The bit I'm not understanding is why, when someone says to you "you shouldn't be doing this" or "you could be doing this better", hardly anyone ever says to themselves "why are they saying this? have I really done something wrong? Could they be right?" Instead, they always tend to follow the "attack is the best form of defence route" and have a go at you, even if you aren't having a go at them. Don't you think that it is pretty odd and possibly even anti-social, to lash out when someone criticises you?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish driving...
(11330 posts)- Started 13 years ago by Stepdoh
- Latest reply from fergus
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Posted 11 years ago #
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No, I think it's fairly normal to react negatively by lashing out if someone criticises you unfairly. Whether the criticism is actually valid is irrelevant at the time.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Small car in front of me going along Dalry Road to the big junction with Gorgie Road, traffic is slowing for the lights (hence I'm keeping up) but small car has to pass the number 44 bus. Bus indicates to pull out and driver of small car has to cut the bus up in order to nip in front of it before getting stuck behind the massive German bus in the right hand lane. It didn't look like a big gap...
Posted 11 years ago # -
SOme sort of blue car was driven within centimetres of me yesterday heading south along Morningside Road towards the Church Hill junction yesterday evening. I was significantly less than a car's width from the centre line, so they overtook anyway and then ebbed left before their rear had cleared me, all the time whilst slowing for the queue of traffic in the straight-turn lane ahead. They were close enough to have tapped on their window but I remembered to remember not to do that and waggled fingers at them instead.
G. Brodie (Blacksmith) overtook whilst going through a pinch-point on Restalrig Road even though there was a bus twenty feet ahead, then turned left at the Sleigh Drive roundabout. Please use other blacksmiths if you have need of one.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I had a posh old guy roll his window down yesterday as I was waiting in the right hand lane at the Gogar roundabout (heading onto A8) and tell me that "the roundabout is off limits for cyclists, don't you know?!". He then proceeded to undertake, move into the right hand lane and turn left onto the bypass.
I never had any inclination that cycling was not allowed on the roundabout, was he right or wrong?
Posted 11 years ago # -
I jolly well believe the fellow might be misapprehending the signs indicating that those awful cyclists are terribly unwelcome on the A720 as a reference to the entire beastly roundabout, what?
Posted 11 years ago # -
@wingpig what's the reason for not tapping someone's window as they are changing lane into you? Tapping, or banging? I imagine distracting bad drivers would make matters worse, but is there another reason?
Posted 11 years ago # -
was he right or wrong
Wrong. It's not until the bypass that there's a regulation in place prohibiting cyclists.
You can even go through the underpass should you feel so inclined (not that I ever do)
Posted 11 years ago # -
"...but is there another reason?"
The inclination of the sort of motorist who would spare a cyclist less than 2" to directly equate a light-tapping-on-the-window with severely-denting-and-scratching-their-precious-car's-expensive-bodywork and go beserk and either start driving even more dangerously or do one of those attempt-to-block-cyclist-with-car-prior-to-jumping-out-to-exercise-physically-intimidatory-measures manoeuvres.
Posted 11 years ago # -
"scratching-their-precious-car's-expensive-bodywork and go beserk"
+1
Posted 11 years ago # -
What was it tonight? The wind? The low sun? Some dreadful congestion somewhere? Gogar Station Road was a stream of traffic with much of it doing daft things as it came past. Completely insane the whole way.
Here are some choice examples...
Yes, I do have the registration number and yes I will be writing to Tarmac.
Then this. Note the oncoming car and the overtake on the blind bend and the limited space the Range Rover left me. The wide-angle lens on the camera makes it look further away than it was.
Annoyingly the road was rough, and the light relatively low, so I can't read the registration number of the Range Rover despite filming in HDPosted 11 years ago # -
I’m heading east down Chambers street in primary having just avoided the “crater” in the road surface outside the court. Police minivan in front pulls across to the left and slows virtually to halt at a bus stop. With a clear road in front of me I start to pick up speed when the van suddenly swings to the right directly across the carriageway in front of me to toake up one of the parking spaces in the centre of the road. I did an emergency stop and I’ve no doubt that my head would have gone through the driver’s side door window had it been wet. At no point during the whole manoeuvre did the driver indicate. I pulled up alongside to discuss the situation but thought better of it before the police got out.
I cycle down Chambers Street a lot so I know to be very wary of vehicles doing crazy things to park but this one very nearly caught me out. Just for future reference, am I right to have expected the police van to have signalled right when pulling into a centre of the road parking space?Posted 11 years ago # -
"Just for future reference, am I right to have expected the police van to have signalled right when pulling into a centre of the road parking space?"
Yes, but as you say "be very wary of vehicles doing crazy things to park ".
In Chambers Street it's usually possible to work out what drivers are trying to do - but not always possible to anticipate what they will do!
Of course the centre parking should be banned and pavements made wider - esp by the Museum...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Driving my mum to the airport, driver too close behind, swerving and waving his arms because I was keeping to 50mph limit; taxi parks at the drop off so close behind that I struggle to get the suitcases out; approaching the Millerhill roundabout I have to emergency brake as someone sails through without seeing me.
