CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
stickyThe swear words just fall out of my mouth. Very loudly. Who knew a girl in pink high viz could swear like a sailor? :)
You're not alone, Claire. I know I should probably try to have a little more decorum as a woman but, really, when someone displays absolutely zero consideration for my continued existence I tend to find my manners somewhat lacking.
"when someone displays absolutely zero consideration for my continued existence I tend to find my manners somewhat lacking."
Quite right!!!
(Not gender-related!)
@meepmeep The swears dropping out of my mouth recently have been pretty bad. I think they are in direct proportion to the nastiness of traffic infringement... The F word is the reserved for the worst offenders. "Twat" is the most commonly uttered and relates to typical driving silliness. To be fair, I think a good shouty swear helps.
@greenroofer Gosh, that's a good point. I've never chapped on a driver's window due to being a girl and the potential for things to quickly get rude and nasty. You never know who's driving the car and how bonkers they are. Cam would really help with respect to reporting crazy incidents without having to get into people's faces...
@dave So an integral piece of kit for you? Hmm. Will definitely put thinking cap on and consider. Just very expensive... But then, what price a life and all that jazz.
I've never chapped on a driver's window due to being a girl
I always do it - if I can catch them. Is it wrong then?
I never do it (regardless of gender) simply because it riles people up to the extent that (in my experience alone) it never makes things better. Possibly a machismo thing as guys in cars react badly to a bloke doing it? Anyway, had a van driver threaten to break my arm and a Saxo driver swerve at me deliberately the only two times I've done it (purely instinctively).
As with Greenroofer I find the cam helps, no need to get into an altercation, can check the footage later. Occasionally there's something so stupid I find I have to shout, but fortunately (and this is casting no aspersions on anyone not so programmed!) I've never been much of a swearer and generally resort to 'Idiot!' or a sarcastic 'Well that got you far!' or 'Indicate!', and a few times, 'I'm Still Here!' as I get squeezed to the side).
@Min, you're not a girl, you're a lady ;)
@min I think it's down to the individual to decide whether they want to raise something with the driver. I've never done it; I just have this image in my head of someone shouting expletives at me, flipping me the bird, being unreasonable, ignoring me, whatever. Partly because I'm a girl on a bike and I think that drivers would take me less seriously, especially guys.
But I don't think it's wrong to let drivers know that they passed too close or did something unacceptable on the road at all. I just have reservations about doing it myself and have never mustered up the courage!
@Min, you're not a girl, you're a lady ;)
Well maybe that's it! I confront them but I don't swear or lose it or anything. And interestingly enough, that doesn't make thing better either and I always ride away wishing I had just told them to **** off and die before smashing off their wing mirror. At least they know next time that the cyclist they just tried to kill can catch them up easily. Maybe.
@min I think it's down to the individual to decide whether they want to raise something with the driver.
Okay. I just wondered since people always say never to do it but never say why.
Oh yes. And (to my mind) they are not a threat while they are stuck in traffic and in their car. If they try to shuffle their heart-attack sized arse out, I will have ridden off into the distance by then.
**** off and die before smashing off their wing mirror
Hahaha! I suspect that's what I would probably end up doing ;) Interesting that you find it never makes much of a difference - I wonder how often drivers apologise or realise that there might actually have been an issue if someone's taken the time to call them out on their behaviour...
0% hit-rate so far I'm afraid. Including the woman to whom I said "excuse me but you just pulled out in front of me". She simply looked at me as if I were something particularly disgusting she had just trodden in and drove off. Was very tempted with the wing mirror thing since she was only able to drive about 10 feet. Funny how these people never think of this..
Oh actually I tell a lie. A man in Oxford apologised for almost driving over me on one of those horrible roads where the actual road goes round a corner but he was turning left (ie. straight on). That was 15 years ago. Probably no longer counts really..
@WC Know what you mean about bad reactions even to just a tap on the window. Might be something to do with the theory about the car being a metal extension of personal space, and touching the car is basically poking them in the chest?
No matter how much I want to kick a large dent in their door for attempting to squash me into the scenery while reading their text messages, I have found that a 'wind your window down please' gesture has a higher chance of a productive exchange of views. Higher, but sadly not high.
I slapped the rear of a car that would have pulled into me. An ambulance was overtaking cars in the opposite direction so was on our side of the road, a car was behind me and then accelerated "past me" before inevitably moving to avoid an ambulance. It was all so predictable and I was already on the brakes and had worked out where I could jump onto the pavement. The car driver did go nuts at me, the window was slid down and he expressed his vast displeasure at me. He didn't get out of his car though, either he got a shock and isn't really that kind of a person or the sight and sound of a large and getting equally angry Glaswegian got him to stay put. Must admit, it was cathartic experience but can see how it could have ended very differently.
