DOTD

[Cudzoziemiec]

Can we put pedestrians in here? I nominate the one who stepped off the kerb right in front of me while looking the wrong way. I just managed to emergency stop before hitting him and to my surprise, the word that I reflexively bellowed was "IDIOT!" which caused him to turn his head and look at me as if he still couldn't see me. I think he was a Chinese student, but that's probably not why he was looking the wrong way; it's a one-way street with contraflow cycle lane. I've never felt entirely comfortable with this concept.

I'd nominated the designer of that concept.  There's one I use in Oxford, but I treat it as if I was riding down a fully pedestrianised street - the pedestrians haven't seen me.  I only use it to avoid two moronic sets of traffic lights.

Yes, it's a dodgy concept. And yet it's surprisingly popular with (at least some) cyclists and cycling campaign groups. I think it can work well when it allows cycle access to an area or avoiding what would be a laborious one-way system, but design is (as always) important.

IIRC the PushBikes line on the subject is that two-way streets with "no entry (except cycles)" are preferable to contraflow cycle lanes, and that the concept only works if it's the default for an entire area, so that road users get used to it.

This makes sense, but with low volumes of cyclists you still have the risk of motorists thinking you're breaking the rules (IIRC clarion got assaulted for this) and city centres are always going to be full of pedestrians who've never driven/cycled around the area and are oblivious to road signs.

On the gripping hand, you're only going to increase the volume of cyclists if you do something to make the roads easier to cycle on, so it's better than an impenetrable maze of one-way streets, or (arguably) having everything jammed up with two-way motor traffic.  I think a better solution is to reduce the motor traffic with modal filters and removing parking, but that would be politically courageous.

Modal filters and scarce parking are definitely the way to go.

[Kim]

Birmingham's attempt at modal filtering seems to have evaporated.  Or at least they gave up putting the filter at the end of Wrentham Street back when the taxi drivers kept moving it - I haven't spent enough time in the city centre to vouch for any of the other ones.

[SoreTween]

We've just been reassigned to a different parliamentary constituency, so democratic that if you pinned the right colour rosette on a monkey it would get elected (actually that might have happened).  They posted their political newspaper through our door, so I thought I would see what messages my new MP wanted to present.  One of them caught my eye - from a local councillor.

"We believe you should be able to go where you want, when you want, in the vehicle you want."

Do they actually mean it?

I decided that it gave me carte blanche to ride anywhere I want at any speed I want and when he is stuck behind my in (probably his monstrous Range Rover) I could remind him that I was following the desires of his campaign literature.  After all my bicycle is deemed a vehicle.

Sorry but no, that freedom does not apply to you. The telling word from your rosette adorned monkey is 'in'. Perhaps you should write and ask if to rephrase to the less discriminatory "..., by whatever vehicle you choose."

[Mr Larrington]

We've just been reassigned to a different parliamentary constituency, so democratic that if you pinned the right colour rosette on a monkey it would get elected (actually that might have happened).  They posted their political newspaper through our door, so I thought I would see what messages my new MP wanted to present.  One of them caught my eye - from a local councillor.

"We believe you should be able to go where you want, when you want, in the vehicle you want."

Do they actually mean it?

I decided that it gave me carte blanche to ride anywhere I want at any speed I want and when he is stuck behind my in (probably his monstrous Range Rover) I could remind him that I was following the desires of his campaign literature.  After all my bicycle is deemed a vehicle.

Sorry but no, that freedom does not apply to you. The telling word from your rosette adorned monkey is 'in'. Perhaps you should write and ask if to rephrase to the less discriminatory "..., by whatever vehicle you choose."

Or get a velomobile.

[matthew]

We've just been reassigned to a different parliamentary constituency, so democratic that if you pinned the right colour rosette on a monkey it would get elected (actually that might have happened).  They posted their political newspaper through our door, so I thought I would see what messages my new MP wanted to present.  One of them caught my eye - from a local councillor.

"We believe you should be able to go where you want, when you want, in the vehicle you want."

Do they actually mean it?

I decided that it gave me carte blanche to ride anywhere I want at any speed I want and when he is stuck behind my in (probably his monstrous Range Rover) I could remind him that I was following the desires of his campaign literature.  After all my bicycle is deemed a vehicle.

