Oh it's still happening. Saw plenty of it today & yesterday from the comfort of my Mazdaratti. Including a woman who took the huff with me because her Trinity Tractor was too wide to pass me on a country lane without slowing to a walking pace!
What was I supposed to do? Cower in the ditch while she charged through?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish driving...
(11330 posts)- Started 13 years ago by Stepdoh
- Latest reply from fergus
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Posted 9 years ago #
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Bad driving indeed by whoever drove the Nissan Micra off the road by Dunsapie Loch, apparently with the intention of driving up Arthur's seat. The car was visible today, about 20m from the road, severely bogged down. Various branches gathered around the sunken front wheels showed evidence of frantic efforts to free the vehicle.
Someone is starting the new year with a bit of explaining to do to the authorities.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@ Charlethepar I was surprised how many cars veered off the road, mounted the kerb and parked on the grass in front of the Salisbury Crags last night at about 11.30. The park was full of people migrating towards the hill for a view over Edinburgh. I really doubt many of those drivers were paying full enough attention to who or what they might have hit in the darkness as they swung violently off the road. Certainly I was close to being taken out.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Witnessed as a pedestrian today: a driver performed a U-turn entering into Teviot Place from Lothian Street with the clear intention of turning left and heading the wrong way up Bristo Place while the lights were green and a car was heading along Bristo Place about to turn left into Teviot Place. I maybe should have attempted to wave my arms instead of merely looking horrified, but luckily they both braked in time. The U-turn driver then performed a rushed several-point to back on track again.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Cycling westbound along Princess Street today, saw a taxi driver do a U-turn across the pedestrian crossing at the bottom of Castle Street. Luckily no Pedestrians trying to cross at the time!
I'm minded to report to the council, although only have reg plate, not the licence number. Any thoughts? Is it worth it?
Posted 9 years ago # -
Hmm, I meant right into Teviot Place; it shows how easy such mistakes are to make (when writing at least). Today's near miss was caused by a driver not having put the lights of his car on before trying to pull out onto Dundee Street from the odd bit of road near where the new pizza place is...
Posted 9 years ago # -
BminiW driver close-passing on Queen Street sufficiently closely to warrant following him down Hill St to explain the problem as he let a passenger disembark. There was then some beeping behind me at the zebra crossing at the junction with George St, then a distinct lack of attention being paid to the road as he huffed indignantly at me across the parked cars between him and the cycle lane, which I thought it wise to take all the way along today.
Posted 9 years ago # -
A few in quick succession on my short ride today...
#1: An insanely close pass (5 inches maybe) on Westfield Rd (coming from Sainsbury and headed towards Murrayfield).
#2: I moved into a more central position after that - to be able to negotiate the potholes and crevices. This "earned" me a punishment pass (either that, or the guy can't steer) from a car that passed me at the Roseburn turnstiles, then veered left across me.
#3: From Roseburn St, I turned onto Russell Rd. I had a clear lane in front of me... until a van coming the other way decided it wanted to park on my side of the street.
No need to wait for me to pass. No need to even signal, just cross in front of me and force me to brake.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Obeying the lights at West Maitland Street is no longer compulsory.
This morning I got the green light to turn in to Torphicen St. The straight ahead light was still red, but that didn't stop a white van, followed by a cab, followed by a car going through it.
Of course RLJ is singularly a cycling problem.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I was pushing my luck with an amber light from Gorgie Road on to Dalry Road this morning. I was doing a decent 20mph+, so thought it was better to keep going than try to stop. Thankfully I did keep going, as the car behind proceeded through too. Must have been red by the time he passed through. Must have been a cyclist.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@Stickman
I suggest what you witnessed was simple bad driving / inattention rather than a concious decision to RLJ.I have made the same mistake at those lights as they changed to Green for the right turn to Torphichen St. I have seen the mistake made by cyclists and drivers too more than ten times.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I concur with dangerous, I've very nearly jumped the lights there unintentionally on multiple occasions as the placement of the red signals for the right turn catches your eyes even when you want to go straight on (it's easier on a bike to look at the further signal repeater rather than the one at the stop line which is too high and too far left if you're in the ASL to see without craning your neck). When the light you can see goes amber then green you find yourself starting off before realising it's a filter arrow that's appeared, not a "go" light. I've many times left myself looking rather daft as I lurch forward suddenly by about a metre or so before managing to stop and get a foot back on the ground, then pretend nonchalantly that it was all very intentional and I hadn't made a mistake.
If a tram is nearby it's even more confusing as it changes the order of lights, and the straight on cycle goes green before the right turn...
Not an excuse but sometimes the subconscious automatically over-rules the conscious and on seeing lights next to the ones you should be watching go red - amber, it gets you to start the take-off procedures before you can manually reset it. This seems to be the only place were I regularly cycle and yet regularly get caught out.
