CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Today's rubbish driving...

(11330 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by Stepdoh
  • Latest reply from fergus
  • This topic is sticky

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  1. PS
    Member

    @fimm That turn into East Preston Street is a bad 'un for aggressive overtakes.

    I'm usually turning down there to then take the right into South Clerk Street, which is buses and cycles only, so I take the right hand lane. On the road bike I'm doing high teens-low 20s mph, and almost invariably heading towards a red light at the South Clerk St junction.

    And yet, many drivers seem to feel the need to aggressively overtake to get to the back of the queue at the lights. Given the speed I'm going, it's actually pretty difficult to achieve that manouevre in the space available. I can only assume that their anticipation skills are limited to whatever is the nearest object beyond the nose of their bonnet.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. Uberuce
    Member

    Yesterday's was the cooncil driver who went into a lampost while on the way to investigate the evil menace of the wee garden some of Zazou's friends had started by the barge. In that piece of fugly looking wasteland and weeds that separates the towpath from the parallel path on Harrison Park West.

    The garden's gone, now.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. chdot
    Admin

    "The garden's gone"

    You saying 'the council' did it?

    Not sure it's their land(?)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. earthowned
    Member

    I dislike being overtaken while I'm turning.

    I hate it too - I'm always tempted to tap on the window and wave as generally they are going at the same speed as me alongside.

    My worst example of an overtake like that was the driver doing it WHILST DRINKING A COFFEE

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. Uberuce
    Member

    Chdot:
    "

    Zazou Cruises @zazouedinburgh 24h
    All Acton here. Council came to remove the TNT garden, captured by film crew, and halted by TNT themselves. pic.twitter.com/kSMcyGAL

    Zazou Cruises @zazouedinburgh 23h
    Sadly orders have been given to remove the flower beds.

    Zazou Cruises @zazouedinburgh 19h
    @EdinSpotlight the council didn't want it there.the guys who came to remove it didn't want to do it but orders from above made it happen.

    Zazou Cruises @zazouedinburgh 19h
    I wonder how much this has all cost.Here they fix a lamp that a council official drove into when inspecting the site. pic.twitter.com/6kSXpvVb
    "

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. fimm
    Member

    @PS fortunately I only go that way after Monday night swimming so about 8:45, so it is never that busy. When people pull pointless overtakes to get to the red light first I do try and resist temptation to pull an equally pointless overtake to get to the ASL...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. cb
    Member

    "pic.twitter.com/6kSXpvVb"

    Er, has the boat capsized?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. recombodna
    Member

    .

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. gdm
    Member

    A close encounter with the far side came this morning courtesy of a BT Openreach driver going southbound on the Bridges and turning right onto Chambers Street as I was going from Nicolson Street towards the Bridges.

    There were a couple of cars in front of him who turned in and who, equally, should have waited. Mr Openreach decided to follow them despite the fact that he shouldn't have assumed no-one was heading his way at speed, and he had time to see me coming anyway so kind of beside the point!

    Fortunately, the brakes were good enough and I managed to stop with centimetres to spare. Sadly, my profane language firewall let me down on this occasion, and I wasn't able to get a note of his details, such was my desire to communicate my displeasure.

    Still, for future reference, anyone who has a run-in with BT's contribution to white-man-van, can lodge a complaint at the amusingly titled BT Openreach 'How's My Driving' Service, on 0800 876 6699, with details of location, time and - for those less inclined to 'fruity verbiage' - vehicle registration details. Does take a while, but fortunately I'm the patient type.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. minus six
    Member

    12:40ish today at the junction of Chambers Street / South Bridge / Infirmary Street.

    Traffic was green advancing from Infirmary Street.

    At Chambers Street, and both directions on South Bridge, each had a double decker Lothian Bus fully encroached within each of the three ASLs.

    I'd like to congratulate Lothian Buses for a magnificent hat trick of non-compliance -- all three of your drivers were fully synchronised for the ASL Jackpot!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. MeepMeep
    Member

    Must have been moron hour on the roads this morning...

