Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Topic started by: Speshact on 04 March, 2010, 07:11:55 pm
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a year 5 (c10yrs) pupil is doing level 2 junctions - turning right from a wide but mellow major road to a minor road.
The pupil has looked back, signalled, checked back, moved across the lane towards the centre with bang on positioning. Signalled again. About to make the turn. Plenty of room for a car to undertake.
So this woman in a car arrives behind the small child in fluoro tabard on bicycle by middle of road. The child starts to turn,..... and the driver moves to overtake!
The child does a lifesaver look back and stops. Meanwhile I, the instructor, am making like a traffic policeman (remember them?) stepping forward holding up my hand at the driver. The driver stops. The cyclist completes the turn.
I walk to the driver's window and gesture for her to wind down the window. She just looks at me. I gesture at the back of my vest with Instructor in big letters and City of Westminster in smaller letters.
She drives off
BITCH
(the class know the value of the lifesaver look though!)
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I walk to the driver's window and gesture for her to wind down the window. She just looks at me. I gesture at the back of my vest with Instructor in big letters and City of Westminster in smaller letters.
A
Hello!
... or
Excuse me!
might have been better conversation starters! ;)
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I walk to the driver's window calmly, give thin lipped smile, mouth excuse me or something equally inane and gesture for her to wind down the window. She just looks at me. I gesture at the back of my vest with Instructor in big letters and City of Westminster in smaller letters.
A
Hello!
... or
Excuse me!
Sorry, left out the details of approaching professionally (added above) rather than rantingly. I suspect she expected a rant - which she deserved but wouldn't have got from me, or maybe the interior stank of booze or maybe she thought I'd ask for the licence she doesn't have . I would have requested that she behave more considerately to children in the future .
TBH I suspect that she just considers children and cycling instructors and anyone not in a car to be like domestic servants that she doesn't need to pay any heed to. It's big expensive houses round there.
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As is often the case on a newish bike the forks were the wrong way round, so we asked the Yr 5 if he knows whether the bike came ready built from a bike shop or whether it was assembled by his parents.
Neither we were told quite earnestly, the bike arrived 'ready to ride' as a present from Father Christmas ;D
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I think it is high time that instructors were issued with RPGs for just this kind of incident.
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Well, maybe helmet cams.
We had a Range Rover drive at us in the narrowed space between two lines of parked cars the other day. I was leading so moved right to protect the snake. He squeezed past then stopped and ranted at "pedal cycles in the middle of the road"! When he realised there were four instructors he departed in a haze of foul language.
Wish I could have recorded it to offer to the police.
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Vision:
Idiot Range Rover Driver leans out of the window to rant. Orienteer coolly draws his Magnum, takes aim, and the world is made a better place ;)
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It was too cold for ice cream :)
He actually got out of the car to rant, a real case of road rage because the masses hadn't scattered out of his way.
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Had the same happen at one of my lessons.
SillyDriver I | Padded Shorts (http://www.paddedshorts.co.uk/2009/11/sillydriver-i/)
Even had some plonker who was thinking it was a great idea to over take on a roundabout. Just don't get it how someone in their right mind don't take care, slow down when they see 7 kids and two instructors on bicycles.
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Good instructing by you that the young person did the lifesaver look. :thumbsup:
a wide but mellow major road
But this is my favouritist road description ever.
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As is often the case on a newish bike the forks were the wrong way round, so we asked the Yr 5 if he knows whether the bike came ready built from a bike shop or whether it was assembled by his parents.
Neither we were told quite earnestly, the bike arrived 'ready to ride' as a present from Father Christmas ;D
I presume "wrong way round" means LH fork on the right and vice versa, rather than back to front. Or... ?
As for this driver's behaviour, why overtake when the child is obviously turning and there is room to undertake? However much of a hurry you're in, it simply isn't sensible - even if you are rushing to A&E! I can only assume she expected the cyclist to stop and give way to her, because... cyclists keep left? or cyclists/children are less important?
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kudos for keeping cool, I'd have probably lost it entirely.
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I presume "wrong way round" means LH fork on the right and vice versa, rather than back to front. Or... ?
'tis the same thing, surely? ;D
WRT helmet cams for instructors, it's possibly not a bad idea. Evidence gathered against nutter drivers might be taken more seriously by the local police when the potential victims of said nutters are a group of children. And if the worst should ever happen, it might help defend an instructor against an accusation of negligence...
Maybe the second point is just a bit too paranoid... :-[