CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Good Driving

(272 posts)

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  1. gembo
    Member

    @algo, might go viral

    Posted 6 years ago #
  2. wingpig
    Member

    A taxi waited with apparent patience behind a cylist on a Christiana all the way from Russell Road to the Dalry Road exit from Murieston Crescent this morning.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  3. Lezzles
    Member

    Algo that is just too freaking adorable. What a lovely driver. But your kids face as she's whooshing along is just fab.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  4. algo
    Member

    Thanks @Lezzles - usually she's off the follow-me attachment but we were in a hurry and Kilgraston is pretty terrifying :-) Beautiful day for riding around town too....

    Posted 6 years ago #
  5. Frenchy
    Member

    I cycled down The Wisp to Niddrie Mains Road last night. The last section of this has a few blind corners and solid white lines in the middle of the road, but this doesn't normally stop drivers from overtaking. But the driver behind me last night stayed several seconds behind me the whole way along. I shouted thank you as our routes diverged (I turned right, they went straight on). This seemed to surprise them, so I hope they didn't think I was being sarcastic.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  6. EdinburghCycleCam
    Member

    "This seemed to surprise them, so I hope they didn't think I was being sarcastic."

    Ha - I'm always paranoid about shouting "thank you" to people in case they either think I'm being sarcastic, or worse, mishear it as "f*** you"...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  7. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    "Ha - I'm always paranoid about shouting "thank you" to people in case they either think I'm being sarcastic, or worse, mishear it as "f*** you"..."

    I got growled at in Slamannan for the same offence from a driver who'd pulled in a space in a line of parked cars when he probably could have bored on through. It confuses people...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  8. ejstubbs
    Member

    Might not always be easy to achieve on a bike* but including the http://www.naden.de/blog/bbvideo-bbpress-video-plugin -->

    [+] Embed the video | BSL gesture for "thank you" might help get the correct message across? It's one of the easier to understand signs, I think.

    " target="_blank">Video Download
    Get the Video Widget

    * Not that that seems to stop other gestures being deployed on occasion - only under extreme provocation, of course...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  9. ejstubbs
    Member

    Hmm, that was unexpected. Hope the post still makes some kind of sense.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  10. dougal
    Member

    I've been known to BSL at people but have passed the point where I can tell whether signs are iconic to an outsider.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  11. acsimpson
    Member

    I'm not sure white van man or Taxi driver would appreciate being blown a kiss. They probably aren't too familiar with BSL.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  12. jdanielp
    Member

    The driver in the car behind me on Gilmore Place who was pulling out to overtake me despite oncoming traffic either spotted me raise my right arm or perhaps saw the oncoming traffic and decided to hold back... I'm not sure if this really counts as good driving, but at least it wasn't bad.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  13. Greenroofer
    Member

    Yesterday morning, the driver behind me on the bridge in Lasswade, who stopped without running over my rack pack when it fell off the bike into the middle of the road, then remained stopped and held up the traffic until I'd parked my bike and sheepishly scurried back to pick up the bag.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  14. the canuck
    Member

    the bus driver who blocked up the roundabout at Picardy place so i could get out of Leith street and into the lane to turn onto Broughton st. I'd been stuck there for so long, was starting to wonder if i was going to have to order food delivery...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  15. urchaidh
    Member

    The driver on Leith Walk who kept an aggressive concrete truck driver safely away from me.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  16. algo
    Member

    @urchaidh - always pleasant when someone offsets the idiots. I wonder in these situations if they are a cyclist themselves...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  17. acsimpson
    Member

    "I wonder in these situations if they are a cyclist themselves..."