    A "Diamond Event Services" van (SM12 JPF) tried its ignorant best to take me off my bike on the roundabout between Broomhouse and Saughton at around 07.10 this morning.

    Not only was it parked illegally (and dangerously) in front of the spaces (full of cars) at the chemist, but it used no indicators as it pulled out and almost ploughed into the side of me as I was exiting the roundabout. I had right of way and wasn't playing ninja, I hasten to add.

    My spidey-senses had been triggered though so I managed to avoid being side-swiped, much to the confusion and aggravation of the car following me into the same exit off the roundabout. Managed to catch up with the van at the Broomhouse crossroads and intended to have a word but the lights changed as I pulled up alongside.

    And to top it off, I had not one but two cars decide to suddenly swing their vehicles out in front of me from parked positions so they could make turns in the road on South Gyle Crescent. Both within the space of a minute.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. wingpig
    Member

    This morning was going quite well (in the absence of the Robert Wiseman van on Restalrig Road and with lots of other cyclists about) until Princes Street, when a van (from which I was keeping my distance as it had black bin bags taped up over the rear windows, almost failed to see the lights outside the Waverley Centre and moved left into the bus lane after Waverley Bridge, indicating a lack of knowledge of the road ahead) attempted to turn left up the Mound, though it did at least stop when it realised it was about to go through a pedestrian green. When I glanced back to give it a look after skirting carefully round it I think the driver was on the phone, though presumably not to anyone who knew where he ought to be going.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. SRD
    Moderator

    Silver Hyundai (maybe). Driver on Mobile. Mountainbike on back of car, obscuring number plate.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. Min
    Member

    7, count 'em 7 drivers with front or rear lights out on the way in to work this morning on quiet roads!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Lady in a dark grey Ford Focus this morning. She was already half in the ASL stopped at the red. Okay, so in filtering past her I did move ever so slightly in front of her rather than sitting to her left.

    She was a creeper. Moving ever so slowly forward the whole time the light was on red. She was right alongside me, and then over the last stop line with the lights still on red. Then they went green. And she didn't move. Drove a little too close to my back wheel for the next 60-70 yards or so before it was clear to overtake as well.

    And of course I caught her up later.

    I really don't get the traffic light creeping.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. SRD
    Moderator

    Dark grey/black Ford Focus SLII YHE who hooted at me in Tarvit Street because 'I was inthe middle ofthe road' . I was in the middle of my lane because I could see a red light, with two vehicles stopped, and a coned off cyclelane. So I was heading straight for behind cars in lane. For those who don'tknow, tarvit street is an extremely short street. we're talking less than 50m at most - fromwhere I was to queue for lights.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Wonder if it was the same one!

    You do realise though that you were holding them up from getting to the end of a queue 5 seconds earlier. Such reckless cycling.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. SRD
    Moderator

    Mine was two blokes. Could only really see the passenger side guy who was a very dodgy looking skinny/scruffy character in a hoody.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. MeepMeep
    Member

    SL03 HHJ

    Silver Toyota saloon car driven by a mid-40s male with a full goatee and a receding hairline sped past me (I was riding somewhere between 20 and 25 mph so not dawdling) on the Broomhouse road outside the Scottish Government building shouting abuse out of his passenger window.

    As I caught up with him and passed him as I was using the bus lane, he swerved behind me and followed me far too close for comfort up to the lights which turned from red to green as I was approaching. He then cut up the car that let me merge infront of it to travel straight on towards Saughton and proceeded to tail me far too close all the way to the Saughton roundabout, probably because he couldn't overtake cor me keeping pace with the flow of traffic.

    He exited behind me, making an unnecessarily close and aggressive overtake before swerving into and out of the new Pure Gym. As I went to pass the junction, he pulled his car directly confront of me causing me to perform an emergency stop. For good measure I got more profanity spouted from his car at me.

