding my mountain bike last year down a busy road that goes down a hill. I was doing perhaps 45km/hr. There was an off ramp ahead of me part way down the hill to my left where cars can peel off, I was going straight ahead, but a 4WD overtook me and then turned left just in front of me to go on this off ramp. I was not expecting this and not only was there the shock of his arrant stupidity, but he also had a large trailer that had a sailing boat on it. I missed mutilation or death by about 30cm as I just missed the rear of the trailer. I am never riding down that road again. It is much safer riding down off camber rooty and boulder strewn mountain bike tracks than riding on the roads.

There's one road junction I cross every day, a junction at the bottom of a 200 yard straight slope, single carriageway. The approach is 30mph limit and changes to 20mph at the junction.. Almost invariably a car (and I don't mean the same one each day) will accelarate to considerably over 30 to overtake me (I will be up to 30 myself by not far down the hill) slam on its brakes and turn left cutting directly across my path. I'Ve learnt to cycle out near the centre of the road - but still occasionally an idiot still swings out and overtakes and then cuts in and across. A blast on my air horn down't stop them, but passers by look so at least there would be witnesses in the event of an accident. It is tempting to get a handlebar camera and send recordings to the police.

I must get a GoPro for situations such as these. It would offer me some consolation in the orthopaedic ward after my bones have been K-rodded and plated, to see these dangerous and inconsiderate drivers prosecuted.

I an currently back in Vernon, BC, Canada.

I will try to post a couple of pictures in the next few days to illustrate the sort of arrangement we have here to accommodate cyclists (no, it's NOT a prison   but they are funded by local taxes.

Don Atkinson posted:

Guys.....

.....the last few posts have mentioned cyclists doing c.30mph and virtually unable to stop in the event that somebody pulls out of a driveway or sideroad etc.

If a motorist mentioned on this forum that he was doing c.30mph and only just managed to swerve to avoid a child running out into the road, or a cyclist who pulled out of a sideroad, he would be crucified (and rightly so).

We ALL have responsibilities, both to ourselves and others. Well, IMHO.

The issue of restricted sightlines and lack of time to react is exacerbated by the insistence that cyclists ride in the gutter. A motorist striking a child running out onto the would not be prosecuted provided it was not able to be shown that they exceeded the speed limit (even if they were). They would not be "crucified".

A cyclist doing 25mph is generally considered reckless while a motorist doing 35mph is considered a "moving roadblock" and attracts the anger of much more important motorists whose time is evidently more valuable.

Hi winky,

I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, but you might be able to help.

I have a short meeting with Transport Canada at 12:00 on Monday 28th (i.e. Day after tomorrow) at their office on the corner of Burrard Street and Robson.

I'll be staying over night Sunday in Chilliwack and driving into town.

Previously I've stayed at the Sutton Place hotel and parked there. Are there any car parks nearby that you could point me to ? I guess I'll need to park for 2 to 3 hours.

many thanks, Don

PS. I don't really want to bring my bike and cycle in 

Check out this rather beautiful cycling video on youtube by the singer Lucy Rose - Second Chance. Looks like it's set in the Peak District - Derbyshire Bridge to be exact. If anyone can link to it from here, it might make it easier to find.

Enjoy.

Why do some cyclists, think it is OK to ride on the sidewalk, which is for pedestrians...????

wenger2015 posted:

Why do some cyclists, think it is OK to ride on the sidewalk, which is for pedestrians...????

 

Why do some motorists think it is OK to drive in, or even park in, a dedicated cycle lane, which is for cyclists????

Clive B posted:

wenger2015 posted:

Why do some cyclists, think it is OK to ride on the sidewalk, which is for pedestrians...????

 

Why do some motorists think it is OK to drive in, or even park in, a dedicated cycle lane, which is for cyclists????

No idea, other than if it is unoccupied and the road unsuitable to ride on. As a cyclist, I find it very annoying when another cyclist instead of stopping at a red light mounts the pavement (sidewalk) to pass the lights, then back on the road - annoying because it gives the rest of us cyclists a bad name.

Mr Blue Sky posted:

Check out this rather beautiful cycling video on youtube by the singer Lucy Rose - Second Chance. Looks like it's set in the Peak District - Derbyshire Bridge to be exact. If anyone can link to it from here, it might make it easier to find.

Enjoy.

http://www.stayloose.co.uk/pr/...clist-elinor-barker/

I didn't realise at first that the cyclist isn't the singer......

wenger2015 posted:

Why do some cyclists, think it is OK to ride on the sidewalk, which is for pedestrians...????

 

Some are perhaps scared of being killed by motorists. Others may just be impatient, using the sidewalk to bypass traffic.

wenger2015 posted:

Why do some cyclists, think it is OK to ride on the sidewalk, which is for pedestrians...????

 

Because they know that is better to hit a pedestrian than getting hit by a car.   Easy. Isn't it??

Thanks for the link above Winky. 

I thought the cyclist looked a bit too professional to be the singer. They state the video was shot in the Lake District, but I'm pretty sure it's the Peak District - I've definitely ridden that road.

Unfortunately bad cyclists give good cyclists a bad name and bad drivers give good drivers a bad name.

It's catch 22....

After very nearly being taken out by a cyclist as I was walking on the pavement yesterday... I was contemplating if it would be a good idea for pedestrians to wear helmets..... ...

Before anyone takes this comment seriously... I'm only joking.. about the helmets...

I heard somewhere that an air bag suit (my terminology) had been developed that a motorcyclist could wear for protection in an accident. Perhaps this should be extended to (and of course made compulsory for) cyclists and pedestrians.  

...I can just picure the Michelin-man appearance of everyone after a collision - or if rather more spherical, person-sized balloons bouncing down the street!