    Or perhaps someone who wishes they could cycle if only their were not intimidating idiots like this.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  18. algo
    Member

    Going north up South Clerk street about to turn left down Hope Park Terrace. The usual mêlée of buses indicating to go into the bus stop and some indicating to leave, some shunting forward etc.... everyone stationary and I'm in the bus lane and make the judgement to decide to filter to a place nearer the front I can see and am confident I can get to. The vehicle in front is a skip lorry indicating left - I do not filter past the skip lorry. He sees me and pulls a bit further right and anticipates that I might try and go up the inside. I don't and give him the thumbs up which he returns and continues on his left turn. It would have been madness for me to go up the inside, but I was very appreciative that he was anticipating such potential madness. Unfortunately, I couldn't work out what the company was.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  19. Frenchy
    Member

    Normally several drivers will overtake me in the 20mph section of Peffermill Road/Niddrie Mains Road, even if I'm exceeding the speed limit myself. But none tonight. The driver behind kept an enormous gap all the way, then rolled down his window when we were stopped at traffic lights and said something that I didn't catch, but which I'm sure was friendly.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  20. Frenchy
    Member

    Took primary at a pinch point going up Old Dalkeith Road the other day. The driver behind waited patiently behind, then overtook when it was clear. Then they gave me a thank you wave.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  21. Arellcat
    Moderator

    One has to wonder if there hasn't been any noteworthy good driving for six months…

    I experienced today an extended amount of what ought to be completely normal right-thinking good driving, but was good driving only because all the drivers were dead scared.

    I was cycling home on the Elephant Bike, which is not normally a scary bike, but is when outfitted with a 48" long bright yellow metal spirit level tied down crosswise on the front basket. It was hilarious just how much space I was given, from every single driver, between Travis Perkins and home.

    What it shows though is that drivers are, by default, lazy, risk-taking chancers. Only by making oneself BIG, presenting the driver with the strong likelihood of sustaining damage to their beloved horseless carriage lest they inadvertently casually get too close, is it possible to alter the power balance on the Queen's highway in faviour of the vulnerable.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  22. Ed1
    Member

    It may be that good driving is normal so don’t think about it much, just the rare instants of bad driving

    Posted 5 years ago #
  23. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    Ed1 Most drivers are fine. In future I might describe bad drivers as "the only bad driver I've seen all day" rather than "the worst driver I've seen all day". The former puts them in a group of one and maybe drivers like to conform so that's going to feel worse than the latter which might include every driver I've encountered that day, in which case they're just one of the pack.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  24. IanE
    Member

    I wouldn't say it's good driving as such, but I always appreciate any show of thanks I get from drivers when I take the opportunity to pull in to let any tailbacks pass (Burnshot Road, they always seem to catch me at the Carmel Chicane).

    I go out of my way to do it now for the warm fuzzy feeling of even one set of 'gratitude hazards' as they go past.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  25. @IanE, it's always nice when they do that, but very few actually do. I'd guess at 10% when I move over.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  26. davecykl
    Member

    Cycling to work this morning on a wide stretch of road which has a reasonably wide cycle lane and a general traffic lane each way, having built up a bit of speed on the downhill towards a traffic light junction which, given the traffic light phasing of the previous junction, and typical cycling speed, often (annoyingly) turns red just before you get there (Causewayside / Mayfield Road).

    I couldn't work out why there were several cars just behind me but making absolutely no attempt to pass, even though the general traffic lane was otherwise empty alongside and ahead of me.

    Then it dawned on me that having managed to get through the junction without stopping, I must have maintained momentum and be travelling around 20 mi/h (the speed limit for the street, of course)… :D

    Posted 5 years ago #
  27. CycleAlex
    Member

    People must be in a good mood today with the bank holiday, used an advisory lane in Aberdeen and everyone passed safely with plenty giving me loads of room going into the other lane.

    Makes for a nice change!

    Posted 5 years ago #
  28. Greenroofer
    Member

    To the driver of the enormous articulated lorry with three axles on the tractor unit and four axles on the trailer coming towards me yesterday, thank you.

    From me, partly, but mainly from the driver of the SUV who had overtaken me on a blind corner and who, if you'd not slammed on your brakes, would have embedded themselves in your radiator.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  29. Snowy
    Member

    I wonder if these people learn from these experiences? Does a close call like that lead to them questioning their own driving? Or do they continually just think, "that was that cyclist's fault".

    Posted 5 years ago #
  30. gembo
    Member

    @Snowy - there is no learning

    Posted 5 years ago #

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