When you don't know what you've done wrong « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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When you don't know what you've done wrong

(19 posts)

Started 10 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
Latest reply from PS

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Wilmington's Cow
Member

I'm not entirely sure what warranted the hard stare from the passenger of a car that overtook me today.

It might have been me going through a gap on the left that was too small for them as they waited for a car ahead to turn right. But I could see the gap was way too small for them, and that there was still traffic coming in the opposite direction so the turning car wasn't going to be able to turn.

It might have been me riding in the 'middle of the road' after the junction. But there were parked cars on either side, and someone ahead had got out of the driver's side on my side of the road and was standing against his car so I either had to ride into him or stop or, y'know, ride safely.

It might have been me not going up the road immediately after turning into the next junction with them following. But there was an SUV coming down the road, with parked cars on either side meaning no space for anyone at all (and the SUV driver gave me a wave so I couldn't have done anything wrong).

It might have been me then riding up that road rather than, I dunno, bowing to the superior form of traffic and ushering them through before a peasant such as I should be allowed to use the road. But, well, that's just stupid.

Either way they found a way to pass despite the narrowness and gave me a glower. I suspect a combination of everything, despite all of it being absolutely the correct way I could have ridden, that has added up to "bloody cyclist getting in the way and deliberately holding us up".

Sigh.

Had been a reasonable ride too (save someone overtaking on a blind corner with a truck coming the other way).

Posted 10 years ago #
Min
Member

I dunno, bowing to the superior form of traffic and ushering them through before a peasant such as I should be allowed to use the road

So you do know what you did wrong? ;-)

Posted 10 years ago #
Kim
Member

You should know by now that bicycle riders do not belong on the road as they don't pay road tax...

Posted 10 years ago #
lorlane
Member

Must be something in the air. Tonight as I was cycling home along a single carriageway, I moved into the filter lane that emerges just before the lights because I was going to turn right.

The car behind me sounded her horn and made a face and gesture when I turned round. I slid back to her window where she told me it was nothing, never mind. She then made a comment about not knowing what I was doing because of the wind...

I still want to know why you sounded your horn, I said.

Sorry if I gave you a fright, I just didn't know what you were doing (?) i think it was pretty clear what I was doing.

I think she felt I should have kept to the left to allow her to join her rightful place behind a car - not a bike [shudder].

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

@lorlane, the way you tell that one makes the driver sound as if she knew she should not have tooted the horn.?

We had a punishment pass on sunday out by west calder, silver range rover BEAU 6. The guy to my right shook his head twice.

The car then stops in the middle of the livingston Woolfords crossroads, not indicating, not turning. My buddy is going right as he hadn't cycled into the wind enough. Guy in ranger over delivers a comment out the window. My pal says What was that? But I say Leave It.

In this example what we did was exist but I suppose make a. Very slight comment on driving ability? Some drivers really do not like this. What the range rover was doing parked in the middle of a crossroads I do not know? Had we both cycled up his passenger side I also wonder what he would have done. I think driving does funny things to people. People who are probably alright in other circumstances?

Posted 10 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

@gembo

A psychiatrist of my acquaintance beleives that many people - men especially - experience short hypomanic episodes behind the wheels of their automobiles. That would certainly explain a lot, would it not?

Posted 10 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

I think there's genuinely something in that.

My strangest one was a young lad in a Golf who was in a left turn only lane, while I was on the right in the straight ahead lane. I did a shoulder check on clearing a junction to make sure I could move back left. Golf boy had decided to come straight on (which kinda proved the necessity of the shoulder check), hared up alongside and started threatening to run me over. Presumably he interpreted my shoulder check as some sort of slight on his driving.

Posted 10 years ago #
fimm
Member

Coming down the Lanark Road through Currie and Juniper Green, on my road bike. Downhill, wind behind me, I'm not hanging about. I get overtaken by a learner driver - nothing wrong with the pass, but they made a bit of a meal of it. I then keep pace with them. At the garage on the right, the car in front of the learner is turning right, so the learner has to stop. I go to the right of the learner and to the left of the right-turning car and a car horn is sounded.
I assume it was the learner. I hoofed it off down the road. When we were all waiting at the Gillespie Crossroad lights, I did wonder if I should go and point out that I was well aware that they were there and so they didn't need to sound their horn. There was no more hooting so I hope that the instructor pointed out that that was an inappropriate use of the horn...

