RANT Thread « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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RANT Thread

(23 posts)

Started 13 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
Latest reply from wingpig

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Wilmington's Cow
Member

I've seen this used in 'another place' as a cathartic top-blowing exercise.... So...

BRITISH GAS MAN YOU MORON! You KNEW I was there because I got away from the lights a LOT before you. Just because you have got level with me does NOT mean I have disappeared and does NOT mean that you can start edging ever closer to the left because you need to be in that lane. And when I shout 'Whoaaaaaah!' and look in your window I'd be grateful if you would even glance my way, the jump in your seat combined with putting your left indicator on and STILL moving left is NOT useful compared to paying attention and realising the traffic ahead is stopped at red anyway and the left hand lane is partially blocked meaning you gain absolutely nothing from passing me. Which, as we've established from me being alongside you the whole time, you DID NOT DO!

Thank you.

Posted 13 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Let it all out!

And... breathe.

Your therapy is now complete.

Posted 13 years ago #
ruggtomcat
Member

And then pick up the phone...

Posted 13 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Didn't get the numberplate. :(

Posted 13 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Regarding not getting the numberplate...

What do people generally do when threatened by other traffic sufficiently to feel like doing something abou it? I occasionally chant a number plate, van-side company name, taxi registration number or bus route/vehicle ID to myself to try and remember it to the end of the journey but often lose track of it when I relax or find it supplanted by something else if another event occurs.

Presumably a hat-or-other-appropriate-mounting-point camera (preferably with sound, to be able to also use it for note-taking in case the resolution wasn't sufficient for getting number plates) is the definitive solution but does anyone do anything like carry a notepad and pencil in an easily-acessible pocket? I've occasionally made a note in my phone (usually when a bus has done something stupid seeing as reporting them actually elicits a response) but I was wondering about fishing out my old but dinky MP3 player, attaching it to a rucksack shoulder-strap and leaving it running on journeys so that I can easily dictate vehicle identification data or reportable pothole locations into it without stopping and fiddling about with zipped pockets, gloves and phones/notepads.

Posted 13 years ago #
PS
Member

Do you necessarily need the number plate? I'd have thought they should be able to work which van would be in or near that location at that time? Obviously not cast-iron proof, but a concientious employer might be able to fire a warning shot across its drivers' bows (possibly a leap of faith there, I know).

Posted 13 years ago #
Arellcat
Moderator

*grab phone*
*unlock keypad*
*Goto key*
*down* *down* *down* *down*
*select Voice Recorder*
*select Record*

That's my (unsmart) phone's quickest route to dictating a registration plate, and make/model of vehicle as I've done on an occasion or two. By that time I've usually forgotten a critical digit or letter of the registration, and end up relying on one of the online systems to doublecheck. A helmet cam at least usually has sound recording at the same time and a bit of shouting does the trick.

Posted 13 years ago #
ruggtomcat
Member

Reminds me of this video:

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He will look if he thinks you are a motorbike!

Posted 13 years ago #
wee folding bike
Member

I make up a wee mental picture using the letters and digits in the number.

Usually it's not complimentary.

Posted 13 years ago #
amir
Member

Thank goodness for this thread...

I have a near miss recently in Dalkeith. A LRT bus decided to turn right across my path and only just stopped in time (they are long and slow). Just behind that there was another car following the bus right without looking but fortunately he stopped.

The trouble is drivers just pass these things off as though it doesn't matter, nothing happened. However the incidents could be serious and the cyclist certainly feels that.

Following that someone in the Range Rover decided to pass me just before a queue onto a roundabout (I should have been in primary perhaps but to be fair I was about 2m out). I am afraid that I did let out a string of expletives - I hope nobody heard me (somehow words are worse than bullying by car).

I have reported the first incident to LRT.

Posted 13 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Ooh, that's a looooooovely brand new shiny silver Mercedes you have there. Why in god's name are you so intent on putting a cyclist shaped dent in the side then? Hmmm? Oh, and I was being sarcastic, I don't like Mercedeseseses...

