CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
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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.
stickyI'm sorry to hear that, alanr. (I think I've seen you going up the Lanark Road a few times recently.)
I go along Slateford Road on my long commute but there's never much traffic there when I go.
The nearest I've come to getting knocked off was in similar circumstances (I was to the left of a car that stopped to let another car turn right across it.) As alanr says, defensive cycling says you "should" slow in such circumstances, but if you slowed for every potential right turner...
I'm really sorry to hear about that alanr. I agree with Arellcat that you shouldn't share the video until the insurance is resolved and in particular check that you recover well which I hope you do.
Also the onus in that situation is firmly with the car to be very cautious in my opinion. As fimm says it gets tricky when cars going in your direction flash cars turning right to let them through - then the turning car feels it's been given permission to motor through. It's good tp be cautious at all such potential situations but as I say I believe the onus is firmly with the car.
@gembo AlanR said the car came through a gap in the traffic, so the driver's view of that cycle lane would have been obscured by the traffic, and given the low profile of AlanR in transit (and the rarity of such trikes) it comes as no surprise to me that they didn't spot him/weren't expecting him ... saying that, the onus is on the driver to complete the manoeuvre with caution. (And also whoever flashed him through to check their own mirrors!) Wishing you a speedy recovery.
I've not seen Alan's trike but I suspect despite it's low profile it is still considerably higher and certainly larger than a small child.
There is never any excuse for manoeuvring a vehicle into a space when you have no idea what is there.
I hope you recover quickly alanR and that your insurance claim is a smooth ride to a new ride, but I'm very grateful there wasn't a child crossing the side road when this driver turned in.
@acsimpson Steady on. I presume a small child would have stopped, looked and listened, and would have been in a position to see the car (i.e. at the kerb of the junction where there is a gap in the traffic), and the car them. A big difference to something coming along a cycle lane at 15mph obscured by traffic.
"There is never any excuse for manoeuvring a vehicle into a space when you have no idea what is there." - this I totally agree with.
@geordiefatbloke
Maybe @acsimpson meant a small child on a bike?
@twq yeah, maybe. Then again, I would presume in the case of a small child on a bike left-filtering stationary traffic approaching a gap next to a junction where they *can't see* what may be coming from the right and therefore very likely *can't be seen* by someone turning right would slow down enough to see if such a manoeuvre was indeed taking place before crossing, in the same way that the person manoeuvring would hopefully approach in a similar manner.
There's been an accident. That's it. Clearly a very unfortunate incident for all involved, however, no need to then leap to invoking the "think about the children" line IMHO.
Sorry to hear that, AlanR. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
My story today concerns a MGIF Mercedes minivan downhill at Lauriston Gardens...
Waiting at the lights to cross from Lauriston Place into Lauriston Gardens I felt the presence of a vehicle edging towards my back wheel, so shuffled forward a bit. When the lights changed I set off in primary, knowing that my speed down the hill would be at the limit of 20, and that the aforementioned street has a surface slightly worse than the sea of tranquility.
So as I'm coming down the hill I realise this numpty has not turned left but is behind me again, revving. I can't slow down because he's so close. He then decides that rather than bully me by driving too close he instead needs to get past, so overtakes me into the pinch point - he must have been doing close to 40 as Strava tells me I may in fact have been travelling quite swiftly myself...
Then Karma strikes.
Once he's suitably far in front (him doing near double the speed limit and me having pretty much soiled my new shorts and slammed on the brakes) he comes down off the bump and given the speed, his back light cracks and falls out! Thankfully I managed to avoid the pieces, and at the end of the road he pulls over to go and take a look and get a disproving glare from myself - he had the temerity to scowl at me and raise the finger!
Pinch points seems quite a menace for cyclists. I have found this particularity on the faster roads like the A71.
I wonder if the pinch point causes more cyclist injury than it prevents?, do the dutch do it better?, I always wonder why there cant be a bike pass at the side of the pinch point to allow the bike to safely pass on the left.
SK56 OVG, which at least must have seen me going east on Lower Granton Road as it tried to overtake, but must not have been able to see the oncoming traffic, for which it had to do a tyre-screeching skid-stop a couple of inches behind me. Nothing to see on the camera footage but I'll check to see if the screech and swearing are audible.
@newtoit - sounds pretty terrifying. I might have been tempted to take the moral high ground and help pick up the pieces of his brake light and practise my passive aggressive look….
The motorist driving into town along the A71 who decided to hoot at me as I pushed my bike half-way over the road to the traffic island at the North Gate of Heriot-Watt Campus this morning. Ok, so the gap in the traffic that I decided to go for was perhaps not the largest, but I made it across safely at walking pace and even found the time to raise a finger in response to the hoot. Had the motorist chosen to apply their brake slightly instead of their horn then it would have been more pleasant for all.
