Grrr. Temporary traffic lights.

Martin wrote:

The car (W481BFC) driver behind me then started honking his horn. When I
looked behind the passenger started pointing at the kerb. I carried on
an the driver lent on his horn. I then stopped to see what the problem
was and he started yelling that I should be on the left.

It's odd how it's accepted that motorcyclists should ride close to the centre line yet
cyclists are widely expected to hug the kerb. Last week I watched a long line of traffic
stuck behind a very slow motorcyclist chugging along in this position, yet no-one was
hooting.

I annoyed some **** on my way back from the gym at lunchtime, blocking the cycle filter
lane leading to traffic lights so I clobbered his wing mirror with my handlebar. He
started ranting so I shouted "bike lane" and pointed downwards before riding off. They
complain about us not using the facilities provided, then they block them.

Alan

On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:22:40 +0100 someone who may be
"A.C.P.Crawshaw" wrote this:-

I annoyed some **** on my way back from the gym at lunchtime, blocking the cycle filter
lane leading to traffic lights so I clobbered his wing mirror with my handlebar. He
started ranting so I shouted "bike lane" and pointed downwards before riding off. They
complain about us not using the facilities provided, then they block them.

Very true.

The unacceptable face of motoring are always looking for something
to whine about. I wonder if we could harness the whining as a source
of energy? It might even be renewable.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

A.C.P.Crawshaw wrote:
I annoyed some **** on my way back from the gym at lunchtime, blocking
the cycle filter lane leading to traffic lights so I clobbered his wing
mirror with my handlebar. He started ranting so I shouted "bike lane"
and pointed downwards before riding off. They complain about us not
using the facilities provided, then they block them.

I almost got doored by the passenger door of a white van queuing at
temporary traffic lights on my commute home today; there was a bike lane
to its left, which I was filtering up. I braked and shouted "Mind out!"
as good-naturedly as I could manage; the fellow getting out said
something rude. As I passed the van, the driver shouted out the window:
"Well, you were about to skip the lights!"

Must be the heat.
--
Robin Johnson

"Martin" wrote in message
...

| Anyway this was repeated through the second set of lights, and after
| W481BFC passed me he started yelling "Do you want to be run over."
|
| One group of idiots spoilt the whole day.

A couple of days ago, I checked behind me, assessed the traffic flow,
decided to get in position for my forthcoming (about 2-300m) right turn,
indicated and pulled out to take position, and maintained my speed at the
general speed of the traffic

I was in this position, still indicating right turn, for about 100m, when a
car roared up behind me, hand on horn. I ignored it as I was approaching my
turn. The driver then leaned out and yelled "Get out of my way, I'm a
f****** car" Again, I ignored it. He then pulled alongside, as the road
widened near the Lidl and Shell station opposite my street and tried to
punch me through his window - but fortunately he would have needed to be
related to an Orang-utan to have succeeded.

I was turning by this point and finally expressed my feelings - cowardly by
now, as there was now way he could turn, but it made me feel better, so I
yelled 3 words, one of which was off - and again with retrospect it was a
mistake, as all the passers by would have seen was potty mouthed cyclist,
which doesn't do much for our image (but judging by the size of him, if I
hadn't been making a safe sprint down a side street, I'd have been picking
up my teeth with a broken arm, and I needed to do something other than
fulminate futilely)

The car in front of me was never more than 20 feet in front of me, so I
wasn't holding him up, and as I turned off, I saw he'd have to join the tail
end of the queue stretching back from the Ardmillan lights.

It's sometimes disheartening how agitated drivers can get, and as you so
rightly say, one idiot can put a depressing pall on your entire day.

Ah well, I took some comfort from my memory of him sitting stationary in his
18foot penis extension in a queue of traffic as I wandered into my house for
a nice relaxing cuppa - I just wish he was still there.

pOB

Nick wrote:
Martin wrote:

_ wrote:
On Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:17:11 +0100, Martin wrote:

Anyway this was repeated through the second set of lights, and after
W481BFC passed me he started yelling "Do you want to be run over."

One group of idiots spoilt the whole day.

Camera, with flash, tends to shut them up.

I will have to try that one day.

I have uploaded the video, unedited to youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkqbsT2nOy8

Turn the sound off if you don't like swearing (me unfortunately).
I think the car was further back at through the second set of lights,
as the horn is not clear.

The idiot would have saved at most 1s by passing me.