I used to think that filter sequences didn't go red-amber-green and missed out the amber to avoid confusion. If the red and amber were arrows rather than round lights it might help too. Or not mounting the right-turn and straight-ahead lights on a common pole might also help.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Fair enough.
A cyclist will RLJ knowing that the light is red and (hopefully) weighing up the traffic movements beyond the lights as being safe for them to proceed.
The vehicles I saw unwittingly went through a red light and would (probably) be expecting that the traffic movements beyond the lights would be safe for them to proceed.
I agree that the lights could be better placed, but I still think it's rubbish driving.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@Stickman you have a point of course - there's a whole difference between being caught out by the lights and starting to go on the wrong one and stopping or in just carrying on regardless once you realise your mistake.
Also there will be unobservant drivers I see going through red who haven't even looked at the signal and are merely following through the vehicle they are tailing, and if it goes on red, they do too.
Posted 9 years ago # -
It's clearly been some day, based on the above. Mine happened outside my office. The road I'm cycling on in the video below is not a dual carriageway - it is a standard road. I thought I'd best make that clear since the only rational conclusion you can come to, when watching it, is that it must be a dual carriageway.
I was indicating right when the car overtook me on the wrong side of the road. Happy new year!
Posted 9 years ago # -
@stickman dangerous and kaputnik re West Maitland lights. Confession: I too found myself going ahead on red, when only the right filter was green. There is something deeply unintuitive about this particular set of lights. I put it down to having to pay so much attention to trams, buses, and revving vans behind me, but I still hated myself as far as Shandwick Place. I'll know next time.
Posted 9 years ago # -
First bad driving while I was cycling for the year. After heading over the crossing under the green man/bike at the top of MMW I moved into the right hand lane to head right at the Bedlam Theatre. The driver of a red Citroen C1 with plates 'SK12 0WW' which was parked at the far left of the road decided that this was a great time to pull out across both lanes forcing me to slow considerably... I considered continuing and overtaking but in retrospect I think that I would have been punted off onto the pavement despite the slow speed manoeuvre, which could have been quite "0WW".
Posted 9 years ago # -
Taxi driver decided to pull an unsignalled u-turn outside the EICC tonight.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Yeah one did that to me this morning... I was in the car at the time so no significant danger but taxi's really don't care who they cut off.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Loooong low loader forgetting he had a trailer behind the cab, and squeezing me up against a stone wall. Not really close, but only because I moved into the gutter.
Had the camera running, so see what it looks like later on.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Heading stevenson road across to westfield road last night I was almost touched by a wee car driven fast and incredibly close. Gave me a right shock and I had to swerve out the way. I bellowed at them which seemed to make them panic (think she knew what she'd done was bad) then proceeded to cycle alongside and explain to her that it was too close. Passenger looked well embarrassed.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Driver of a Speedy hire truck wearing a "MOTORWAY MAINTENANCE" sign at the back, which was doing some free-form lane-ignoring from the lane to my right between Leith Walk and York Place, which ought not to be done in a long truck with an extra bit at the back, though it was all OK when it finally passed me as it had a "CYCLISTS: beware when passing this vehicle on the left" sign at the back of the tailgate, next to the "please leave a 3.5m gap behind this truck in case the tailgate flops down" sign.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
The indictment includes claims Shirley went at speeds of more than 42 mph – said to be excessive due to road and traffic conditions.
"
http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/biker-on-trial-over-great-junction-street-death-1-3652288
Posted 9 years ago # -
42mph wasn't breaking the speed limit???
Posted 9 years ago # -
Some sort of large black Jeepy thing heading west from Morrison Street through Haymarket yesterday - first, it overtook a cyclist in the left-hand straight-through lane, which meant it was heading towards me in the right-hand straight-through/turn-right lane, then after we set off in front of it from the ASZ at the lights it did exactly the same thing but closer as we went across the tramlines, then went through two reds to try and escape us to stop us frowning at it, though was trapped by the third red at the junction with Haymarket Yards, whereupon its driver was shouted at when I cauight up, which they must have noticed as they carefully kept their eyes and face pointing straight ahead.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
The Forth Road Bridge reopened to cars only at around 7.25am after it was closed when a van overturned in the high winds at around 12.40am this morning.
The bridge had been open to cars only at the time, however a van whose driver had ignored this restriction was overturned by the wind just before the bridge closed completely.
Barry Colford, Chief Engineer and Bridgemaster, said: “This driver put himself and other bridge users at great risk by attempting to drive a wind-susceptible vehicle across the bridge in such conditions.
“Incredibly there were no casualties, however the driver has now been charged by Police Scotland.
"
Posted 9 years ago # -
Picture of the van amoungst this lot:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30726678
Looks a bit bendy, don't suppose his employer will be too happy either.
Posted 9 years ago # -
It was a rental van apparently. I don't imagine the CDW covers acts of wilful negligence. It could get very expensive for them.
Posted 9 years ago # -
was very windy on the A7 at gala this morning. Driving the luton was a bit like piloting a kite........
Posted 9 years ago #
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