Riding at 25mph downhill, having checked, twice, over my shoulder, indicating to turn right, central reservation coming up... Why on earth did you still start trying to indicate? And when you realised the utter stupidity why did you then, after pulling in behind me and losing about 1.73 seconds on the whole transaction, beep me and wave something incoherently???? AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH! I JUST DON'T GET IT!

Nor the hordes of drivers willing to overtake on a blind corner on the road south of Arthur's Seat.

SIX of them this morning (three each at two particular points). For the very last I could see the car coming the other way and waved (quite remonstratingly) at the driver behind not to come past as was obvious he was going to do. He paused, but only momentarily, before the foot found the loud pedal again, before swerving back in front of me, just in time to avoid an head-on collision with (ironically) a silver Mercedes coming the other way who was forced to brake. I WASN'T WAVING AT YOU TO STOP FOR THE GOOD OF MY HEALTH!

Actually, that's not strictly true, I was worried you'd panic and swerve into the side of me, so it was for the good of my health.

Moron.

I hope your passenger gave you a talking to.

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"I hope your passenger gave you a talking to."

I often wonder about this.

Passengers are likely to see a cyclist much more up close - and see/hear what's coming out of their mouth.

Whether this makes them more/less sympathetic and/or willing/able to tell off/sympathise with the driver is another question!

Posted 13 years ago #
Arellcat
Moderator

Not just you, Anth. The collective impatience of car drivers this week seems to have reached a critical mass. A large van driver just had to nip out from a side road, while obscured by a double decker bus. Fortunately I had spotted his wheels just beginning to turn before I passed the bus that was turning into that side road, so I'd hauled on the brakes in anticipation; he appeared moments later, absolutely flooring it to make it across the blind junction. Two more cars later this morning just had to overtake to join the queue ahead.

Fife Creamery received an e-mail yesterday regarding the rather urgent style of one of their drivers. When you're cycling between 25 and 30mph, why do drivers still feel the need to overtake? Their speedometer would already be nudging 30+.

Posted 13 years ago #
Min
Member

Aggression levels have definately increased as they do every summer

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

'We' are always complaining (justifiably) about drivers who come too close - I'm meaning menacing from behind rather than overtaking.

I assume they wouldn't get that close to another tin box, but I'm never sure.

There are plenty of drivers who think that anything in front is personally insulting them.

Posted 13 years ago #
wingpig
Member

I get menaced from the rear plenty when driving, though by sticking to sensible speeds I expect little else. Passengers' attitudes to their drivers' behaviours may vary - as they're not in control of the powerful whooshing engine, do they remain more human? Might some be frightened of the aggression exhibited by their driver, or disinclined to say anything if they spot a mistake either because they're being polite to the person they're cadging a lift from or because they have to live with the driver? At the dingbat-ned end of the scale the passenger is often the source of the incomprehensible bellowings emitted from the window, egging the driver on as the car accelerates past but you'd hope that less dingbattish passengers might occasionally pass comment if they don't approve of what their driver does. I comment (and gasp, or flinch, or twitch) but get complained back at for so doing.

Posted 13 years ago #
chdot
Admin

@wingpig

Yep, think all those all possible/likely!

Posted 13 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

I commented just last week from the passenger seat at a friend overtaking a cyclist juuuust before a red light. She'd passed with a comment of she had to 'on principle' as I pointed out the cyclist and said she might want to drop behind. She's a good driver, but only been driving about a year, and she was backed up by two of the passengers (both of whom don't drive (not even got licences) OR cycle). The driver stated that the cyclist had not had to deviate his line because after cutting in left she had then moved right, and that she should go past because the lights might turn green, and that 'as a cyclist' she prefers people to go past rather than sit right behind her (I did point out that there was a third option of sitting further back!).

All spilled over into emails the following day, with it becoming clear the two passengers hadn't actually even noticed or been watching what happened with the cyclist. But still, loyalty to a friend who was driving, not being able to consider she would have done something wrong, was the over-riding factor. Which is depressing because it justifies the action and makes it more likely to happen again.

Basically there was utter denial that anything could possibly have been done wrong by the driver and 'if the cyclist was upset then he was wrong' (this from one of the other passengers).

I gave up in the end. Brick walls...

