CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

  1. Rob
    Member

    I hadn't noticed the lack of a central line. That likely had something to do with it.

    Probably just not confident in road/car width so driving slowly, which is fair enough.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  2. "which may actually have been the issue if you see what I mean..."

    "Whoooooaaaah, did you see how fast that cyclist overtook us man? He must have been doing like a hundred or something."

    Either that or drink I would think. The road positioning along with the extreme slow speed was very very odd at times. Maybe it's a daft way to look at it, but the type of car didn't fit (in my head) with a driver who would lack confidence (mind you, god only knows where the Micra behind you thought he was going to go in the attempted overtake).

    Melville Drive for me last night, getting to the eastern end, driver in a very expensive and pimped red BMW was clearly too busy doing 'something' to notice the traffic had moved in front of her. No cars behind to toot, so she just sat there. She noticed as I drew level in the bike lane beside her, she then had difficulty choosing a lane, before swerving hard left (and I was thankful I was further away in the lane). Most likely phone use in this case.

    EDIT: oh, and that Fiat 500 driver was just a total muppet. Have had the same thing there too - where on earth do they think the space beside the central reservation is going to materialise from, and why do they think overtaking that close to the entrance to a roundabout is a good idea???

    Posted 7 years ago #
  3. gembo
    Member

    I like to wait a few days before posting on this thread. Often forget.

    The other day I was going down the road between the old canongagete ventchie and the massive new hotel on the seamen's mission site. It has been one way for ages, and I have dismounted and pushed up the pavement in the past. The one way is from the Royal mile to east market street, which quite dangerously is now two way again.

    Anyway, I turned left coming down Royal mile to be confronted by a driver in a BMW. The following mime ensued, no words were spoken which actually meant no tempers were lost. There was quite a lot of gesture in the non verbal

    GEMBO Open arm gesture indicating WTF are you doing driving up a clearly signposted one way street?

    DRIVER: open if bendy arm gesture, with head down towards chest. Like a W indicating one way, come on, that is just a suggestion isn't it, anyway where were the signs, there weren't any signs.

    GEMBO shaking head but mostly bemused

    DRIVER max by graves palm rolling fifty fifty wasn't it?

    GEMBO Points index finger at driver, mounts pavement, goes down hill, observes the multiple of no entry signs concludes, the driver just went for it knowing full well it was one way as many cyclists do.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  4. fimm
    Member

    @W.C. "... but the type of car didn't fit (in my head) with a driver who would lack confidence..."
    LOL, you should try being me driving a very fancy white BMW hire car. Confused a lot of people... ;-)

    Today's rubbish use of a loading bay comes from a couple of men in an Edinburgh City Council van popping into the sandwich shop on Gorgie Road.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  5. @fimm :D

    I have to admit to thinking the same thing the few times I've hired a white van...

    Posted 7 years ago #
  6. Charlethepar
    Member

    Red Focus driver completely ignored the temporary Road Closed notice at St Andrew Square/ N St David Street junction, then followed up by sailing straight past the permanent "turn now" sign at junction with N St Andrew Street.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  7. Stickman
    Member

    Yesterday afternoon, traffic backed up all the way up Drumbrae (heading north). I don't know if this is the usual situation but I expect so. Anyway, approaching the crest of the hill a driver decides they don't want to wait any longer, so pulls into the oncoming lane and speeds past the queue, despite it being completely blind to oncoming traffic. Very lucky nothing was coming the other way.

    Quite a lot of cars were taking that option once over the top of the hill; waiting in queues seems to be passé these days.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  8. Big_Smoke
    Member

    After waitng for a van that went down Rankeillor street not realising that the road was a dad end (how difficult can it be to observe the signs instead of a sat nav?) to complete a 3-point turn I passed a taxi that was coming the other way. He just gave me the finger. Really? I've done nothing to upset you yet you must give me a obsene gesture anyway?

    Camera got all the necessary details so I continued on (I did try to turn and follow admittedly just to ask why but on this occasion all the roads were empty).

    Trying to report this to the council is a real chore as their email system won't accept attachments or pictures which are necessary to report him and they wonder why no-one reports anything? I'll try by post but I don't have high hopes.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  9. Roibeard
    Member

    @Big_Smoke - the licensing address will accept attachments, but there is quite a low size limit. Try saving the picture as a JPG, which hopefully will remain detailed enough for the purposes of the complaint.

    One also has to judicially censor the language quoted, as that is also blocked, so don't forget to *bleep*...

    Robert

    Posted 7 years ago #
  10. Big_Smoke
    Member

    Thanks for that, it looks like it's working as there's not rejection yet. I don't trust it but I'll allow it.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  11. dougal
    Member

    Riding uphill along Leith Walk this morning, onto the roundabout with London Road. The car in the outside lane entering from London Road moved into the roundabout as soon as I passed in front and I thought to myself "that's a pretty stupid manoeuvre, an extra half second would be safer for everyone".

    What I didn't think until it was too late was that the vehicle just inside that one (hidden from my view) drove straight onto the roundabout, no doubt using the other car proceeding as evidence that all was safe. I ended up screaming obscenities at the driver as she slammed the brakes on just inches inside my back wheel.