Yep, you should never shout swear words in an argument. You were correct
to stop and ask what the problem was. You shouldn't use any obscure
technical terms, such as primary position. You should state clearly that
you have a right to use the road and that you would let him pass as soon
as it was safe for you to do so. You should apologise for upsetting him
but insist again firmly that you have as much right to use the road as
him. You should state that him blowing the horn is illegal and very
distressing to you. You should then ask him to stop blowing his horn so
that you can proceed. If he refuses spend another minute or two trying
to reason with him before getting off you bike and out of the way.

Now if you are feeling sick and annoyed by my drivel you can imagine how
he would be feeling while you were holding him up. But you will have
played to the crowd and will have a good tape for evidential purposes.

I like what you say, however holding him up in this way, I am also
holding more people who have done nothing wrong. In this instance I also
apologised to the lady waiting at the lights coming the other way.


If you do need to swear at him do it up close and smiling, make sure
only he can hear.

I was in this position, still indicating right turn, for about 100m,
when a car roared up behind me, hand on horn. I ignored it as I was
approaching my turn. The driver then leaned out and yelled "Get out
of my way, I'm a f****** car"

This goes beyond penis extension. The guy is clearly confused as to where
he ends and the machine begins.

Or you could have come across Herbie on a really bad day.

--

Nigel

Nigel Randell wrote:

I was in this position, still indicating right turn, for about 100m,
when a car roared up behind me, hand on horn. I ignored it as I was
approaching my turn. The driver then leaned out and yelled "Get out
of my way, I'm a f****** car"

This goes beyond penis extension. The guy is clearly confused as to where
he ends and the machine begins.

That's if it's true.

"I'm a ****ing car" must be pretty near the top of the list for things
that no-one would ever say.

Swing that lamp...

A.C.P.Crawshaw wrote on 13/06/2008 14:22:
He started ranting so I shouted "bike lane"
and pointed downwards before riding off. They complain about us not
using the facilities provided, then they block them.

It seems that around here (Manchester) only about 25% of drivers respect
the ASLs at traffic lights. Because cars are bigger than I am I just
position myself in the safest position I can, normally nestled behind
the car in the cycle box, but it does annoy me. Even as a car/van driver
I get annoyed by cars that miss the stop lines and those that treat them
as merely advisory.

I don't suppose there's anything I can say to people in the ASL 'box' is
there...? Asking them to move forwards or backwards isn't much good...
and I don't want to start an argument, because I'm not a confrontational
sort of person...

Peter

--
http://www.scandrett.net/lx/
http://www.scandrett.net/bike/
Email: Remove the suffix to reply

Peter Scandrett wrote:
A.C.P.Crawshaw wrote on 13/06/2008 14:22:
He started ranting so I shouted "bike lane"
and pointed downwards before riding off. They complain about us not
using the facilities provided, then they block them.

It seems that around here (Manchester) only about 25% of drivers
respect the ASLs at traffic lights. .............

I don't suppose there's anything I can say to people in the ASL 'box'
is there...?

Ask when they last had their brakes checked. Obviously something wrong in
that they cannot stop the car before the line.




--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

On Jun 12, 10:17*pm, Martin wrote:
I had a lovely ride into work this morning, a reasonable day at work,
followed by a lovely ride home this evening (until the last mile).

For about the last three months there have been one or two sets of
temporary traffic lights. As I don't consider there is enough room to
safely be overtaken, I always take the primary pos. through these, and
on the way home revert back to the secondary when there is room to be
overtaken.

Tonight as I approached, there was another cyclists kerb hugging in
front of me, and a car or two squeezed past him with little room.
The car (W481BFC) driver behind me then started honking his horn. When I
looked behind the passenger started pointing at the kerb. I carried on
an the driver lent on his horn. I then stopped to see what the problem
was and he started yelling that I should be on the left.

Anyway this was repeated through the second set of lights, and after
W481BFC passed me he started yelling "Do you want to be run over."

One group of idiots spoilt the whole day.

So, a fellow cyclist and three car drivers all thought there was
enough room to pass cyclists safely, but you apparently didn't. Or,
more likely, you knew there was enough room for cars to pass you
safely, but you decided to take an obstructive position anyway, as
part of your ongoing campaign to make life difficult for drivers in
order to punish them for having the nerve to drive at all. Pathetic,
as usual.

(If you really did think there wasn't enough room for cars to pass
you, which I doubt, didn't the fact that everyone else there disagreed
mean anything to you? Do you think you automatically know better than
everyone else (especially scumbag motorists), all the time? I knew
you were an arsewipe but I didn't know you were that arrogant.)