"I can't see the cyclist - the sun was in my eyes"

[Biff]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/b8pX52v_yNA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/b8pX52v_yNA&rel=1</a>

Fire away.

[Kim]

I've driven that road countless times.  The main hazards are tailgaters and suicide sheep.

[marcusjb]

I, too, have driven that road many times!

Whilst I agree with the video's message totally, I have to say some of his overtakes are over solid white lines (I know we can not see his speedo to see what the speed of the cyclists were)..

Blimey I wish I lived back in the peaks though.

[Hot Flatus]

Spot on commentary.

Interestingly though, I struggled to initially spot the riders in black, or blue, clothing. Often the first thing I noticed was a white helmet.

It goes to show that the more you can do to help yourself be seen sooner the better. Bear in mind I was looking for the cyclists that we were told were ahead.

[Domestique]

If the law courts seems to only help one side it will keep happening.

[PhilO]

Often the first thing I noticed was a white helmet.

This is precisely the reason both my cycling and motorcycling helmets are white. When m'cycling in a small group, I've been told more than once that it makes me much easier to spot further up the road.

That was a good demo of how most of the time these 'delays' don't cost any time at all. I remember many years ago having a similar discussion with a colleague who was moaning about cyclists ignoring a pavement cycle path in Newark. She thought I was crazy when I pointed out that if she re-catches the vehicle she had been behind, then it hasn't slowed her down. 

[Jaded]

As long as 3,000 deaths a year are acceptable, there will be no change.

[jogler]

SLOW DOWN is two four letter words,simultaneously.
That makes anethma for most drivers,the majority of whom are not good at judging speed,distance & the width of their own vehicle,other traffic,cyclists & the road itself in the first instance.

Nothing will change whilst drivers who injure or kill cyclists walk away from courts with only mildly inconvenient sentances,assuming they are even prosecuted & found guilty.

[Chris S]

Apparently two bloody great horses and their riders can come out of nowhere too:

http://www.dissmercury.co.uk/news/former_norfolk_horsewoman_and_her_daughter_injured_when_car_hits_horses_1_1749940?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

[Feanor]

Just watched that video.
I'd say the camera-car is passing too close every time, IMO.

He's only pulling out by half a lane at most.

He does wait for sensible places to pass,
but then does not pull out fully into the RH lane, even where it's completely safe to do so.

[ian]

I think the next time this excuse is trotted out in court, the judge and jury should be made to sit and watch this.

[Jaded]

I think the The Highway Code should be introduced to the Judiciary, Lay Judiciary and Police.

That would make a significant difference, if they knew of its existence and contents. Oh, how we can dream.

[Pingu]

Just watched that video.
I'd say the camera-car is passing too close every time, IMO.

He's only pulling out by half a lane at most.

He does wait for sensible places to pass,
but then does not pull out fully into the RH lane, even where it's completely safe to do so.

That was my feeling, too. He should be using the full available width of the road.

[urban_biker]

Just watched that video.
I'd say the camera-car is passing too close every time, IMO.

He's only pulling out by half a lane at most.

He does wait for sensible places to pass,
but then does not pull out fully into the RH lane, even where it's completely safe to do so.

Perhaps - but I don't think he's really doing a close pass - certainly I'm happy being passed at that distance particularly at a reasonable speed. Overall I think the video was excellent.

[Manotea]

The thing which impressed me most is the importance of not riding in the gutter, even/especially on narrow roads/on climbs when not going particularly fast. If there are double white lines then you cannot be overtaken safely/legally so you may as well take the whole lane.

Riding away from the verge makes cyclists far more visible then any amount of high-viz, and forces drivers to at least acknowledge their existence by requiring some form of manouvre to overtake, Ride in the gutter simply encourages drivers to continue straight ahead without adjusting their path/speed at all. Which is bad.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

The thing which impressed me most is the importance of not riding in the gutter, even/especially on narrow roads/on climbs when not going particularly fast. If there are double white lines then you cannot be overtaken safely/legally so you may as well take the whole lane.

Riding away from the verge makes cyclists far more visible then any amount of high-viz, and forces drivers to at least acknowledge their existence by requiring some form of manouvre to overtake, Ride in the gutter simply encourages drivers to continue straight ahead without adjusting their path/speed at all. Which is bad.

+1

[hubner]

Just watched that video.
I'd say the camera-car is passing too close every time, IMO.

He's only pulling out by half a lane at most.

He does wait for sensible places to pass,
but then does not pull out fully into the RH lane, even where it's completely safe to do so.

Perhaps - but I don't think he's really doing a close pass - certainly I'm happy being passed at that distance particularly at a reasonable speed. Overall I think the video was excellent.

Depends on the speed of the car, I think. 40 and higher should give a full lane.

[ferret]

I do agree with Manotea about riding in the gutter, several times while riding on the A4067 I've had cars overtake me with nothing coming the other way and yet they seem to try not to cross the white line, so I tend to move out from the kerb, most of the time it does make a difference, but there's always one muppet who still doesn't get the message.

[Nelson Longflap]

On the crossing a solid white line business:
Highway Code Rule 129 says
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

That seems clear enough, until we take into consideration the 10mph thing ... I think DoT have made a mistake here, crossing the solid white line when it's safe to do so in order to overtake a cyclist should be permissible at any speed. It seems unreasonable to require vehicles to not cross the white line when following a bike at 11 mph (?)

Of course most have no clue about rule 129 anyway which makes the point moot.  The worst are those who believe they must not cross the white line at all but try to squeeze past anyway. 

[Steph]

Dan Cadden's case.

[The Seldom Killer]

You know what amazes me most about that video? The number of riders in the Peak District with panniers.

OK seriously though, I reckon it was done pretty well. I would imagine that the guy is a cyclist himself and probably finds that half lane overtakes are acceptable. On many of the roads on the video you could easily manage a cyclist 2 foot or so from the curb, three foot of space and keep the average family car on the left of the white lines. Not ideal, but also not that bad, even a twatpanzer making a clean overtake at 50mph with three foot of clearance won't cause enough wake to push a medium sized cyclist far off their line.

Of course a full lane overtake is preferable, but if pedestrians can't help but gravitate to the narrow designated cycle path in the middle of a huge park then I don't think we're going to get drivers comfortably breaking out of their "designated area" in a hurry.

[mattc]

The double-white-line rule is a little odd, but it easily trumped by MANY other rules in the HC about overtaking. If drivers followed those, there'd be no problem. Here's just one of many:

163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

    * not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake
    * not assume that you can simply follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking; there may only be enough room for one vehicle

(My bold!)

Oh and Manotea is dead right.

[Nelson Longflap]

Oh and Manotea is dead right.

+1