CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Today's rubbish driving...

(11333 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by Stepdoh
  • Latest reply from wishicouldgofaster
  • This topic is sticky

  1. algo
    Member

    @slowcoach - I reckon that'd be because it was sold by vendors who each time promised 12 months MOT... not all that uncommon

    Posted 7 years ago #
  2. CJC
    Member

    Yesterday, having to take the road instead of the canal due to the aqueduct closure, I was very closely punishment-passed by an angry driver. It was clearly done on purpose by his reaction.

    Approaching traffic lights at the junction of A70 and Craiglockhart Avenue, heading in to town, I was in the green way having passed the roadworks and cars were cutting in the to the left lane ahead of me.

    As I approached the lights, traffic was queuing in the right-hand lane to head up the hill. Silver car squeezes past me and the queuing cars, so close that I could have touched his car. I should angrily and point at him. Driver performs a rude gesture, visible out the rear window and then accelerates hard to join the queue of traffic ahead.

    I decide its not worth the effort to chase and head up Angle Park Road.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  3. dessert rat
    Member

    A fairly (sadly) standard altercation with a driver of a sliver people-carrier / minibus along Seafield Rd yesterday morning, following a totally unnecessary and I’d say deliberate, far too close pass.

    Cue …gesturing/swearing/shouting/road-tax/etc…

    Finished with the comic/chilling statement “I drive along here every day, we will meet again”.

    So something to look forward to then.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  4. Frenchy
    Member

    @Iain McR - suitable location for #OpClosePass?

    Posted 7 years ago #
  5. dessert rat
    Member

    if I had to pick anywhere for #OpClosePass it would be Lower Granton Road.

    Too narrow, too many parked cars, too many lorries. Only place i cycle on the pavement.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  6. Frenchy
    Member

    Driver of Black VW Polo SD57 ZLU, staring at her phone in her lap as she came up to the lights at Gilmerton. Chapped on her window, asked her to put the phone away when she's driving - she waved at the traffic lights, suggesting that it's only when she's stopped at the red light. This was:

    1. Irrelevant
    2. False

    Moral support from pedestrian shouting "Get em telt!" was nice, though.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  7. Klaxon
    Member

    Approach to temporary traffic lights at Pilrig, on green, northbound.

    Driver 1 slows in a reasonable fashion to let a lady complete crossing the road. Driver 2 leans heavily on the 'get out of my way' button on their steering wheel while tailgating as close as possible. Lights missed (they'd have never made them)

    Driver 1 pulls in to park outside Sainsbury's, and driver 2 forces a vehicle coming the other way to virtually halt as he turns right with maximum go-fast button towards Albert Street.

    According to PHV driver I was a patron of today, the Leith Walk cycle lanes are costing 'millions' (half truth - resurfacing, resignalling and repaving doesn't come cheap) and will need removed once the tram lines are built (total bollocks). Otherwise 'nice chap' but are these exam questions for a licence?

    Posted 7 years ago #
  8. chdot
    Admin

  9. Frenchy
    Member

    Driver of a white Mercedes, SM65 KXF, drifting into the bike lane on Mayfield Road before braking and sharply adjusting the steering.

    Catch up with her at traffic lights. Shock horror, on her phone.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  10. dessert rat
    Member

    today's mention must be a strong contender for award of the month.

    A half smile & shrug of the shoulders from a policeman when I pointed out that his van was 100% in the ASL, at the start of Commercial St / Ocean Drive.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  11. CJC
    Member

    his van was 100% in the ASL

    Did you see him actually drive in to the ASL when the light was red?

    "If the traffic light changes from green to amber and you cannot safely stop before the first stop line, you may cross the line but must stop before the second stop line (Highway Code rule 178)."

    Posted 7 years ago #
  12. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Mayhem at the West/East Preston Street junction last night. Two buses turned right out of EPS on red, I waited for them to clear the junction and headed off south down Minto Street only to find a faux by four turning right out of WPS without looking left at all. Came nose to nose with the lady driving it who rolled eyes and held up hands in that 'whadda ya know I ran a red!' gesture.

    Yellow box invisible on that surface at night plus no one seems to care

    Posted 7 years ago #
  13. geordiefatbloke
    Member

    Hi all,

    Just a follow-up to my post from a week ago regarding a very angry man - I reported the incident to the police, and I have just received a call from an officer who is going to pay the chap a visit to give him some "advice" and said it'll be on record that I reported him, so if he does it again to someone else there will be a bit more to go on. I got the sense that he was known to the police already, so I was right to depart when I did. Good result!

    Posted 7 years ago #
  14. dessert rat
    Member

    @ CJC. Yes.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  15. CJC
    Member

    @Iain McR - in that case, he should know better :-)

    Posted 7 years ago #
  16. crowriver
    Member

    The single occupant driver in the big white urban 4x4 who nearly ran me over as I proceeded along Rossie Place this afternoon as she turned the corner from Alva Place.

    She claimed not to have seen me when I yelled for her to stop. I retorted that on the contrary, she hadn't bothered to look (or the thought occurred, didn't care). She then advised me too get a light for my bike - in reply I asked what she thought this bright white thing lighting up the road was. She then advised me I was going to get myself killed, which I agreed was likely if there are more bad drivers like herself who don't look where they're going.

