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Not about the bike?

(12 posts)
  • Started 14 years ago by Dave
  • Latest reply from Dave
  • This topic is not a support question

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  1. Dave
    Member

    Is there something about being on a "proper" upright bike that provokes people to madness? I've managed since September to have no commuting issues on the lowracer at all, but the last week on the mtb/fixed wheel have been crazy.

    When I got to the bottom of North Bridge this morning there was a car blocking the middle (Leith Walk) lane waiting to turn left onto Princes St. I saw this well in advance so moved over to pass him with no fuss - you can imagine the beeping and shouting that was coming from my lovely co-commuters!

    After passing the blockage, I chose to take the corner more towards the right, worried that the cars behind would otherwise cut the corner from the A1 lane then turn across me onto Leith St, where there are railings on the inside.

    Alas, the car immediately behind me accellerated hard wide around the corner, and came furiously up my left instead! Luckily I checked my shoulder and tightened up my turn otherwise I'd have been on his bonnet...

    I took the opportunity to sit and shout at him for a while in the queue for the big roundabout (naturally he wasn't going anywhere fast, despite being in a hurry). His line of argument was that he thought I was going to Calton hill and should have been indicating, I asked him whether he would have gone round me on the right if I had done it the other way (or, whether he had indicated left after passing the parked car himself, while screeching around the right hand bend to get inside of me)!

    Also I got soaked - seems hard to believe this is the first time in 2010 it's been wet at commuter o' clock, but hey.

    Sometimes, you just can't win...

    Posted 14 years ago #

  2. steveo
    Member

    I just don't understand the hurry to get to the back of the traffic queue, some days i just wish i'd got the "death grip" power instead of the "likes cake" power at sith school.

    Yeah i got soaked too, my tyres seem to have been designed by a master in fluid dynamics to suck all the water from the contact point and throw it directly up in the air by passing my crud guard and allow me to accelerate through it creating my own rain storm...

    Posted 14 years ago #

  3. cb
    Member

    Steveo: "wish i'd got the "death grip" power"

    Puncture-tyres-at-will is the power I've always wanted. (that's car tyres, but 'spose it could be used on errant cyclists too)

    Dave: "Also I got soaked "

    You're not blaming being on an upright for that are you?

    Posted 14 years ago #

  4. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    This is the first time in 2010 you've got wet???? I've been counting (seriously, after reading a stat on the number of times a year on average a commuting cyclist gets wet) and this morning was number 12...

    That basic desire to get in front no matter whether there is traffic ahead or not is odd isn't it. I have my own theory. A car IS quicker than a bike - given an empty road there's no question - cars can exceed 100mph. And this is what is in the back of drivers' minds all the time, the car is quicker. They don't seem capable when behind the wheel of rationalising that thought to the traffic and road controls and so on around them. There is just that knowledge that the car is faster.

    Posted 14 years ago #

  5. Dave
    Member

    Anth - I didn't include the "Big Freeze", when I rode in grim conditions a few times. So perhaps it is more like 5 or 6 including the ice-biking.

    But yeah, otherwise I must be charmed!

    Re the driving, again no headcam of course. So I took the liberty of forking out £20 at work to have a couple of cheap Muvi clones delivered from HK, they can double up as tailcams later.

    What is odd about people is not so much that they drive stupidly, but that when challenged, they seem totally convinced they're in the right. I could see the guy this morning thinking "what is this idiot going on about, I drove perfectly". That's why I like having footage, because it's not subjective.

    Posted 14 years ago #

  6. recombodna
    Member

    Last night i was cycling down leith walk. I got in front of a taxi at lights at pilrig. I was about 3 meters behind a removal lorry in the middle of the lane when the taxi driver decided that I shouldn't be there so got rid of me by undertaking me and moving closer in to me until i had no lane left. I put the foot down and overtook the lorry and ended up in front of the taxi at the lights at the foot o the walk. Obviously I needed to be punished for this and the taxi driver was only doing his civic duty when he severely cut me up going round the corner onto constitution street causing my front wheel and pedal to strike the kerb almost sending me under his wheels........I guess that's what you deserve if you have the gall to be faster than a fast black!!!

    Posted 14 years ago #

  7. chdot
    Admin

    "taxi driver was only doing his civic duty when he severely cut me up"

    Hope you got his number

    Posted 14 years ago #

  8. chdot
    Admin

    Anth -

    "he severely cut me up going round the corner onto constitution street causing my front wheel and pedal to strike the kerb almost sending me under his wheels."

    is that attempted murder?

    Posted 14 years ago #

  9. SRD
    Moderator

    Vaguely on this theme - husband was on the receiving end of some rather forceful verbal abuse recently, and got the number of the car. Is there any point to reporting this sort of thing, or would the police rather not know?

    Posted 14 years ago #

  10. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    is that attempted murder?

    Nowhere near it I'm afraid. Might manage to make a case for dangerous driving at a stretch, but most likely to do down to careless driving. Only then if it was seen by the police or filmed (and probably then by an independent third party) or there were a load of witnesses willing to back up a cyclist who has not actually been injured or (it seems?) not even fallen off the bike.

    Attempted murder probably requires even more of an explicit specific intention to kill than murder itself (and as far as I'm aware there isn't an offence of attempted culpable homicide).

    Posted 14 years ago #

  11. recombodna
    Member

    You know I didn't get his number. I was on my way for a nice meal with my wife to celebrate our anniversary and just couldn't be bothered spoiling my good mood with an argument with a neanderthal taxi driving numpty. Like Dave says these people always seem to think that they are in the right and thier actions were perfectly justified "you shouldnae be in the middle of the road pal....I've got every right to cut ye up" If I drove around town and without warning slammed my foot on the brake stuck the hazzards on and u turned at the same time it would be considered bad driving by most people. But it seams to be part of the job description in taxi land.
    @SRD when I was punched in the face by the fat van driver in polwarth I reported it and the police came to interview me and one of the toddler group mums who witnessed the event but I never heard anything more on the matter.

    Posted 14 years ago #

  12. Dave
    Member

    It's always worth making an allegation of dangerous driving against taxis because, while it won't go anywhere without witnesses, it will be noted on their record at the licencing office (you need to write to licencing, not just/or the police).

    Down the line if somebody was struck by a taxi driver these complaints would have to be disclosed, and it could be a great aid to the victim.

    I was once buzzed by a taxi with horn blazing, and popped off a basic template letter to the licencing office, eventually I got back a copy of the driver's explanation (the usual self-justified outraged waffle) with a note from the solicitors saying it wouldn't be possible to do anything on my word alone, but it had been noted on his record.

    Similarly you should always write to complain to bus companies, and in this case CC a copy to the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland (when they get this, it's like you've set off a bomb in a crowded room).

    For ordinary cars I'm not so sure. I've never bothered to report anything, although I've come close a couple of times. Probably we should rigorously report every incident, because only this way would it be possible to get an overall picture of what's going on, but it would be a big drain of time.

    Posted 14 years ago #

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