Driver and passenger completely oblivious...
Having come through the Innocent I was on Hermit's Croft heading towards St Leonard's Street (I don't turn right past the Engine Shed due to a random-surfaced-cobbles allergy). Ahead a car (originaly style Punto) reverses out of a space, I was close enough that I'd have to slow, but it really wasn't worth complaining about.
Except they then took ages to get going as I pulled up into a trackstand behind. The reason for the delay was clear as they drive towards the main road desperately wiping the windscreen, all the while veering over onto the wrong side of the road.
A bin lorry on St Leonard's Street was reversing into Hermit's Croft in order to turn round, so the car slows (I say slows, the passenger very clearly pointed the wagon out to the driver who then hauled on the brakes in panic, stopping a good 20 yards away from it). Next thing, as the truck's reversing lights go off and the indicator goes on, making it even more clear what the intention was, the Punto's reversing lights come on. Now I've stopped a couple of yards behind, and I think, 'well they'll realise the truck isn't coming all the way back so will stop reversing'. I hadn't quite expected them to keep coming, and had to hop to the left (I had feet on the ground by this point) onto the pavement beside the car park entrance there, as they came back far enough to overlap more than half the bike.
'Oi!' I shouted. no response. 'Oi!' again. No response. I pull alongside and try waving through the condensated windows. The passenger window comes down, 'contact, finally' I think. But no, it's clearly another tactic to clear the windscreen and side windows (the heating elements in the rear screen had started working, which made it even stranger I wasn't seen). 'Oi!' I try again. The young chap, looking half asleep, in the passenger seat casts a dozy eye my way. "You almost reversed over me!"
"Oh. Er. Sorry about that."
I ride on as they decide that it might be a better idea to clear the windows before moving any further (in the process partially blocking the car park entrance).
It was one of those moments where I saw it all happening, so was able to get out of the way easily. But. To be that unaware of what's around you, to drive a car off in such a poor state to be moving, and yet we're told that cyclists would behave better if they were all licenced?
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