Posted 13 years ago #
Nelly
Member

anth, its an interesting but not unusual mindset - I had a similar situation recently - I turned up (in bike gear, straight from work, with bike) at a bbq with a number of very nice people, some of whom ran taxi businesses.

Chat turned to cycling, and light hearted ribbing of 'bloody cyclists', always getting in the way etc etc.

Now these were / are very nice people - but I do think that for some reason other road users do see us in a negative light, and somehow less worthy of our space on the road.

Back on topic - its odd, on the face of it there should be less nutters on the road, as it is holiday time, but perhaps more room = car drivers going faster and consequently expecting that all others should get out their way !!

Posted 13 years ago #
cb
Member

On Tuesday I found myself in the Advanced Stop Area on Gillsland Road heading for Harrison Road with a car behind me. When the light turned to green s/he rushed past me before procedding to slow my progress along Harrison due to waiting for cars coming the other way.

At the Slateford Rd junction (red light) I nipped in front into the ASL. I was ahead of them until I turned off right on Russell Road on to the cycle path.

Today it was the same route but role reversal, with me in the car behind two cyclists. I stayed behind them the whole way (which had the effect of keeping other cars behind me). Much more relaxing and a reduction in danger (i.e. over taking).

They did slow me down on Russell Road by an estimated 2 to 3 seconds, but I think that overall it didn't affect my overall journey time so I think I will forgive them.

Posted 13 years ago #
Smudge
Member

I swithered over whether to add this to the "rants" thread, but here goes..
This morning I was heading down the hill towards Polmont station, now for those who don't know it it's a gentle downhill approaching a tightish 90 left at which point the main road is joined from two roads, both on the rhs of the road, one 90 right, one slightly r of straight ahead (apologies for the dismal description!).
So tootling down there at about 20-25mph I see an older gent in a nondescript saloon approaching the road which is almost straight ahead, he's indicating right but something about him is setting off warning bells to me... so I slow a little and watch him, as I approach the corner he starts to join the main road then pauses at the central white lines as he's clearly seen me... my alarm bells are ringing loud and clear by now, despite eye contact so I cover the brake... sure enough he then pulls out directly in front of me!

Because i saw it coming I had time for a quick squeeze on the brakes then a looong squeeze on the airzound :-D
To give me even greater satisfaction at his discomfiture an older bloke on the pavement shouted "quite right son" as I passed :-))

Equilibrium restored and back to a happy commute :-)

(with apologies for the lack of rantiness ;-))

Posted 13 years ago #
cb
Member

"(with apologies for the lack of rantiness ;-))"

I think your rant was released through the medium of compressed air.

Posted 13 years ago #
wingpig
Member

I forgot about this by the time I'd got home yesterday. Must have been sufficiently calmed for it to have disappeared off my current irk-list:

I had pulled up first at the lights at the east end of Henderson Row, about two metres from the kerb to try and prevent cars turning left from sitting at my right but with my wheel cocked to try and point out to any cyclists approaching along from behind along the kerb that I was going to turn left. A cyclist duly trundled up along the kerb and sat with his headset level with my bottom bracket, looking very much like he was going to go straight across to Eyre Place. I very nearly asked him what he as intending to do but then a Pizza Hut delivery motor-bicycle appeared on my right, right up at the stop line, not signalling. The lights change, and bloke-on-the-bike-with-the-child-seat to the left went straight on, as expected. I'd anticipated this and avoided left-hooking him whilst simultaneously glaring at him. As usual when going down Brandon Terrace I was in the middle of the lane, as I'd be turning right up Canonmills. As also half-expected, Pizza Hut delivery motor-bicycle man appears at my right shoulder when I turn to look for him and starts making overtaking-looking twitches, which I deliberately slow down to allow him to complete whilst making sarcastic waving-through hand-gestures. He then moves into the left-hand half of the lane to turn up Inverleith Whichever, despite having had to cross the middle white line to get past me on the right. The nerk.
Shortly after that, bloke-with-child-seat emerges from Eyre Place, crosses the pedestrian crossing and heads down Broughton Road, jumping the red lights at the Logie Green Road and E Claremont St junctions, preventing me from catching him up and muttering at him. The nerk.

Posted 13 years ago #

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