Today's rubbish driving... « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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Today's rubbish driving...

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Started 13 years ago by Stepdoh
Latest reply from fergus
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wingpig
Member

@eddie_h I'd 101 that one to the polices - nearly hitting two other vehicles whilst on the phone ought to be of interest to them, especially with three chiddler-lives at stake. Wonder if it would have been considered inappropriate to have warned the kids that the driver was effectively trying to kill them and they should ask her to drive more sensibly when the window was wound down?

Is there such a thing as a browser plug-in which could scan this site's pages for mention of vehicle names, highlight them and provide a hovering mouseover image of the offending make/model, to add context for people whose vehicle-model-knowledge is restricted?

Posted 9 years ago #
fimm
Member

Today's rubbish bicycle - taxi interaction: I'm heading down Dalry Road with the intention of (as usual) getting off on the left to walk round the corner to Haymarket station. There's a smallish queue at the lights, complicated by a taxi with its hazards on which has pulled up on the left. I register it as a stationary thing, and try to decide whether to stop in front of or behind it. As I get closer I decide to go round to the front of it - which was just as well because at that moment the driver decides to reverse - I assume to get a more sensible position on the road in the queue. It just me a bit of a fright. I'd pulled over, got off the bike and started walking round the corner before the driver started sounding his/her horn so I've no idea if that was at me or not. I should have probably paid the taxi a bit more attention.

Posted 9 years ago #
Edinburgh Cycle Training
Member

Range Rover

Attempted to overtake me on Fountainbridge this morning, heading into Semple Street.

I was in primary approaching a red light!

The idiot ended up straddling two lanes.

Oh, I was only about 10 yards from the ASL when the overtake attempt started!

Posted 9 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Presumably most of these drivers do this route every 'rush' hour, so should know about the bike lane coming up (some are in it) -

Posted 9 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Posted 9 years ago #
Stickman
Member

@chdot:

Must have been police bad-driving day today. There was a police van sat squarely next to me in the ASL at the Haymarket end of Morrison Street this evening.

I looked in and gave them a knowing smile, but both cops stared seriously ahead and didn't look at me for the full two minutes we were next to each other. I was tempted to say "3 points and a £60 fine" but thought better of it.

Posted 9 years ago #
neddie
Member

I've often seen police cars in ASLs.

Posted 9 years ago #
NiallA
Member

Had a classic MGIF close pass from a white van on Lothian Road this morning, just at the junction to the WAR below the Sheraton. The lights were of course at red. I knocked on his windscreen and remonstrated, and of course got the "works" - expletives and "touch my van and I'll smack you".
Said van of course carried the business name prominently, so I phoned them up and ranted at the poor receptionist... Anyway, will be interesting to see whether I get a call back from the manager.

Posted 9 years ago #
HankChief
Member

Heading Southbound on Maybury Rd this morning towing a trailer, 1st car I filter past has a young lady texting - she gets the stare and put the phone down.

A couple of cars forward another young lady has paperwork on her lap for reading, so I stop and ask her why she thinks this is sensible. Her response was that she wasn't. Why have it on your lap then...

So far so usual...

Then the car behind her beeps because he is being held up from moving 50 yds further forward in the queue. She then drives forward and the 'beeping' car behind revs his engine and accelerates sharply to catch up with the queue. They miss my trailer by mere millimeters.

I ride forward and try to convey through the windows to the 'beeping' car that the reason I was talking to the young lady in the hope that they would agree with me that reading paperwork is unacceptable. They just blank me.

I continue down the road and the paperwork reading young lady has her windows down and now telling me that the Highway code says I can't filter down the middle of 2 lanes of traffic.

I stop and point out that this isn't correct. We now have a squady in the outside lane deciding to lower his windows and tell me to stop picking on the young lady. So I try to explain to him why I had a word with the young lady. He tells me to ride on and leave her alone - which I do.

Just felt like the world was against me - probably because I can filter and they get stuck in the queue.

Posted 9 years ago #
Greenroofer
Member

Something in the air tonight in West Edinburgh.

Another person on a bike caught up with me a little further on and said 'that silver Astra didn't leave you much room'. Indeed they did not...