    All this aggro just because she thought she'd follow the car in front round the corner, to come to a halt literally 10 yards later in a queue of traffic.

    Sometimes I swear you need the patience of Job to cycle in this city, especially at peak single occupant homing time.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  17. Frenchy
    Member

    Northbound on Causewayside, at junction with Grange Road. Filter up cycle lane, past cars stopped at red light and wait behind two cyclists who are in the ASL. Stop alongside a red Ford (VU63 VSK), who has (legally) stopped in the ASL box. When I realise the driver of the Ford is indicating left, I move a wee bit further forward to ensure that he can see me. Very glad I did, as he turned out to be rather annoyed at all these cyclists delaying his journey by 2 whole seconds; as the light turned green he wound down the window and shouted something about cyclists. I responded appropriately.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  18. piosad
    Member

    Driver of red car overtaking closely at speed going up the Harrison Road bridge to be the first to get to the red light at Polwarth Church is par for the course; illegally hogging the ASZ made me think they had some kind of beef with cyclists; but then they crept forwards so that by the time the red and amber finally came on they had basically gone past the pedestrian crossing already, which made me think they were simply in an awful hurry. That, or their brake needs checked.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  19. dougal
    Member

    Junction of Leith Walk and MacDonald Road last night, with many pedestrians on the road shouting angry abuse at the driver who ran the red and leaned on the "parting the red sea" button to make space for their very important journey. It was a liveried car but I was too far away to see who they were advertising.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  20. Frenchy
    Member

    Posted about this a few weeks ago, only uploaded video now though:

    https://youtu.be/m3O6GSdcVUQ

    A702 between Penicuik and Hillend, all in the space of ~10 minutes.

    VRNs: SN16 XUB, FT11 OYY, PJ03 ALJ, JR04 PRO.

    Police said there's nothing they can do, but are going to alert the traffic police that the location is worth a visit when OpClosePass gets going (in the "next few weeks" apparently).

    Posted 7 years ago #
  21. ARobComp
    Member

    I refuse to cycle on the 702 anymore. Just not worth it I go on the wee pavement or cut accross to the 701 or other roads via the bush. It's horrendous.

    Sorry that you had to suffer that stuff. Absolutely horrendous uncaring driving from entitled idiots.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  22. Frenchy
    Member

    That was the first time I'd been on the A702. It will also be the last.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  23. gembo
    Member

    Alas we will be on it tomorrow and much later in the morning than I like. We are going round the pentlands but have some of the peloton looking to go shorter and that does not work if we go clockwise. So the lovely descent down to west Linton will be a climb and then we will have Midlothian to encounter when the citizens are awake.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  24. The Boy
    Member

    Heading towards Easter Road from Scabbyhill. The two amber gamblers who weren't really amber gambling anymore they were so late and went to block the road because there was a queue of traffic the other side.

    Cos obviously when you cross the A1 you don't bother to check that you can actually exit the junction at the other side or anything. Not like there will be traffic that might want to get past you.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  25. The Boy
    Member

    Oh yeah, and a woman at the Toucan at bottom of Bruntsfield links driving a faux-by-four with little Timothy and Trustifaria in the back seat.

    Stopped at the red light and waited all of three seconds while the sole pedestrian had crossed 'her' half of the road, then just upped and drove through the crossing while still on red. And the vehicle behind her in the queue was still behind her at the junction to Melville Drive in spite of actually waiting for the lights to change cos, y'know, it's a busy and of course she's still waiting to get out.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  26. dougal
    Member

    One of many drivers exiting the one-way-the-wrong-way Arthur Street onto Leith Walk, who came right out without looking. The 4x4 that nearly hit them stopped about 3 inches off the driver-side wheel. It would have been a spectacular mess if there had been a second's difference in timing.

    There was a pause of maybe 5 seconds with both cars stopped, the exiting car blocking the lane, before it pulled onto Leith Walk proper and drove off down the hill. From my living room window I couldn't see either driver, who knows what looks took place in that pause? This event event will go unrecorded anywhere else but here I expect. How many other drivers behave like this on a daily basis, always getting away with it by a whisker?

    Three more cars followed out onto Leith Walk in the next minute.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  27. ianmb
    Member

    Has to go to the Mercedes driver in Midlothian who drove into the rear of the car that had correctly stopped to let the oncoming cyclists through before going past a parked van. Fortunately all happened at low speed.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  28. jamesire
    Member

    Lothian bus (X47) attempted to pass a cyclist who was clearly signalling right (to pass a stationary bus). When the driver couldn't make it the first time, he tried again, this time close-passing the cyclist next to a traffic island. Complete moron. Cyclist shouted and waved to no avail. Happened on the A701, northbound of Cameron Toll.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  29. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @jamesire

    Lothian buses covered in CCTV, and they are very keen on their drivers' roadcraft and customer service levels;

    https://lothianbuses.co.uk/customer-services/contact-customer-services#emailus

    Posted 7 years ago #
  30. Frenchy
    Member

    Guy in a wee boy racer car which sounded like it needs a new exhaust. Revving engine and flooring it up the Mound, then down George IV Bridge, presumably carried on in a similar manner. Tailgated a cyclist who was turning right onto Princes St. All whilst using his phone, of course.

    Posted 7 years ago #

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