Close pass by car driver on the Carberry Road on Saturday. Temporary lights at the top of the hill so I catch up with him. I pass slowly on his outside and look in the window. He's holding a coffee in one hand and using a mobile with the other. I say "that explains why you passed so close to me back there". He winds the window down and replies "firstly, I only just picked up my phone because I'm waiting at these lights". I say "but you must have passed within two three feet of me back there, did you not see me?". he says "actually no I didn't see you". I reply "You didn't see me? Great" but by then he's driven off. Coffee in one hand, phone in the other.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish driving...
(11258 posts)- Started 12 years ago by Stepdoh
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Posted 8 years ago #
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Sheesh. Helmet cam ftw? ...police have occasionally charged people on that level of video evidence. Phone + a voluntary admission of a complete lack of awareness.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I agree Snowy. I wish I'd had one.
Posted 8 years ago # -
More light relief that some of the experiences on this thread.
Was cycling South along Dalkieth Road yesterday, in the lane to turn into Holyrood Park Road. A big Audi saloon came barrelling past, not really too close, just in a I'm-big-and-important-and-have-important-places-to-go kind of way, and turned ahead of me into HPR. Inevitably, near the entry to the park, said Audi passed me on HPR going other way, having found park closed as usual for a Sunday. Hope driver saw my big smuggy grin directed at him.
Posted 8 years ago # -
There's a staggered crossroads near us that always has cars going through after the amber, but this was a particularly red case. SD08 ZCA...
Posted 8 years ago # -
Posted 8 years ago #
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not mine - on Lanark Road West - looks like a van to avoid…
Posted 8 years ago # -
Three rubbish passes in 30 seconds, just to get to a red light ahead of me. And I filtered past them all anyway.
Sigh.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@stickman it's pretty rare, but I do see cars with bike-roof-racks giving close passes.
Baby-on-board stickered drivers are 76% more likely than average to drive dangerously. Or maybe that's confirmation bias.Posted 8 years ago # -
I'm sorry, but what was wrong with the taxi's pass?
Posted 8 years ago # -
I'd suspect going round a blind corner, on the wrong side of the road for quite some time, on a two-way street (the end of the street is blocked, but there are a lot of flats tucked into the left with a big underground car park, still plenty of traffic coming the other way).
It's a horrible bit of road, because of the big old tenements you can't tell if anyone is coming the other way till they're actually on the crescent.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@fimm:
No danger to me, but he overtook on an unsighted corner. I've witnessed a couple of near head-on collisions because of similar overtakes.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I do see cars with bike-roof-racks giving close passes
I've had plenty of close passes from cars with bike
racksfashion accessories. They must be the ones that never take their bikes on an actual road.Stickman's taxi overtaker probably would have had a high enough driving position to see through the railing/fence for oncoming traffic. The other two passes were shocking.
Top marks for not remonstrating Stickman
Posted 8 years ago # -
Ahhh.... for some reason I'd thought/assumed it was one way!
Posted 8 years ago # -
"Stickman's taxi overtaker probably would have had a high enough driving position to see through the railing/fence for oncoming traffic. The other two passes were shocking."
The shape of the road is such that any oncoming traffic is more or less completely hidden by buildings (due to the curve right of the crescent, then switch left) until it's on the crescent, and with where the overtake finished (full marks to him for the wide pass!) anything coming the other way at close to the speed limit would have been 'very' interesting.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Agree that this is a nasty little piece of road to use. But if the cycling infrastructure that parallels Gardner's Cresc. was easier to use and didn't bring you into conflict with pedestrians thru' the Scottish Widows tunnel, "we" wouldn't have to use it all.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I had a lucky escape yesterday. A car pulled out from Murrayfield Gardens onto Roseburn Terrace without looking and was centimetres away from taking me out. I slammed on the brakes, swerved and missed his back bumper before going over the bars and landing in the middle of the road. Can't believe how lucky I was as I only had a graze on my elbow but It could have been a sore one. The driver pulled over further down the road and got out but I was on my feet by that time so I gave him a thumbs up to say I was fine. No idea why I did that as I should have waited for him to come over to give him an earful.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@Broony - Roseburn terrace/street driving is getting worse and worse. Think bad parking and the fact that people seem to think it's ok to go as fast as possible main issues! Roll on 20mph.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@ARobComp: I don't think Roseburn Terrace will be changing to 20mph unfortunately.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"I don't think Roseburn Terrace will be changing to 20mph unfortunately."
Nope, but if we're lucky there might one day be a segregated cycle track on the north side, albeit two-way and only eastward of Roseburn Gdns.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Had I been cycling up to the Bicycle Co-op from the King's Theatre junction tonight I would have been taken out by the taxi that abruptly pulled away from just outside the theatre, only to perform an unsignalled U turn immediately to head north. Luckily I was heading for the Meadows so slipped by on the inside. As I joined Forrest Road a bit later a car turning right from Teviot Place drifted left across the road where I might well have been had I not anticipated their lack of awareness/concern for me...
Posted 8 years ago # -
Oops, double post.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Very nearly became a statistic this morning.
I was cycling along Great Junction St towards Ocean Terminal, and a lady driving a yellow (BMW) Mini towards me suddenly turned right without indicating, and as Cyclomath predicts, just as I was passing a side road. She saw me at the last moment and swerved to her left, and I swerved to my left. Not sure if her sunglasses, or the huge A-pillar of the car, were anything to do with it.
Heart in mouth for about one second, and then I became all calm again, as though this kind of thing no longer holds any surprise.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Left hook by a black cab on Baird Drive this morning.
It was so grimly predictable that I braked in time. He had already tried to overtake me at the previous pinch point. All I got from him was a blank stare as he turned the corner.
Still, the sun is shining and I'm on my 3-speed today which always makes me happy so it's not going to spoil my day. ( That's what my job is for).
Posted 8 years ago # -
@Arellcat were you on an ordinary bicycle or one of your more esoteric ones? This isn't me having a dig about the alleged invisibility of some recumbents but more about surely you weren't in the red torpedo when she didn't see you. Please say that it wasn't that (which is about as visible as they get) that she didn't see.
@Stickman Your 3-speed is a thing of beauty which is enough to make anyone's day better. Mini Greenroofer certainly liked the colour.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Not in the torpedo today, as I need the external load capacity. Just riding my little
blacksparkly purple recumbent, which has been a pretty safe bet for the last 8500 miles.Posted 8 years ago # -
Seeing but not observing, a common fault.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@arellcat Had not heard of cyclomath before so now I know!
http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/nelson/cyclomath.html
Posted 8 years ago # -
@broony84
you don't have to be hit for the law to be on your side....
http://www.cycling-accident-compensation.co.uk/Dickson-v-Kinsman-v-Another.aspx
Posted 8 years ago # -
Taxi driver overtakes on the inside (left turn lane) before the Calton Road turn-off, which makes a change from all the cars cutting in front without indicating from the right hand side.
Driver claimed that he could do all this because "you were in my lane". I'm not sure which other bits of the Highway Code taxi drivers can ignore when there are people in "their lane".
Posted 8 years ago #
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