    I really don't need someone to sleep-drive me into the ground at half seven in the morning.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  12. NiallA
    Member

    Number 26 bus left-hooked a cyclist in front of me as we were east bound on West Maitland St this morning - it overtook him then immediately pulled into the bus stop just before Palmerston Place. Have just passive-aggressively tweeted Lothian Buses to complain...

    Posted 7 years ago #
  13. gibbo
    Member

    Was the police car that sped past me as I was headed to Kirkliston (I was about 1km east of Standingstane Rd).

    With no vehicles coming the other way, it could have easily given me a few feet... instead of about 4 inches.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  14. "Was the police car that sped past me as I was headed to Kirkliston (I was about 1km east of Standingstane Rd)."

    Especially given what it now appears they may have been responding to?

    This morning had a fairly typical SMIDGAF by a lady in an SUV. It's a big, steep downhill I was heading down at 30. I doubt she'd have pulled out of the side street in front of a car with that little distance. Enough that I could haul on the brakes, but ridiculous that I had to.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  15. jonty
    Member

    gibbo: were you stopped at the side or still riding? I usually pull over (like I would in a car) when I'm on my bike, but not sure what official advice is for bikes.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  16. Rob
    Member

    Another angry man, just down the road from the last one:

    [+] Embed the video | Video DownloadGet the Video Widget

    Posted 7 years ago #
  17. Snowy
    Member

    What was causing the flashy front lights on the following BMW, visible from 1:35 onwards?

    Posted 7 years ago #
  18. Snowy
    Member

    Also - love the wheel-clamped white van at 1:38!

    Posted 7 years ago #
  19. Rob
    Member

    @Snowy not sure. The camera has a spinning circle light around it but not very bright. Also, didn't show on the van.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  20. Frenchy
    Member

    @Snowy - I think that's an artefact of the camera's frame rate synchronising with the car's LED lights.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  21. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Yes you get the same effect at LED traffic lights when filmed with a helmetcam.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  22. gibbo
    Member

    Today's worst driver (for me) was the guy reversing up Queens' Drive (from the roundabout at the top of the hill).

    Almost reversed into me as I got to the top of the bike path. I explained to him it was one-way and his explanation was that the road was closed at the other end (presumably St Mags).

    Well... that makes it ok then...

    Posted 7 years ago #
  23. chrisfl
    Member

    Morning started well, with the Number One bus stopping to allow me to make a right into McLeod Street.

    Later on, slight annoyance at council recycling open back truck stopped on the Red line blocking the cycle lane while Greggs was visited.

    Further along, I had to sharply break as I was swerved into by a Highland Experience Tour bus. Who then proceeded to run a red light at the Pedestrian Crossing, only to end up stopping 50m ahead in the general traffic.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  24. Stickman
    Member

    Yesterday, went down Roseburn Gardens and was met by a car quickly cutting the corner from Roseburn Place. He shouted at me "it's one way". I pointed out it wasn't and held my ground*, making him reverse back so that he could make the turn on the correct side of the road.

    *far easier in a van than on a bike

    Posted 7 years ago #
  25. kaputnik
    Moderator

    The way that cars clip the corner of Roseburn Gardens from the Place, one of these days someone trying to turn right at the bottom is going to get taken off their bike. There is an almost imperceptible kink to the east at the bottom of the road (that you can only really see coming down the way) which means cars making a turn onto the Gardens have to be quite a few metres further along to stay on the correct side of the road than they think they do.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  26. Stickman
    Member

    Yeah, if I could be bothered I could put together a compilation of the corner cutting I experience nearly every day.

    I'm very cautious going down there but once I reach the junction I am very stubborn in waiting right at the edge of the lane and giving a very hard stare to anyone wanting to cut the corner.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  27. wingpig
    Member

    LA57 AZW or similar, whose driver really seemed convinced that it wouldn't hurt to hit a huge truck face-first until the last second, when they gave up trying to overtake me and braked and swerved in behind a parked car on Lower Granton Road. When they peeled off left on the roundabout/square their driver-side rear window looked to be open a sliver so they hopefully heard my opinion of them.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  28. Charlethepar
    Member

    Two incidents on my commute home this afternoon. First one I only witnessed as it was a driver on driver rage event. White van double parked on the vestiges of the bus lane in the top half of Leith Walk, changing gas cylinders for some shop. Double parked motorist asks if might move to let him out, and received a volly of abuse and a threat to hit him with a gas cylinder.

    Later, I turned into Chambers Street from the Bridges, to find a dodgy black honda saloon diving towards me, on the wrong sde of the road despite the cones down the middle. Apparently the driver was seeking the wider space by the side of the College to do a three point turn.

    It's all breaking down out there, let the little things go and it just provokes bigger offences.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  29. chdot
    Admin

  30. algo
    Member

    Slightly beside the point, but headrest prongs are designed specifically so you can use them to smash windows in such an event. I mention that purely in response to him saying he had nothing in the car with which to break the windows.

    Posted 7 years ago #

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