If a driver makes a mistake and I get a heap of abuse for pointing it out, I spend the next hour fuming, and I bet the driver, on reflection, doesn't feel good about his behaviour either.
But if a driver makes a mistake and apologises, I'll acknowledge it and I like to think we both move off a little happier with the state of the world.
Mr I Craig, of Denny, can you please ensure your haulage drivers know how to behave at ASLs? If had been in front of one of your drivers yesterday as he crept over the first stop line at red (I stayed out of his way), I'd hate to think what would have happened (though I hope he would have seen me). All to allow him to get through the next lights at amber (Asda Leith on Lindsay Rd). Not that it made a blind bit of difference as he hit lights and more traffic along Commercial St, and I filtered past the lot.
Clear Vision Window Cleaning, who felt it necessary to accelerate to get beside me at a pinch-point on Restalrig Road before turning right immediately after it.
Had another close pass from RJ10 UKB this morning. Then saw him overtake another cyclist on a corner. What a muppet.
@Min I confront them but I don't swear or lose it or anything. And interestingly enough, that doesn't make thing better either and I always ride away wishing I had just told them to **** off and die before smashing off their wing mirror.
Yes, me too. I blogged about it.
I do think (I've said this on here before) that being female provides some protection from being punched. I remember when we were discussing this before one of the other women on here (I cannot recall who it was) didn't agree with me. It is a "subjective safety" thing anyway.
Ridiculously close pass today from an Audi A7 (SM57 MZU)which normally I would get annoyed about then forget, but today I was pulling the bike trailer with my 2 and 4 year olds in. Taking into account the extra width that this gives me, he/she must have been within 1 or 2 inches of hitting them. Can anyone advise on the best method of reporting this to the police with the video as I'm not going to rest on this one.
I encountered my pet hate this morning. Cycling through Comely Bank and someone decides to take a right from the side street forcing me to hammer on my brakes. Clear case of I see you but you pay no road tax so why should I give way :(
@condor2378 you'll probably need to hand in a disc copy of your footage when making a complaint in person at a counter. Worth checking in advance when they are open as they have a habit of not being open. As a first port of call I would probably give the non-emergency number a call and ask for advice on reporting an incident of dangerous/careless driving, for the correct protocol. Maybe you can get a crime reference number over the phone.
They won't take a copy of the footage at the counter, it's taken by the polis who are allocated the investigation.
Or in my case... Counter guy reviews footage on iPad and agrees it's terrible driving; police visit for statement and are a little cooler - I offer them the CD I've created, they say that if they took it it would just go on a shelf somewhere and not be looked at (seriously) and that the h'officer the case is 'formally' given to will ask for a copy; no such h'officer is ever allocated.
It seems such an odd system they have. The cornflakes in the Meadows guy was tracked down after the Edinburgh Police Twitter feed got a bit of a barrage of "what do you think of this then" and then the story got into into the "popular" (i.e. not cycling) press.
I guess if you really want to force the issue you can start writing to inspectors demanding why your case isn't being investigated and then start copying in MSPs etc.
Yes, I think the correct (only) procedure is to publicly humiliate them until they do something.
To be honest, I'd be happy for them just to talk to the driver and tell him to be more careful. I know that nothing really will come of it prosecution wise, had I been by myself on my road bike I'd have chased them down but the closeness of this pass, particularly when I've got an occupied kids trailer on the back was unacceptable.
I've emailed Morningside Police to ask how to put in a complaint so I'll see what the response is.
@condor2378 That pass made my stomach lurch. Goodness knows how awful that must have been with the kids in the tag-along. Best of luck getting somewhere with reporting on that one. Totally appalling!
@Claire, thanks. It was far too close, especially with a trailer which only being 100 yards from a school I'd think that anyone would assume was occupied. What makes it worse is that there was a child in the car passenger seat so what sort of parenting this projects is beyond me and why they would think this is acceptable is even worse.
In regard to your last question, we had a discussion about cameras here . I'm still playing with the settings of mine (colour is a bit off) but it's good enough to get license plates. I'll soon see how much use it is to the police...
@condor2378 call 101 in the first instance, it should be on the day of the incident (if you don't mind paying 15p).
They won't help much, but should direct you to an open station to report it.
I think there really should be a fast-track, easy way of submitting video proof of criminal driving.
I was cut up by an ambulance today. Maybe business was slow. Also now four out of four for near misses at The Millhill James Street junction.
"Yes, I think the correct (only) procedure is to publicly humiliate them until they do something."
Sadly I think this is partly true.
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