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.

That's the closest pass I've had recently. It's the kind of incident that, if it had happened soon after I'd started riding a bike, would probably have caused me to give up.

Posted 9 years ago #
Arellcat
Moderator

now telling me that the Highway code says I can't filter down the middle of 2 lanes of traffic.

This is the same tough sounding pseudo-defence covering up for lack of knowledge of the facts as saying such-and-such can't be done or isn't allowed 'on Health and Safety grounds'.

Next time ask for the HWC rule number! Or better yet, carry a copy with you. :)

Greenroofer, do you have a mirror on your bike? The reason I ask is because motorists (in my experience, at least) seem to often respond better when they see a visible shoulder check, which you do as they approach from behind having watched them in your mirror. But also, Gogar Station Road is surely quiet enough that you can take primary as a matter of course and tuck in as needed, in conjunction with the shoulder checking thing.

Doesn't change the fact that that was awful driving from those two motorists.

Posted 9 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Big Volvo SUV pulling out of a side street - looked like school run, car laden with kiddies, mummy in the driving seat studiously ignoring my presence, even when that included a big wave in the air. Perhaps a slight irony that the driver was wearing a bright hi-viz yellow jacket...

Posted 9 years ago #
wingpig
Member

M8 BOM or somesuch, a large and black estate Beemer, changing lanes into my intended future position on Morrison St without so much as am indication from its driver.

Posted 9 years ago #
dougal
Member

Heading along MacDonald Road towards Leith Walk at 6.40PM - there are two Give Way spots where the road narrows with priority to pass for oncoming traffic. Was nearly taken out by a bin lorry that wasn't paying attention to where I was, where other vehicles were, and who had priority.

Posted 9 years ago #
Greenroofer
Member

@Arellcat yes, I do have a mirror. Interestingly I hadn't looked in it for a several seconds before that silver car came by and it did take me completely by surprise, which is very unusual. It's an interesting point you make about using a shoulder check as a way of saying 'stay back'. It's certainly something I do when passing obstacles on the road or when there's a car that's sticking too close behind for some time, but I hadn't considered it for situations like this where he was just coming flying past. Definitely something to think about.

I suspect in this case he thought he'd just nip past me without noticing the blind corner, and was committed to the move when he saw the black truck appear in front of him. I don't think me looking back would have made much difference in this case.

Isn't it depressing the level of defensive skills, concentration and alertness I need just to ride at 12mph on a country road?

Posted 9 years ago #
acsimpson
Member

The Grange Road between Rosyth and Dunfermline appears very similar to GSR. I always ride in primary down it as I don't see that there is space for an vehicle to overtake when there is oncoming traffic. If a passing vehicle isn't willing to commit to overtaking on the other side of the road there there is no way they should be overtaking anyway.

Posted 9 years ago #
condor2378
Member

+1 with acsimpson.

Having never ridden that road, or even driven it to my knowledge, and with the full benefit of hindsight I would also ride that road of which I have no experience in Primary.

There may be mitigating circumstances why that isn't applicable but I'd look to make anyone wanting to pass me to commit to the opposite lane and be sure that nothing was coming, lest I be squeezed into the side as demonstrated by Greenroofers video. YMMV.

Posted 9 years ago #
Edinburgh Cycle Training
Member

Is The Grange Road the one known as "the back road", from Camdean up to the TA centre?

If so, I'd ride that in primary all the way too!

Posted 9 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"

I''m awaiting the results of your writing to Fife Constabulary regarding previous fatalities on Grange Road, however I also await your comments on why you don't regard it as viable to close Grange Road to motorised traffic.

"

http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6113

Posted 9 years ago #
acsimpson
Member

@Bikeability, yes that's the one. I can't see them shutting it to traffic but it would be nice if they did the same on it as is planned for GSR, removing the central line and installing cycle lanes. It's certainly not a road for anyone unwilling to keep primary.

Fife Council are currently building a parallel cycle route from Rosyth to Dunfermline following the dual carriageway. While this will be great for family's it doesn't currently look like a commuting route as it will cede priority to every side road/driveway.