Yesterday evening, heading east on Lindsay Rd, black hatchback goes to overtake me, while signalling left to turn across me into N Leith Sands (I'm going straight on). They stop when they realise this, as do I as there's a silver estate waiting to come out of N Leith Sands and has edged over the stop line and into the cycle lane. Cue stand off with some muttered oaths until I've checked around and pass them both.
@paolobr Mine was a black hatchback heading that way, at about half five on Lower Granton Road. What sort of time was yours?
@wingpig about 6ish so very similar timing. Come to think of it, had several occasions while coming along from Granton to notice close attention from one or more small black cars (can't be sure they're all the same one).
Yesterday morning, filtering carefully on outside of stationary traffic through Stockbridge/Comley Bank* - a Nigel Farage-lookalike driving the opposite way beeped at me gesturing/pointing that I should be on the inside.
Strange how some motorists go around with a 'made-up' version of the Highway Code in their heads.
*for some reason weird things always happen to me on this stretch - this morning my chain came off (pothole), and another time had an accident while filtering (which was my fault). Having cycled extensively in Edinburgh I think Stockbridge, despite it's other qualities, is one of the most awful places to cycle.
...was the Number 25 that tried to overtake me on Leith Walk as I was waiting behind a 4x4 turning right. To my immediate left was another bus so the driver was never going to get far. He poked his cab forward in a threatening manner and said something to me through the window. I enquired what his immediate plan was (in slightly stronger terms) but didn't hang around long enough to see if it would be "try brute force and ignorance a second time".
Lots of annoying close passes on the way home this evening. Must be the dusk.
Taxi driver overtaking me & going through amber light I'd stopped at.
8,20am Mercedes-Benz drove down wrong side of Leven st (A702), then wrong way down Leven terrace. Gave me a little wave to say 'thanks' when I got out of his way.
Not bad driving, but making a right turn yesterday morning at the same junction as AlanR accident I was passed simultaneously by HGV's on both sides of the road, terrifying!
Yesterday's bad driving was a red Golf GTI turning right at the lights at Summerhall to head down towards Causewayside. Somehow the boy racer failed to notice the plastic road bollard in the central reservation and drove RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF IT at a fair speed. Front bumper and oil sump instantly ripped off causing few litres of black oil to be dumped across the junction. Cue much shaking of heads and tutting.
"Cue much shaking of heads and tutting."
And laughing surely?
I don't normally post car stuff, but this morning I was overtaken on the zig-zags of a pedestrian crossing on Gilmerton Road. So far so ho-hum...except that the car was on the opposite carriageway. It actually went through a pedestrian crossing on the wrong side of the road.
Mum taking child to school though, so hard working family and all that.
@Iwrats
Daughter's not had a good time of it this week - she was squeezed at that crossing on her way home on Monday.
She'd pulled out to prevent overtaking at the pinchpoint, and to clear cars parked beyond the crossing, but some numpty took her road positioning as an invitation to undertake instead.
Robert
@Roibeard
Then my driver was actually safer than your daughter's. How exactly did you stop yourself sending the undertaking driver to the undertaker? There are times when rage is quite appropriate.
If you'd like to meet the Yes Scotland squad that underwhelmed you we'll be in the cafe on Walter Scott at 10h30 tomorrow. It'd be good to get your feedback...and although the coffee is grim the cakes are good. My shout.
Mainly by not being present, although I have to say my tolerance and "mutual respect" is lacking this week...
Robert
Just totally lost it & started screaming & swearing at everyone. Not sure why now, today. Just one too many fast approach & close ish pass in the rain. Cumulative effects. Most odd.
Driver of massive, hideous white Audi 4x4 monster thing (a Q5 according to Boyfriend) reg X29 LCX getting all shouty at the pair of us. Child in the back seat too :-(
Driver wanted us to pull over to a pub car park to "talk" (i.e. be shouted at) - boyfriend very sensibly didn't and when the car passed us again he left us alone.
We (b/f & I) possibly look from the rear as though we are cycling two abreast where what is actually happening is that we are one behind the other but I cycle further out (especially round parked cars) than he does. We cannot agree if I am too far out or he is too far in; but possibly we should/could try for more of a compromise line when we are out together. He's probably more sympathetic to following drivers than I am! I just take the bit of the road I think I need - but is it more than I need?
"but is it more than I need?"
No.
You are continuously assessing the risks and acting accordingly for your own safety/sanity/comfort.
Unfortunately some road users think that they and their choices are more important.
@fimm - possibly look... as though we are cycling two abreast
And even if you were cycling two abreast, that's perfectly fine too, in pretty much every circumstance in and around the city.
If every driver travels two abreast, even if on they're on own, and they cannot single up, why do they insist that (motor)cyclists travel in single-subservient-file?
Robert
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