UKC

So, there I am riding along yesterday on a main road, approaching a staggered cross-roads with 2 side roads, so it's my right of way.

There's a white van looking to turn right from the road on the right. He nudges out about 1/2 across the right lane then, once the car behind me has turned left behind me, pulls straight out and almost into the side of me, his front wheel level with mine. Yelling through his open side window, he wasn't even looking at me and didn't care that he'd almost run me up the grass verge. There is no way he didn't see me riding up the road and he would have had plenty of room to overtake me further down the road.

REALLY wish I'd had the GoPro running - I wasn't quick enough to get his numberplate.

I was having a really nice ride until then - bastard!

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I can see hwo that would ruin the tranquility of the ride.

Same kinda thing happened to me (a white van too). I was on the main rod with a minor staggered junction. A van came out from the left and drove across my path to the right to continue along the minor road. I had to pull hard to brake and turn my bike and could practically have leant in his window and kissed him on the cheek, we were so close. He didn't so much as aim for me but didn't care thatI was in his path.

In reply to LastBoyScout:
Not saying this is the case here, but it is really easy to miss bikes, especially if you're looking for cars - i pulled out (on my bike) far too close for comfort in front of a guy on a bike last week - it was a busy road and i'd "picked my spot" to get out between cars and didn't spot a guy on a bike coming fast from the right - no harm done as I did have just enough room, but a reminder to check again for bikes.

In reply to andy:

Yes. I am sure there is the odd homicidal maniac around but generally even white van drivers would prefer to avoid the hassle of killing cyclists. I expect both the examples above were simply cases of not seeing/registering the cyclist at all. Responsibilities on everyone to look carefully and also to wear bright clothing and use lights. Talking of which, cycling in fog on the Snake pass in dark clothing without lights is, well, stupid.

In reply to MG:

What I don't get is why people take wholly unnecessary/dangerous/illegal risks for little or no gain.

Saving yourself 10 seconds to wait for a junction is hardly going to be reason you miss that appointment.

The same with speeding ... doing 40 through a 30mph town for 5 miles (which is not a small town) will take you 7.5 minutes - saving you a whole 2.5 minutes but would get you 3 penalty points.

Doing 80mph on a motorway for a 30 mile journey is going to save you ... 3 whole minutes on your 25 minute journey. 90mph is only a ~6 minute saving.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying I don't speed ... but I don't excessively speed.

I guess the thing is that people don't realise how small the benefit of what they're doing is.

In reply to andy:


Definitely not the case here - bright white and blue team top and helmet in perfect visibility against a green hedge background and a couple of cars behind me moving slowly.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I feel your pain. I have noticed an increased number of near misses on my 100%-not-being-hit record and am started to get a bit worried. That said, a camera is no use to your broken back after the incident. As cyclists where your blood pressure and adrenaline are up, it is easy to get into "I am right here" type of confrontation with metal boxes. The problem is that in any collision, there is only one looser and it is consistently the cyclist.

I therefore try my hardest to manage situations like this by letting the alleged a-hole get out of the way regardless of the right and wrongs. It just isn't worth it.

In reply to andy:

I nearly drove onto a mini roundabout into a cyclist a couple of years ago (right in front of the 'watch out for cyclists' sign...). I cycle myself and thought I was pretty careful. It's amazing how you can not see something if you don't expect it to be there. Nothing happened - i saw him just in time - but i learnt an important lesson!

In reply to andy:


It's very easy to miss bikes when you're focused on looking for gaps in traffic (read cars) at a busy junction especially one that's visually cluttered. I make sure I have one last scan especially close in to my right and for bikes waiting on the white line directly in front for their gap in the traffic before I commit to going for my gap.

I know it's a popular narrative, the rabidly anti-bike homicidal driver waiting to pounce on obviously visible cyclists minding their own business but I think the vast majority of these incidents are the result of how our brains and vision work when we're on autopilot, we're just not aware of what we're not aware of!

Deliberate scanning with plenty of head movement helps but it's rare to see and easy to neglect even when you know it's useful!

jk

In reply to ByEek:

It might be very useful in any insurance and/or legal wranglings in the aftermath though. Or, as in the case of that amazing footage with the caravan delivery truck, it could help to take a potentially murderous lunatic off the road while he's still only responsible for near-misses.


Very true. A work mate of mine got into a confrontation with a car driver while out on his motorbike. He was completely in the right (after the event the police saw it that way too), but in the argument after the initial incident the driver ended up deliberately driving right into him. Turned out the driver had a bit of a history of road-rage related offences among some other nasty stuff and he ended up going to prison for several years, but that didn't make the broken leg heal any faster!


Given how scary it is, and potentially how serious, I think it's understandable if people mistake carelessness for malice. As was already said above, the vast majority of even the worst drivers aren't deliberately trying to injure people. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't someone really out to get you. Cheery thought.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

We see with our brain, not with our eyes, which merely let the light in. When there is a lot going on the brain filters out things which it decides is unimportant. A driver waiting to pull into traffic isn't actually looking for vehicles but for gaps between them. A bike isn't perceived by the brain as framing the gap in the way a car or lorry is, and gets ignored. This is why drivers "don't see you" even when in top-to-toe hi-viz and lit up like a christmas tree.

That's my theory anyway, based on my experience on both sides. The answer is for drivers to train themselves to include bikes in their mental checklist when looking for the gaps.

In reply to Howard J:

Yep, one of the first things taught on a PPL flying lesson is how to scan. Like The Boxer, the untrained eye 'will see what it wants to see...etc'. Scanning in deliberate sectors for conflicting traffic, is the only effective way of making a decision. If you ride a motorbike, you're already aware of this effect

In reply to LastBoyScout:


I once stepped off the pavement in front of a cyclist - fortunately we both realised in time to prevent a collision. I thought I had looked around sufficiently before stepping out (standing traffic). They were wearing sensibly coloured clothing - but not high-vis or flashing lights.

Nothing beats a truly high-vis jacket and decent flashing lights - even in the daytime.

In reply to adam11:

there is this piece about scanning which has done the rounds a few times.

http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/

In reply to deepsoup:

The one who sat on his horn whilst waiting behind me at lights, pulled along side as we moved off and said he was going to ride me off the road before promptly swerving toward me. I avoided him and he pulled infront and slammed on before speeding off. He was particularly terrifying and very deliberate.

Fortunately such incidents are very rare. Most near misses you can tell are from a lack of observation and can be avoided by increased awareness on the cyclists part. Though the very closest have occurred whilst stationary in right turn boxes, and so rather limiting options. A few times I've had cars inches from my leg as a driver turning right out of a side road only realised last minute I was waiting to turn into it.

In reply to Becky E:
True, though drivers should not be able to expect that. There might, for instance, be a small child lying in the road.

Neil

In reply to zebidee:



Do you ever get invited to socialise with others, with real people to talk to?

In reply to Liam M:


Sounds like an honest mistake. Probably he mistook you for Atilla the Hun or Sadam Hussein and was just trying to do society a favour.