    He then sped off back to the roundabout and the way he came which made me wonder if he'd deliberately travelled out of his way to make me atone for whatever sin I'd committed (holding him up for less than thirty seconds?).

    Seriously though: to the driver of SL03 HHJ, you should be banned for life. Your car is not a weapon.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  20. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I think I'd be reporting that one to the police...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  21. amir
    Member

    MeepMeep: that's disgraceful. We need strong sentencing as a deterrent. The general population know about this lunatic behind-the-wheel behaviour and that reduces their enthusiam about taking up cycling (along with other factors).

    Posted 11 years ago #

  22. kaputnik
    Moderator

    One for the polis for sure.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  23. MeepMeep
    Member

    WC: What would they realistically be able to do without a note of the registration plates of witness drivers or camera footage?

    What's aggravating is that I came alongside a Police Transit van at the Saughton roundabout and you'd have thought they'd have stopped the guy for a word if they'd have seen his behaviour behind the wheel.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  24. 559
    Member

    @MeepMeep, that is atrocious!
    Not doubting what you saw if you check the car reg it comes up as a Nissan Primera ? Just if you want to report to the police.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  25. Cycle PC
    Member

    Hello,

    Having read the above, I would suggest you report this to the police. There are powers available to the police to trace and deal with incidents such as these, some of which only require a single witness.

    It may come under Anti Social Behaviour legislation, in which case action can be taken.

    Regards,

    Paul

    Posted 11 years ago #

  26. MeepMeep
    Member

    Thanks for the advice, Paul. Will report to my local police station.

    559: thanks for the car make check - I'm certain of the registration but wasn't able to differentiate between a Toyota Avensis or Nissan Primera (to my eye they both have similar profiles).

    Posted 11 years ago #

  27. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Council flatbed lorryvan this morning behind me and steveo after PY this morning. CLearly didn't like us filtering to the ASL at Tollcross, driving very close behind - steveo effectively got 'nudged' into the right hand lane.

    Time like that I wish I had a rear facing camera as well - then I'd have happily been able to call the 'How's My Driving?' number that was on the back.

    The other one this morning was an Audi boy with the same 'filtered to the ASL' dislike. Overtook me roughly 30 yards from the next red light (and I was moving at about 25mph, and it was a short section, so overtaking me took a little time). He got stopped at the stop line with me roughly just behind his left rear three-quarter, so within a second I was back in front in the ASL.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  28. Arellcat
    Moderator

    The awful mini roundabout at the supermarket on Colinton Mains Drive, at which a car driver entering on my left seemed to look straight through me and carried on turning right, oblivious, even as I cycled over the raised bit in the centre and filled the air with some bile-fuelled invective about giving way that seemed satisfying and yet wholly inappropriate for a crisp Monday morning.

    I looked directly into his eyes, but his gaze was fixed on the road he was aiming for. Today I like the idea of having a super loud horn on my bike.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  29. ARobComp
    Member

    Yesterday in my ride up and through porty, musselbro, wallyford, to dalkeith and back through Gilmerton.

    Comeing through WAllyford and there are those "one car wide - one side give way" pinch points all the way along the road. I was going low 20's and keeping an eye out behind, sun was blinding from dead ahead so I was fairly concerned about ending up as someones bonnet ornament. Audi TT (I think - those wee ones that are about a metre high and seat 2 people for maximum douchebag : efficiency ratio) came FLYING up the road at 30+ and would have had me if not for me keeping out the way. In fact considering I was often having to shield my eyes to see about 20m in front of me, none of the blind drivers coming from behind really seemed to be driving to conditions. Fairly terrifying if you were not moving fast/aware.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  30. recombodna
    Member

    Watch out for the buckstone roofing Transit flatbed /pickup style van with all it's ladders and sh*t hanging off the back. Just about took my elbow off outside Luca's in morningside today.. very close. That's the second time I've been passed dangerously close by that van this year both times on morningside road same van different driver but they were both oblivious to what the arse end of the van was doing..... Poor old transit getting driven by numpties like that!!!!

    Posted 11 years ago #

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