Posted 10 years ago #
dougal
Member

@fimm So that was a learner with an instructor in the car? That's hilarious. I had assumed belligerent behaviour waited until drivers were qualified...

Posted 10 years ago #
condor2378
Member

@fimm

Or the instructor said "Blast that horn at the #bloodycyclist! They don't even pay Road Tax you know!"

Thus the Circle of Life continues...

Posted 10 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Do DI's have dual control horns?!

Posted 10 years ago #
Arellcat
Moderator

I had assumed belligerent behaviour waited until drivers were qualified

Better to build those skills at the earliest opportunity.

Posted 10 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Maybe, along with the special extra cycling-experience module to be added to the driving test, assessments could be performed of the driving-character of the existing drivers whose driving provisional drivers have spent considerable periods observing - extra empathy lessons would be provided to those who have been raised or ferried about lots by impatient frothbags.

Posted 10 years ago #
fimm
Member

Well yes, assuming that it was the learner driver who sounded their horn, it would be them and not the instructor. It is possible that the parents of said learner are of the belief that cyclists should be somewhere else. That is why I noted that I didn't hear the horn again, and therefore was hopeful that the instructor had pointed out the misuse of the horn.

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

@IWRATS - nice, yes if you touch the person's car this can induce a hypomanic episode. In periods of very strong winds (6+ on Beaufort Scale) Hypomanic episodes can also be induced just by moving your head left right left to indicate you don't like their driving.

Posted 10 years ago #
lorlane
Member

@gembo Yes, looking back, it does seem that way (that she realised she'd been rash), but in the heat of the moment I just wanted to know what she felt justified it. I did get a fright and my legs were shaking as I rode off!!

I didn't process her evasiveness as a signal that she was embarrassed but I think she probably was.

Coming home tonight I paid particular attention at that bit (Gorgie Rd at Chesser, approaching right hand filter).

Posted 10 years ago #
sallyhinch
Member

I had an Italian driving instructor who was convinced that the examiner would be very impressed if I sounded my horn correctly during the test. He felt the British didn't really use the horn enough. Perhaps he's moved up to Edinburgh?

Posted 10 years ago #
gembo
Member

@lorlane, the junction where the right turn heads up towards Asda? That is a bad junction for sure. Never helped by a car horn. I find that some horn toots you know who they are aimed at but others are random. The fair way you described it made it sound like the driver had tooted but then thought better. I have never had such an exchange when I have asked a driver what their intention was. Has always ended in a disagreement. I once caused a woman to go raj / hypomanic - she had tooted me at Currie (when she had been following the car in front in overtaking me but ran out of road). I caught her at slateford and chapped her window. She was not happy with this. I had just wanted to know why she tooted. She lost it big style embarrassing as turned out she was receptionist at the dentist. We agreed to forget we recognised each other.

Posted 10 years ago #
PS
Member

Had a bit of horn action on Sunday, not directed at me though.

Traffic at the traffic lights turning from Stockbridge into Hamilton Place was all backed up, not a surprise really given the single yellow line that leads to drivers' parking all up that road on a Sunday, leaving just enough room for two lines of moving cars if a) the driver can judge the width of their own vehicle and b) trusts the judgement of the driver coming towards them. This is not always the case, as evidenced on Sunday.

I filtered up the inside on my bike to find the hold up was a driver in a German car who obviously didn't fancy squeezing through a pinch point in the face of some sketchy driving. I filter in two cars down the queue and unclip to a stop.

Then someone behind sounds their horn in a "move, you are holding me up!" kind of way. I turned round to see who it might have been. It wasn't clear - may have been a merc driver ire fly behind me, but possibly not. Whoever it was, I felt justified in giving the international sign language for a self-lover in the general direction of the hornist, combined with a disapproving look. I mean, what do they think they'll achieve by leaning on their horn, beyond outing themselves as a p***k? Hopefully they took the message that they weren't acting reasonably. No more horns were sounded anyway.

Posted 10 years ago #

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