Funny man in a Beemer

[Woofage]

Anyone else remember that Audi ad of a decade or 2 ago, which had a ghastly barrowboy/bond trader/yuppie hybrid test driving one of their cars, and not liking it at all ?

"What you drive says so much about you"

 So clearly a dig at BMW.

I remember it. Excellent piece of advertising !

[redshift]

BloodyMindlessW&nker

Baader-Meinhof Wagen, "the favoured wheels of last year's model terrorist" was my favourite.

Actually, didn't the RAF favour the humble bicycle?  Admittedly, with a pannier containing 20 kilos of HE and a gert big copper plate.

[Julian]

I'm getting paranoid now - two idiots in a row.  This morning some twat tried to reverse into me.  Having stopped to allow someone to come out of the side road by the primary school, he realised there wasn't quite enough room and so slammed his car into reverse and stamped on the go button.  Unfortunately I was right behind him at the time.  He desisted when I shouted at him.

I can't reach far enough inside a car to bag a rear view mirror, or I'd have had it. 

I'm not usually a "think of the children" type, but it was 8.55am outside a primary school (it's always chaos - terrible the number of children round there who don't have a pair of working legs) and if it had been a small child running into school, rather than an adult on a bike, there could have been some serious squishing action.

[Woofage]

terrible the number of children round there who don't have a pair of working legs

Oh, they have perfectly working legs. It's the parents who don't have working brains...

[Mr Larrington]

terrible the number of children round there who don't have a pair of working legs

ISTR a "Giles" cartoon from circa 1973, in which a couple of mothers are taking their children to skool.  "Left foot first, then the right" says one.  "Beastly Arabs, making our Algy walk to school!"

[Greenbank]

I changed my commuting route to avoid a couple of schools.

Not because of the children, they waited patiently to cross the road, stopped, looked, listened. They've obviously been taught the Green Cross Code and it has stuck in their head.

It was because of the parents who would leap into road without even a simple turn of the head.

The one time I stopped to have a few words I was told that "I was a menace, didn't I know this was a school area!" whilst almost being mown down by another parent in a 4x4 holding a phone to their ear.

[teethgrinder]

I'm getting paranoid now - two idiots in a row.  This morning some twat tried to reverse into me.  Having stopped to allow someone to come out of the side road by the primary school, he realised there wasn't quite enough room and so slammed his car into reverse and stamped on the go button.  Unfortunately I was right behind him at the time.  He desisted when I shouted at him.

I can't reach far enough inside a car to bag a rear view mirror, or I'd have had it. 

I'm not usually a "think of the children" type, but it was 8.55am outside a primary school (it's always chaos - terrible the number of children round there who don't have a pair of working legs) and if it had been a small child running into school, rather than an adult on a bike, there could have been some serious squishing action.

And the moral of that story is, don't stop close behind a stopped car. Not only do they often go into reverse without looking behind. But you have a better view of the road ahead. You can check that it is safe to get past and sometimes get past whatever they are stopping for. It's best to take the primary position (I usualy go to the white line) too, so that you don't get boxed in by other cars. It also give you a chance of escape if they do go into reverse. Because you are some way behind them, you can start moving and steer to the side to escape them. Not easy when you are up close.
The big clue is that the car has stopped. Motorists are generally impatient and only stop when something is wrong. Then they will often do something unpredictable.

I had a laugh today going to work.
Following a road along the cyclepath. I come to the sideroad on my right which I take. It always has cars parked on the side, so is effectively a single track road. Three cars coming up the road I want to go down. I stop to give way, as I should, but the first one wants to let me cross.
I look nonchalant and wait for him to give up and go, which he eventually did, looking rather displeased.
I wasn't going to ride down the side of him, because there were two cars behind him.

They always assume that because you are following a cyclepath, that you are only going to continue along the cyclepath. It never occurs to them that you may need to change direction. Still, it made me laugh.

[hatler]

Anyone else remember that Audi ad of a decade or 2 ago, which had a ghastly barrowboy/bond trader/yuppie hybrid test driving one of their cars, and not liking it at all ?

"What you drive says so much about you"

 So clearly a dig at BMW.

Yet, somehow, bizarrely in a reverse twist of fate, I detect that Audis quite often are now driven by exactly that type.

[bobb]

"Tell Charles I'm on my way. Taxi!" 

[border-rider]

"Tell Charles I'm on my way. Taxi!" 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pIQ-283wKgg&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/pIQ-283wKgg&rel=1</a>

 

[Julian]

And the moral of that story is, don't stop close behind a stopped car. Not only do they often go into reverse without looking behind. But you have a better view of the road ahead.

This is very true, but unfortunately at school-dropping-off time in central-ish London, it's impossible to avoid being behind a stopped car.  They're a bit indiscriminate in where they stop, i.e. all over the road. 

[Wendy]

This is very true, but unfortunately at school-dropping-off time in central-ish London, it's impossible to avoid being behind a stopped car.  They're a bit indiscriminate in where they stop, i.e. all over the road. 

But it is the public highway for use by all!!!  I like gridlocked cars, it ups my satisfaction level considerably when on the bike.  Small minded of me, I know, sorry.

[Furious]

This is very true, but unfortunately at school-dropping-off time in central-ish London, it's impossible to avoid being behind a stopped car.  They're a bit indiscriminate in where they stop, i.e. all over the road. 

But it is the public highway for use by all!!!  I like gridlocked cars, it ups my satisfaction level considerably when on the bike.  Small minded of me, I know, sorry.

I don't like commuting during school holidays.
The traffic is moving faster (and therefore likely to do more damage), but drivers seem even more impatient! 

[Furious]

"Tell Charles I'm on my way. Taxi!" 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pIQ-283wKgg&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/pIQ-283wKgg&rel=1</a>

 

Isn't that salesman Wesley, from "Buffy"?

[teethgrinder]

This is very true, but unfortunately at school-dropping-off time in central-ish London, it's impossible to avoid being behind a stopped car.  They're a bit indiscriminate in where they stop, i.e. all over the road. 

Is there a different route you could take?
Either that, or get one of those Ice Cream Van chimes and hide it down a side road. Attach a remote control to your handlebars and when you are passing the effected area, set the Ice Cream Van chimes off. The kids will al run off in search of ice cream, leaving the roadway clear.
Or just go to work on an egg a pogo stick and bounce over everyone inna Tigger stylee.
Gwan, y'know it makes sense 's bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy fun fun fun fun fun!