As far as I'm aware the current speed limit was put in place after the deaths (1 cyclist and 1 pedestrian). I've been riding it for the past year and a bit and experienced less scary passes than on some "safer" roads.

Posted 9 years ago #
CJC
Member

Very bad driving (and worse attitude) from Leith Walk Kebab and Pizza House driver this morning as he swung into my lane without looking or indicating.

Driver was very angry and rude! I took a detour past Gayfield Police Station because I thought he was going to get out of his car and cause some trouble and didn't want him following me to work.

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Posted 9 years ago #
ih
Member

Shocking driving to change lanes without checking. But was it one of these part time bus lanes that we will soon have everywhere? Still no excuse.

Posted 9 years ago #
Greenroofer
Member

I've thought carefully about the comments about riding in primary on Gogar Station Road, and this evening I did it with consistency on every dodgy bit, and definitely on all the blind corners. I noted, too, Arellcat's point about using eye contact.

So, with all that in mind, I'm riding primary approaching two blind corners. I have looked behind me at the taxis that are following. I am sending a clear message that I don't want to be overtaken. Guess what happens...

(My camera is on the left of my handlebars, so it makes me look a little closer to the kerb than I actually am)

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See how on the first corner, the oncoming car actually came to a halt to avoid a collision?

Honestly! What more can I do?

Posted 9 years ago #
sallyhinch
Member

weird about the shoulder check thing. Here in rural Dumfries and Galloway, at least on our single track roads, a look over your shoulder is taken as encouragement to overtake - and some won't overtake until they see you look behind you. From the conversations I've had with drivers (cordial ones with courteous drivers), they take it as a sign that you know they are there and won't be startled off your bike as they go past. I actually now use a shoulder check to encourage a driver to pass me (for instance if I'm about to go up a hill and I don't want to be holding them up). So be careful if you're down this way that you don't inadvertently encourage an overtake when you were intending to discourage one...

Posted 9 years ago #
HankChief
Member

Eeek. Someone should do something about that road ;-)

Thing is, the cycle lanes aren't going in at those points, so the only difference will be not having a central line.

Oh, you need to work on your video naming... both yesterday and today's version are called "close passes on GSR" and who can forget your previous classic of "close pass on GSR" :)

Posted 9 years ago #
wee folding bike
Member

Back when I was young, trendy and cared I wore Oakley Mumbos with a mirror on the offside leg. This allowed me to see behind but not let motorists know that I'd seen them. I found the same thing, looking at them was taken as a sign that over taking was acceptable so I used it as such.

Now I'm older and more likely to wear a flat cap but it will usually have a kangaroo on the back.

Posted 9 years ago #
Edinburgh Cycle Training
Member

I wouldn't give yourself a hard time about the first cab which at least overtook you properly (left you plenty space) a real pity about that oncoming vehicle though!

Posted 9 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

Funny. In Gilmore place - where I do more shoulder checking than anywhere else - cars definitely stay back when I shoulder check before pinch points, parked cars etc.

Is it the sort of road? Ie drivers can actually distinguish between two kinds of shoulder checks? One meaning 'I'm checking because I'm about to pull out' and one meaning 'I hear you'?

Hate to attribute sophisticated reasoning to drivers, but...

Posted 9 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

@Greenroofer

Those incidents are both horrible and commonplace.

The second overtake is exactly where a Transit squished me into the kerb. GSR is clearly treated by motorists as a wormhole through time, space and the law. It should really be limited to 30mph if they can't fit in a segregated path.

Posted 9 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

So I'm 'driving' on Mountcastle Drive North, heading south. It's a 20 zone, I'm doing 20. The guy in the dark grey Ford Focus (SY06 YSE) behind me clearly isn't happy about this (but then he wasn't happy about me driving at 30 in the 30 zone before that), and seeing a gap overtakes.

Of course the car a little ahead is also doing 20, and there's traffic, so he's forced to tailgate, as we catch up given there's a road narrowing with opposing priority, then traffic lights.

As we hit Mountcastle Drive South the car in front turns into the first available street. Focus boy hits the gas, doing that overtaking thang that belies impatience when people are already turning off, and hares off, doing at least 50. At least.

Posted 9 years ago #