Old lady in a silver Nissan Micra VK10 FCL gave me a fright this morning in Holyrood park with an atrociously close pass. Maybe my high-vis body came out of nowhere?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish driving...
(11258 posts)- Started 12 years ago by Stepdoh
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Posted 10 years ago #
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The winner of today's bad driving award must be the lorry stuck in the middle of the junction at the bottom of St.Mary's St / Pleasance with a car jammed underneath it's side. Cue a big traffic jam and car horns beeping (because that really helps). Luckily no-one looked hurt.
Posted 10 years ago # -
That junction sees a lot of people turning right from st Mary's st onto cowgate heading west against a red light. Often three vehicles will jump the red.
Is that the likely configuration? I.e. The lorry took the green to go straight ahead and the car turned into it?
Posted 10 years ago # -
@gembo - Lorry was travelling east from Cowgate to Holyrood Rd, and the car was travelling in the same direction directly behind.
I read the situation to be that the lights from Cowgate had turned/were turning red and the lorry was stuck in the junction. Car behind was too close trying to squeeze a right turn up the Pleasance and got squished as the lorry reversed. Passenger side door and wing pretty much mashed. I'd never seen a truck pushing a car before and it was a quite impressive display of power. Shudder to think what it could do to a cyclist.
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Posted 10 years ago #
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Posted 10 years ago #
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That is pretty close mate. I would have been fairly put off. I think that just old and a danger to everyone on the roads rather than malicious and a danger to everyone on the roads...
Posted 10 years ago # -
@ARobComp I think you're right. I'm not sure if it's worth reporting. I'd be keen for the polis to give her a call, maybe send her for an eye test.
Posted 10 years ago # -
If you look at her road positioning the rest of the time it's incredibly far left. If I see that I'm aways hyper aware that they are probably a terrible driver...
Posted 10 years ago # -
There's that, but there's also the fact that she's overtaking into oncoming traffic, so she couldn't really have pulled any further to the right without taking part in a game of chicken.
So she's probably also a "must pass cyclist" driver - often the case with low-confidence drivers who have a heightened concern with how the drivers behind will perceive them holding them up because they have not overtaken the cyclist at the earliest opportunity.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@twq - yeah that was a bad pass but the police won't be interested I'm afraid. I do love the fact she refused to acknowledge your presence, probably due to her still not being aware of your existence?
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Posted 10 years ago #
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@ wingpig
Video is private ;-)
Posted 10 years ago # -
Fixed. I'd hidden it when uploading until I could trim the first four uneventful minutes from that file.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I really would like to sit that kind of person down with a psychologist and discuss with them just what they think is acceptable about that kind of behaviour*. When I've had the chance to ask that very question on the road, I have, without exception, received either abuse or a total lack of recognition that I'm even there.
* There are other things I'd like to do with them too.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Those traffic islands outside the park on Craigcrook Road again:
I'm between the two of them, park on my right, and I hear a car powering up behind me. I stay in primary as I don't want yet another stupid forced pass there. The guy then decides he's going to zoom past me before the 2nd island, despite a car approaching from the other direction! His dark grey BMW is right alongside me before the penny drops that this isn't going to work and he falls behind me again. I turn around to look at him and he raises both hands off the wheel, either to say "Well, what was I supposed to do?" or "What are you (i.e. me) doing?"
Well 'mate' if you must know, I expected you to stay behind me as it was unsafe to pass, and I'm doing what it takes to try to avoid morons like you from killing me!
I maintained primary till the junction with Queensferry Road as there were parked cars and approaching vehicles the rest of the way. No chance I was letting him pull another stupid manoeuvre. Justice was done when I got out onto the main road and he was stuck waiting for the next gap :-)
Posted 10 years ago # -
KR07VMW, smallish silver Peugeot. Approaches me from behind on Gilmore Place then decides to drive parallel to me, with her front wing 1 foot from me, for a good 100yds or so. Thus preventing me from getting into lane to turn right at the King's junction, not to mention giving me no margin for error/pothole avoidance. The pair of us pull up together (still alongside each other) at the light.
Then the reason became obvious, she was talking on her hand held mobile with 2 other youngish children in the car.
I was so incensed by this, I lost my calm completely...
ME [through window glass]: GET OFF THE PHONE, NOW!
ME: YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF, WITH CHILDREN IN THE CAR AS WELLPuts down phone, and winds down window.
ME: <Repeat of above.>
HER: Just don't start, don't you even start...
ME: You're putting your children at risk, and me as well, you should be ashamed.What follows, I could/should have acted more sensitively, but it is no excuse to endanger someone else's life, no matter what your personal circumstances are...
HER: My brother's just been diagnosed with cancer [getting more agitated]
HER: I was stopped anyway [presumably referring to a previous phone conversation in the car]
ME: It's not a life for a life. You are risking killing your children and me as well.