Sorry but no, that freedom does not apply to you. The telling word from your rosette adorned monkey is 'in'. Perhaps you should write and ask if to rephrase to the less discriminatory "..., by whatever vehicle you choose."

I agree, I would like to travel to his nextdoor neighbour in an F35-C, would he be so kind as to approve the construction of a landing pad please, oh and I'm sorry about the noise when I take off at Audax o'clock. 

[Cudzoziemiec]

The guy on the e-bike on the path alongside Temple Way, who slalomed in between almost stationary me and the almost stationary pedestrian I was almost stopping at the zebra for.

[The Family Cyclist]

Myself and my eldest. Cycling home from church on a quiet road so basically pissing about chasing each other and general horse play. I posed with one foot on cross bar. She was doing similar so I said be careful. I then looked forward to check road....she said don't worry I'm not going to crash, and about 3 seconds later heard the clatter of bike as she crashed. Few grazes but think she's actually enjoyed it as crashing is a bit crazy.

[fd3]

Birmingham's attempt at modal filtering seems to have evaporated.  Or at least they gave up putting the filter at the end of Wrentham Street back when the taxi drivers kept moving it - I haven't spent enough time in the city centre to vouch for any of the other ones.

With the advent of the tramlines of cycle deth over-running the city centre, actually cycling in the centre is utter bollox now and requires playing with pedestrians, canals or congested A-roads.

[smileydave]

er, me.
at the weekend, coming down from the top of my regular hill, overconfident with my descending skills came into a downhill junction too fast. glanced right, saw a car coming and slammed on the brakes. fishtailed all over road as my back wheel locked up. fortunately they saw me in good time and altough I was well over the line we both came to a halt about 8 inches apart. They were surprisingly sanguine about it.

[The Family Cyclist]

I'm nominating the guy walking the reactive dog. I was coming out of gate by allotment on bike towing trailer. Locked gate, got on bike, had a drink and looked up at this guy. Started to cycle and the dog bounds at me whilst on lead barking and growling. Apparently doesn't like bikes. That I have no problem with but FFS he saw me getting onto a bike just in front of him and took no preemptive action. I wouldn't even have minded him saying could I wait 10 seconds as he came past. I have a dog that can be a bit funny with other dogs so it stays on lead, gets pulled close if needed and if needed I'll ask other dog owners to get their off lead dogs away from my dog.

[fd3]

On ride home had a takeaway cyclist electric e-bike moped-in-bike-clothing ride up at me the wrong way on the counterflow cycle lane.  Nice to see that if your job involves driving on the road, knowing how to do it is optional.

(click to show/hide)

See also
Taxi drivers
Bus drivers
WVM

[Wycombewheeler]

Can we put pedestrians in here?

If we are, I nominate the older fella who after looking right at me whilst I was indicating left (by very obviously sticking my arm out) still stepped into the road. This caused braking and I nearly got rear ended by the moton who was following too close, again, whilst I was very obviously indicating that I was turning left.

I thought the highway code is clear on this, you should be giving way to pedestrians following the main road when you are turning into side streets

170
Take extra care at junctions. You should

• watch out for cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians including powered wheelchairs/mobility scooter users as they are not always easy to see. Be aware that they may not have seen or heard you if you are approaching from behind
• give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way (see Rule H2)

[markcjagar]

Can we put pedestrians in here?

If we are, I nominate the older fella who after looking right at me whilst I was indicating left (by very obviously sticking my arm out) still stepped into the road. This caused braking and I nearly got rear ended by the moton who was following too close, again, whilst I was very obviously indicating that I was turning left.

I thought the highway code is clear on this, you should be giving way to pedestrians following the main road when you are turning into side streets

170
Take extra care at junctions. You should

• watch out for cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians including powered wheelchairs/mobility scooter users as they are not always easy to see. Be aware that they may not have seen or heard you if you are approaching from behind
• give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way (see Rule H2)

Given that I was able to stop without issue and allowed him to cross I clearly did take enough care

[Peter]

I think that means that the car behind might qualify for DOTD but the pedestrian does not, though he might have been incautious.  Where would you put yourself in the spectrum? !  It's all going to take a bit of getting used to, for everyone, me included, I think.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Can we put pedestrians in here?

