A close thing .....

........ and I was in the car.

As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our
vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to
work.

This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to
change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist
that I had not seen shot past on the inside.

There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have
hit her.

Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but
this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in
both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could
not be sure.

What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too
careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can
all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes.

Regards,

David
(who has had his rude awakening this morning)

What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too
careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can
all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes.


Kind of agree. I work for two companies (currently trying to shift
from one profession to another with only limited success so far!).
Anyway, it means I am constantly moving between two locations through
the centre of the city. So often I catch myself fiddling with the
radio, trying to work the CD player or picking something up off the
flow and forgetting to look out for cyclists. Sometimes I have to give
myself a good talking to. Oxford is full of cyclists and you often
become very used to them and almost blind to them too.

"David K" wrote in message
...
....... and I was in the car.

As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of
our vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my
way to work.

This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about
to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A
cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside.

There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would
have hit her.

Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but
this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in
both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could
not be sure.

What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too
careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we
can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes.

Regards,

David
(who has had his rude awakening this morning)

I imagine as you were in a lane and not indicating she would have assumed
you were not going to change lane. A reasonable assumption I would have
thought.
Were there any road markings you also failed to see? ie she may have been in
a left turn lane while you were not.

When you say
"I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be sure"
do you mean you would have gone for it even though you weren't sure you were
clear to?

On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:25:21 -0000
"David K" wrote:

There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I
would have hit her.

Obviously I don't know about your case, but therein lurks
a common fallacy. Cyclists (and indeed motorcyclists) are
very good at emergency escapes that may seem impossible
from a driver's perspective.

Think yourself on the bike. You're aware of the cars around
you, and ready to take evasive action if one of them does
something stupid in your direction. What would you have done,
and would it have ended up as anything worse than a curse-and-
swear-at-the-moron incident?

--
not me guv

clodhopper wrote:
"David K" wrote in message
...
....... and I was in the car.

As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious
of our vulnerability and try to drive with due care and
consideration on my way to work.

This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was
about to change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and
stopped. A cyclist that I had not seen shot past on the inside.

There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I
would have hit her.

Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of
them' but this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her
despite looking in both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over
my left shoulder but could not be sure.

What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be
too careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but
sometimes we can all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes.

Regards,

David
(who has had his rude awakening this morning)

I imagine as you were in a lane and not indicating she would have
assumed you were not going to change lane. A reasonable assumption I
would have thought.

Agreed. I am am in no way blaming the cyclist here. I have put my hands up
and admitted I did not see her even though I feel I looked - obviously not
well enough.

Were there any road markings you also failed to see? ie she may have
been in a left turn lane while you were not.

No other road markings. I was stopped in the outside lane contemplating a
change of lane.

When you say
"I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could not be
sure" do you mean you would have gone for it even though you weren't
sure you were clear to?

I was not going for anything. The inside lane was completely free from cars
as there was a van parked a car length or so behind me. There was a car
turning right ahead and unable to cross the oncoming traffic. The inside
lane was free of cars but I did not pick up the cyclist.

Having checked, there appeared to be no reason not to make a safe change of
lane. This was not a quick dart 'the traffic is slow in the outside lane and
I'm in a hurry to work' change of lane. I was stopped and thinking about it.

For some reason I stopped (I had started to turn the wheel and move ever so
slightly towards the inside) and decided not to change. Could it have been
that I satisfied myself there were no cars but subconcsiously picked up a
cyclist? Maybe a bit implausible but for whatever reason I didn't change
lane and I'm relieved.

Looking back I imagine that the parked van may a blocked my view of the
cyclist who was able to overtake it and return to the inside lane without me
picking her up.

David

In article , David
K
says...
....... and I was in the car.

As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our
vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to
work.

This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to
change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist
that I had not seen shot past on the inside.

There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have
hit her.

Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but
this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in
both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could
not be sure.

Learn from motorcyclists and always make a 'lifesaver' observation over
the appropriate shoulder before moving out or over. You probably don't
need to look particularly hard as long as you turn your head -
peripheral vision is pretty good at picking up the movement of anything
coming up behind you, and any extra observation is better than none.
Also when you use your mirrors check them twice and you're less likely
to be surprised.

David K wrote:

....... and I was in the car.

As a reasonably regular cyclist and lurker in this NG I am conscious of our
vulnerability and try to drive with due care and consideration on my way to
work.

This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to
change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist
that I had not seen shot past on the inside.

There is no doubt in my mind had I continued the change of lane I would have
hit her.

Now I do try and drive in a cyclist friendly way as I am 'one of them' but
this really shook me up a bit. I just did not see her despite looking in
both mirrors. I think I even cast a glance over my left shoulder but could
not be sure.

What I suppose I am trying to say is that as drivers we can never be too
careful - apologies for preaching to the converted here but sometimes we can
all become a tad complacent in our 4 wheel boxes.

Regards,

David
(who has had his rude awakening this morning)

the danger with lane filtering is that you are passing though cars blind
spots, years ago i did see a photo of a car with a impressive marked out
area that couldn't be seen by mirrors.

some cars are better than others but all at least that i've used have
had fairly big blind spots.

and yes bikes be that motor or pedal can suprise one.

roger

Learn from motorcyclists and always make a 'lifesaver' observation over
the appropriate shoulder before moving out or over. You probably don't
need to look particularly hard as long as you turn your head -
peripheral vision is pretty good at picking up the movement of anything
coming up behind you, and any extra observation is better than none.
Also when you use your mirrors check them twice and you're less likely
to be surprised.- Hide quoted text -


True. I rode a motorbike for many years and recently my last head
check stopped me from going into the path of a speeding car who
thought they would sneak past me even though I was obviously
indicating right and sat in the middle of my lane ready to turn ages
before he arrived speedily on my tail. The one muscle cramp I never
moan about at is the one in my neck from checking what those pesky
drivers are up to behind me. I must also start remembering that in my
car, I am that pesky driver!

Following on from David K's message. . .
This morning, while stuck in traffic, I checked my mirrors and was about to
change lane. For no good reason I changed my mind and stopped. A cyclist
that I had not seen shot past on the inside.

ISTR years ago when I would drive to London I'd specially adjust my
nearside wing mirror to see inside cyclists better after they appeared
from nowhere. As a 'cyclist being a driver' you get used to
anticipating where these events are more likely, but what does that say
about the rest of them.


--
PETER FOX Not the same since the bookshop idea was shelved

www.eminent.demon.co.uk - Lots for cyclists

David K wrote:

....... and I was in the car.

As I, driving back from a meeting in Didsbury this afternoon, was
turning off the M6 I noticed a Preston-bound cyclist using the
roundabout. The junction has a left filter lane which I was about to use
to head towards Preston.

To my amazement, the cyclist stopped on the cross-hatching between the
left filter lane and the remaining two lanes to wait for traffic to
pass. I suspect he will still be there now.

What I completely fail to understand is why the chap decided to make
this potentially dangerous manoeuvre rather than either continuing to
use the roundabout (he must have already negotiated the more dangerous
of the two) or using the alternative cycle route, which has actually
been built to a decent standard.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Lincoln City 0-2 Southend United (AET)
Swansea City 2-2 Southend United
We went up twice with Tilly and Brush