HER: <Unintelligible shouting>She then attempts to drive off, turning right through the red light (only the left filter was green at this point) & stopping again way past the 2nd stop line.
At this point a police car passes in the opposite direction and does absolutely nothing.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I'm almost 100% certain her brother does not have cancer.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I don't know what it was, maybe the rain that did it. Queen's Drive, heading home after work last yesterday.
Overtaken at >20mph 14 times, 5 of which were close passes (i.e. I could have reached out and touched the cars). Impatient, stupid driving by many. Of course I filtered past them all at the London rd lights.Posted 10 years ago # -
Being in a Secondary position would have seen me being hit head on by a motorbike. You'd think they would be more aware than most.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Non-looking or speed-severely-underestimating driver of a small black car pulled out from Bowmont Place into where I would have been. After some emphatic gesticulation he did wave in culpability.
Posted 10 years ago # -
JL 49 (silver Audi estate) lived down to my view of personalised number-plates types this morning by taking a 10 yard gap halfway along a group of 8 roadies moving at 15mph as an invitation to turn left through the line into Essex Road. Chump.
Posted 10 years ago # -
All personal plates say the same thing.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Picture the scene. Residential street Clermiston Drive. Cars parked on one side, so only one lane. I am going up the hill about a metre away from the kerb. Car squeezes past me from behind with less than 30cm space at speed. I wave my arm at the very close pass. Car stops, window goes down.
Woman: (Very angry and agitated) You were waving all over the street.
Me: (Confused - very calm) I'm sorry?
Woman: You were waving all over the street.
Me: I don't think I was.
Woman: Yes you were. You can't just do that. You need to give more space to cars.
Me: (I laughed) I'm sorry, but it's the other way around. You need to give more space to me.
Woman: (Initially stumped at the correctness of my statement, then...) I have ma licence!She then screeched away to turn a corner. She was really, really mad. How can someone get so mad on a wee residential street when they were due to turn a corner in 5 seconds anyway? It's amazing!
What do you do with that? Is there a point in even trying to have a conversation when someone decides you're the dick when in fact... genuinely... seriously... objectively... they are the ones in the wrong?
I've only had one other altercation with a driver in two years. But is there any point even trying to reason with these kinds of people or have a conversation with them? Probably not.
Do folk here ever have success in trying to reason with a driver who's just made a dangerous manoeuvre?
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Claire - you have my sympathies - it's really annoying and gets to me when people are so idiotic to think they are in the right, yet be the ones endangering your life.
I personally don't think it's ever worth trying to stop and argue at the time it happens - you could have every correct argument in the world and it wouldn't matter. The adrenalin and aggression and sense of entitlement that seems to be inherent in many drivers means there's little rational analysis going on. I do sometimes remonstrate when I can't help myself, but it serves very little purpose.
I think maybe it's worth registering annoyance, so that at least there's a possibility of some post-hoc consideration on the part of the driver. Wingpig gave me the advice not to appear angered but rather exasperated and I think that was excellent advice.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@algo Yes, good advice re exasperation. I tried to be very calm, and I wonder if that maybe riled her up even more? Probably laughing at her ridiculous comment about how I needed to give her more room didn't help either.
I will often gesticulate if someone makes a poor move and endangers my life in order to indicate that it's not okay to drive in that manner. First time that someone stopped though!
Perhaps better to just cycle on and ignore? Difficult!
Posted 10 years ago # -
Aye, that's pretty bad, Claire, but typical on Clermiston Drive. Car drivers on that stretch often believe they have right of way even when on the other side of the road.
I managed to have three separate incidents in 85 seconds on Main Street, DMains today. One was a similar close pass, although I think the driver gave me less than 30cm. The rest of my interactions with cars today was otherwise fine!
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Claire, I travel up and down Clermiston drive most days. Recently I have thought that the level of courtesy has improved, however, as ever there is always exceptions.
This morning I was heading up the drive, female driver heading towards me a rate of knots, game of chicken ensued, me about a 1m out from kerb, her straight at me. However I di succeed, and forced her to slow down, but if looks could kill, I would be 10feet under.
Posted 10 years ago # -
A tactic I have on the Drive when I'm heading up the hill and thus have right of way is to put my head down and take primary. I do actually look ahead, but the driver can't tell as I have shades on and my head is down so much they assume I'm not looking. So far, this has been 100% effective in terms of all cars actually stopping, and the look on their face is typically quite funny, I guess because they realise they shouldn't be where they are and I have every right to believe that no-one is going to drive their car straight at me.
That all said, I think you're right, 559, I think courtesy on the road has improved; it is still the one road I get most incidents on, though.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Clermiston Drive - is that the one that goes diagonally through the estate so is presumably (partially at least) a 'rat run'?
Posted 10 years ago #
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