If we are, I nominate the older fella who after looking right at me whilst I was indicating left (by very obviously sticking my arm out) still stepped into the road. This caused braking and I nearly got rear ended by the moton who was following too close, again, whilst I was very obviously indicating that I was turning left.

I thought the highway code is clear on this, you should be giving way to pedestrians following the main road when you are turning into side streets

170
Take extra care at junctions. You should

• watch out for cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians including powered wheelchairs/mobility scooter users as they are not always easy to see. Be aware that they may not have seen or heard you if you are approaching from behind
• give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way (see Rule H2)

I'd not really thought about it before, and can't remember a case when it's arisen (personally), but "into which or from which you are turning" covers main roads as well. For instance, if you're turning out of a side road, and someone is crossing the main road into which you are turning, you should give way to them – which is quite a different thing, in the practicalities of being rear-ended, than stopping while turning into (or while approaching the give way line of) a side road. I'm not sure if that's what the rule intended to say but that's what it means if taken literally.

[Peter]

Yes, I think it's a bit of a well-intentioned, slightly counter-intuitive mess.  Sometime ago, I looked up the guidance on mini-roundabouts (not sure if it was the highway code) and it said that users should give way to other users who are approaching from the right.  It shouldn't take a genius to work out that two users approaching a mini-roundabout  in opposite directions are each on the other's right.  My suggestion would be that, in such a case, the user who intended to cross the path of another should give way - but then, they both might want to make that manoeuvre!  There isn't room to do the sensible thing, which is to treat the mini in the same way as you treat a larger roundabout, so it all becomes a question of nerve and trust - especially on a bike.

[fd3]

@Wycombewheeler, that's a great bit of regulation, wish it was actually how people use the roads.
Does make me think of a left I take where there are.always peds looking for a gap in turning traffic.

[Pingu]

UAE Team Emirates bombing down from a col on the wrong side of the road buzzing cyclists going up. Cunts 


ETA - from Strava it looks like it was Pog and associates.

[The Family Cyclist]

Domino's delivery ebikerlyst. Cycles along path, uses zebra crossing, cycles further along path. Then just as I'm approaching him on road he decides to cut from path onto road and would have been taken out by a less observant driver as the rider didn't even glance

I pass and at next lights goes onto path, round corner to avoid red light and I assume back onto road. If I had seen him again words would have been had

The extra dumb thing is he could have used a cut through to miss all the traffic

[DuncanM]

Deliveroo person on an illegal eBike (throttle, definitely doing >20mph with no pedalling).
I'm driving, and approaching the bit where my side of the road splits into a lane and a bus lane, and there's an ambulance on blues and twos coming towards me on my side of the road, so I stop at the entrance to the bus lane to allow the ambulance to just go straight. I saw the Deliveroo guy in my mirror, so I left about a metre to my left that he could shoot. Instead, he went round my outside and almost had a head on with the ambulance.
When I got into town, he was just stood around outside looking bored, so he wasn't even on a job.

[cygnet]

Dear cyclist
I thank you for your blessing of "good karma"
In cycling, as in music, yo la tengo.
Perhaps if you paid more attention to a) traffic lights and b) traffic you would have less need to dispense such banalaties though.

[rogerzilla]

Driving today, turning right at a small roundabout, in the RH lane and indicating, but MAMIL coming from the opposite direction didn't even attempt to give way and I had to stop the car on the roundabout.  Must have a death wish.  Well, not today, knob end.

[ElyDave]

single carriageway road, small village, cars parked all the way down the RH lane as I'm cycling down it, always there on a Sunday as it's just outside two churches. I'm about halfway along the parked cars when a moton enters from the opposite direction (would have easily seen me and my front B&M light) and then decides to come to a dead stop just before the one gap in the parked cars on his side as if he's expecting me to just ride into the gap and get out of his way.

I come to a stop as well, he stares at me expectantly, I gesture expansively at the gap for him just so he realises he is allowed to use it. Reluctantly he does so.  Not sure if I can be arsed to submit the footage to Cambs police as it was more stoopid than dangerous

[Mr Larrington]

That sounds more like a candidate for “Today’s motorised moron” than here…

[ElyDave]

Wankpanzer on single track lane coming towards me on bike, wafts around, heads to the verge, looks a bit odd. Cricked neck because phone tucked into neck whilst driving.

Let's see what is on the video footage