The day before, queueing for petrol at tesco a driver sits behind me then as I'm moving in to take the next available pump, overtakes me and beats me to it.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Classic 'blame-shift' this morning. Riding on the right hand side of a queue of traffic (in a clear right hand lane) when a taxi driver in the queue decides to execute a U-turn without checking the way is clear. By the time I've hauled on the brakes to a virtual stop he's noticed me and lurched to a halt; the window is down adn there's a shout something like "Bloody bikes!". Then, in an irritated tone souts at me, "Well go on then!".
I ride past, bemusedly stating, "I did nothing wrong there...."
Posted 11 years ago # -
"
I ride past, bemusedly stating, "I did nothing wrong there....""
Hope he heard you.
Won't believe you of course!
Posted 11 years ago # -
Pretty sure he did hear me - no comment back, but again I think he realised he'd done something wrong, but was clearly irritated in general at the number of bikes on the road.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Yesterday evening I was in the bus lane on Gorgie Road, heading east, just before junction with Hutchison Crossway / Saughton Winter Garden.
A lady in a yellow Punto pulled up alongside me in the other lane then started leaning on the horn. Apparently I was to get out of her way so that she could move into the buslane without slowing to move into the buslane. She was obviously in something of a hurry to commit an offence.
I maintained my pace and gave her the "and what do you think you're trying to achieve" shoulder shrug / loud stare.
Posted 11 years ago # -
K: "loud stare" That was my response as well. Not about to lose dignity over something as beneath me as a bad driver.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Luath - with the police, no "conversation" necessary. Just ask for their collar number and make a complaint. They make look puzzled at why you need their collar number, but it should be on display anyway. No need to get into on the street, just let their superior apply the requisite dressing down.
Robert
Posted 11 years ago # -
Maybe a stare is too subtle for a brash horn-leaner-on. Perhaps repeatedly jab the heel of the hand onto your handlebar whilst making an excited "mneeeeeeeh!" noise like a sheep being played at 78rpm by mistake.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I've made my peace with the fact that I cannot resist a brief but incisive foul mouthed tirade.
The zen approach is all very well, but allowing bad driving to go unchallenged seeps into your psyche over time. I get my therapy in sharpish, and then its done.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Clermiston Drive, between
Drum Brae Terrace and Drum Brae Crescent
At about. 0740 this morning. (daylight)
I am heading west, approaching
Two parked cars on right.I am about 1.5 to 2 car lengths from the gap, hear accelerating car coming up behind me, look round to see he is going for the
gap. Instinctively stick out my right hand as if signalling right and look at driver.
Driver slows and toots, I slow down and stop get off bike and go back to his window and have the following conversation;
me
"you were chasing the gap, you would not have got through"
driver
"Yes I would, I am a cyclist too"
me
"you would not have got through"
driver
"No need to react like this"
me
"You tried to kill me, you would not have made the gap"
driver
"Talk nonsense, I would have, I am a cyclist too"
me
"well act like a cyclist then"
Decided this was futile and went our separate ways.
For the record, car is metallic mustard/gold coloured Volvo estate.Posted 11 years ago # -
Well I think I've found today's winner. The driver at Tesco Musselburgh who managed to damage five cars and hospitalise an elderly man while "parking".
Posted 11 years ago # -
The zen approach is all very well, but allowing bad driving to go unchallenged seeps into your psyche over time. I get my therapy in sharpish, and then its done.
I agree with this, but lately I've been trying some new therapy. It only works with a "horn-leaner-on though". You just have to wave and smile as if you've spotted a long-lost relative, making sure you are way over the top, nice and exaggerated. They hate it, they go mental, and you feel better.
Doing this to an oblivious bad driver doesn't work though.
Posted 11 years ago # -
You just have to wave and smile as if you've spotted a long-lost relative, making sure you are way over the top, nice and exaggerated.
In the same vien, blowing a kiss can be quite effective.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Luath - also a massive salute, lifting your arms as if you've just scored the world cup winner, and my personal favourite, a Usain Bolt lightning bolt gesture. The latter 2 involve brief periods of no hands, so tricky to pull off at times, therefore way more satisfying.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The Musselburgh car park driver was a strange one.
Not sure how you can hit another car in a car park with enough force to get it's back wheels on top of your bonnet. Hopefully the injured party is not too badly hurt. I think that most of the traffic division was there helping with the investigation.Posted 11 years ago # -
I looked at the picture of the Musselburgh Tesco car-tastrophe.
Couldn't work out how one car ended up wedging another off its back wheels, with the latter having the front end totalled as well. What sort of speeds were these vehicles doing?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Surprisingly easy to do. The fronts of cars are now designed to tip pedestrians up and over, rather than going under the front, so if the right* car hits the right* car in the rear, it can push the latter into the air with ease. The latter probably had the front end totalled as it went into the back of another car, but those cars had non-back-lifting coordination, which in itself made it even easier for the first car to wedge under the second.
*for any given definition of 'right'.
Note, I've not seen any pictures. But I've seen vids of this kind of thing on YouTube, and 10mph is easily sufficient to lift a car in front.
Posted 11 years ago #
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