Cycle death case handling 'may need to change'

On Tuesday, 27 October 2015 21:55:42 UTC, TMS320 wrote:
"colwyn" wrote

I have known vehicles pulling up alongside me, whilst waiting for lights
to change. Do you suggest cyclists should cede precedence to the *****
trying to turn left?

Depends on your acceleration when the lights change. Or the stop line is
usually set well back from the mouth of the junction so you could prepare by
moving forward by a wheel or more.

I used to cycle home with a high court judge and he would position himself beyond the stop line at the next traffic light.

I stayed in the ASL.

On 26/10/2015 16:07, Alycidon wrote:
On Monday, 26 October 2015 15:08:20 UTC, me wrote:
I ride a bike to get to get from a to b. Not to çower in doorways!

Same here - I ride as a road vehicle and get treated as such. No riding on pavements or the side of the road for me.

No road tax or registration plates though.

"Alycidon" wrote
On Tuesday, 27 October 2015 21:55:42 UTC, TMS320 wrote:
"colwyn" wrote

I have known vehicles pulling up alongside me, whilst waiting for
lights to change. Do you suggest cyclists should cede precedence to the
***** trying to turn left?

Depends on your acceleration when the lights change. Or the stop line is
usually set well back from the mouth of the junction so you could prepare
by moving forward by a wheel or more.

I used to cycle home with a high court judge and he would position himself
beyond the stop line at the next traffic light.

Perhaps he understands that crossing a white line is not equivalent to
committing murder. In contrast to the ideas of a number of posters here.

I stayed in the ASL.

Fortunately, my normal routes don't involve any of those. I can't say I am a
fan of them. Yes, they allow a forward position if you arrive first but they
imply it is alright to overtake a vehicle that has arrived first - when you
don't know whether you can get past before the lights change.

On Wednesday, 28 October 2015 14:01:00 UTC, TMS320 wrote:


I stayed in the ASL.

Fortunately, my normal routes don't involve any of those. I can't say I am a
fan of them. Yes, they allow a forward position if you arrive first but they
imply it is alright to overtake a vehicle that has arrived first - when you
don't know whether you can get past before the lights change.

I used to look at the lights at 90 degrees to the road I was cycling on to judge if I could reach the ASL before my lights turned green.

On 28/10/2015 14:31, David Hume wrote:
Alycidon writes:

On Wednesday, 28 October 2015 14:01:00 UTC, TMS320 wrote:


I stayed in the ASL.

Fortunately, my normal routes don't involve any of those. I can't say I am a
fan of them. Yes, they allow a forward position if you arrive first but they
imply it is alright to overtake a vehicle that has arrived first - when you
don't know whether you can get past before the lights change.

I used to look at the lights at 90 degrees to the road I was cycling on to
judge if I could reach the ASL before my lights turned green.

There is usually a cycle lane there too. So you can proceed to pass the
car, and if the lights change, slow down and let it go ahead and turn
left without indicating, or indicating by surprise at the very last moment.


Passing should be done to the right of the vehicle you are passing, not
the left. It is actually possible to just wait in the queue like normal
traffic does.

On Monday, 26 October 2015 08:57:19 UTC, Bod wrote:
On 26/10/2015 08:48, Alycidon wrote:
On Monday, 26 October 2015 08:26:41 UTC, Bod wrote:
The way cycling deaths are treated by police and prosecutors may need to
change, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

There is something wrong when a killer driver gets off because he believes in sky fairies.

http://road.cc/content/news/169124-s...killed-cyclist

Unbelievable!

At least this senior sky fairy believer got a proper sentence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-7-years.html

Although she wriggled out of the 10 years she was due.

On Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:58:19 -0000
"TMS320" wrote:

"Alycidon" wrote

I stayed in the ASL.

Fortunately, my normal routes don't involve any of those. I can't say
I am a fan of them. Yes, they allow a forward position if you arrive
first but they imply it is alright to overtake a vehicle that has
arrived first - when you don't know whether you can get past before
the lights change.

Shouldn't really matter as long as you're overtaking safely - if you're
creeping along the gutter you'd have to be prepared to dismount onto the
pavement, and if you're on the wrong side of the road you'd be looking
out for oncoming vehicles, and be prepared to merge with the queue
you're overtaking. You really don't want to be next to a motor vehicle
as you go through the lights.

"Rob Morley" wrote
On Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:58:19 -0000
"TMS320" wrote:
"Alycidon" wrote

I stayed in the ASL.

Fortunately, my normal routes don't involve any of those. I can't say
I am a fan of them. Yes, they allow a forward position if you arrive
first but they imply it is alright to overtake a vehicle that has
arrived first - when you don't know whether you can get past before
the lights change.

Shouldn't really matter as long as you're overtaking safely -

A point of maximum danger exists irrespective of speed. All speed (one part
the timing element) does is to move that point around. Since the timing of
the lights is unpredictable, the problem has no solution.

All that can be done is to glean information from elswhere to predict that
the change will not occur in the time it takes to overtake. Then, your speed
determines how much time you need.

But it is an aside. I have my own rule that I take a very long, hard look
before I overtake a vehicle with air in front of it, whether stationary or
moving slowly (*); when I overtake a vehicle, its progress has to be
dictated by other vehicles.

(*) And even if judged safe, it's rare for there to be any point in doing
so. Apart from the disadvantage that from a standing start you can often be
ready to go but get caught off stride by the delay due to manual gearboxes.

if you're
creeping along the gutter you'd have to be prepared to dismount onto the
pavement, and if you're on the wrong side of the road you'd be looking
out for oncoming vehicles, and be prepared to merge with the queue
you're overtaking. You really don't want to be next to a motor vehicle
as you go through the lights.

You don't want to be next to another vehicle for any longer than necessary,
no matter the circumstance.

On Mon, 26 Oct 2015 01:48:17 -0700 (PDT), Alycidon wrote:

On Monday, 26 October 2015 08:26:41 UTC, Bod wrote:
The way cycling deaths are treated by police and prosecutors may need to
change, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

There is something wrong when a killer driver gets off because he believes in sky fairies.


But the cyclist also believed in sky fairies - so he will be in a really nice
place now