Cyclist ignores red light, gets hit, driver is prosecuted...

[Digby]

IroningMan said:

Assuming the video is in real time then anyone who believes that they could have reacted in a way which would have avoided that crash in the time available in or on any vehicle is living in cloud-cuckoo land.

Tbe point is, no reaction would have been needed.

It's cuckoo land to assume everyone rides like the rider in the clip.

[Digby]

oyster said:

Might is right eh?

Are you 11 years old?

12.

[Murph7355]

Pachydermus said:

this ^ I rarely if ever contravene the highway code while cycling. I'm pretty sure there's not many motorists out there (including me) who can say the same - presuming they actually know what's in the highway code which, if this thread is any indication, not many seem to despite all the training they claim to have done.

That's not really what the post you were pointing at was saying at all.

You may well be the most angelic cyclist since Mary Poppins but others are not. That you get tarred with their brush is highly unfortunately, but that happens to us all one way or another - young motorists; old motorists; people with noisy cars; people with flash cars; people who pick their noses at traffic lights; people who walk funny; etc etc. The way to change those prejudices isn't to moan about how unfair they are.

And the way to change those prejudices is certainly not to try and deflect that some cyclists are absolute bellends. Some other road users may come across sufficient of them to enforce their prejudice. When a cyclist does something massively stupid, either say nowt or acknowledge they were being incredibly stupid. Save your ire for when a cyclist is hard done by through absolutely no fault of their own (you'll get support then I'm sure).

[Pachydermus]

Murph7355 said:

Save your ire for when a cyclist is hard done by through absolutely no fault of their own (you'll get support then I'm sure).

you mean like most of the ones getting squashed by cars & trucks? Yes, they're getting loads of support on here.

edit: and sorry if I offended you by agreeing with what Kingston said.

[Murph7355]

Pachydermus said:

you mean like most of the ones getting squashed by cars & trucks? Yes, they're getting loads of support on here.

edit: and sorry if I offended you by agreeing with what Kingston said.

No offence. You pointed at it and then made a statement that was little related....

Anyway...

I don't know if "most" of those getting squashed were at fault or not. I doubt you do either. We both merely rely on our bias/limited experience.

Looking at the clip posted earlier of the idiot swerving in and out of traffic and then getting squashed between a bus and a lorry I very much doubt the issues are that clear cut (though that anecdotal one clearly is one hopes). I would be prepared to bet that a very large amount of squashing occurs because cyclists are not as careful as they ought to be in blindspots/whizzing up the left with nary a care for what the traffic is doing. BUT that is only derived from my experiences of cyclists in London.

(My bigger cyclist irritant these days are old men in lycra riding 3 or 4 abreast on country lanes. And then compounding that by clagging up the decent cafes in the area with their muddy sweatiness).

[Pachydermus]

Murph7355 said:

Looking at the clip posted earlier of the idiot swerving in and out of traffic and then getting squashed between a bus and a lorry I very much doubt the issues are that clear cut (though that anecdotal one clearly is one hopes). I would be prepared to bet that a very large amount of squashing occurs because cyclists are not as careful as they ought to be in blindspots/whizzing up the left with nary a care for what the traffic is doing. BUT that is only derived from my experiences of cyclists in London.

idiots like that are the exception and generally not the type that's in the news after getting squashed.

Murph7355 said:

(My bigger cyclist irritant these days are old men in lycra riding 3 or 4 abreast on country lanes. And then compounding that by clagging up the decent cafes in the area with their muddy sweatiness).

yes, how dare they use YOUR road and YOUR cafe while wearing appropriate clothing for their activity.

[heebeegeetee]

Pachydermus said:

yes, how dare they use YOUR road and YOUR cafe while wearing appropriate clothing for their activity.

And I bet they don't pay a penny in coffee tax. (which was abolished in 1737. Or something).

[IroningMan]

Digby said:

IroningMan said:

Assuming the video is in real time then anyone who believes that they could have reacted in a way which would have avoided that crash in the time available in or on any vehicle is living in cloud-cuckoo land.

Tbe point is, no reaction would have been needed.

It's cuckoo land to assume everyone rides like the rider in the clip.

It feels to me like you're assuming powers of anticipation which I simply don't possess - but low-res internet videos are probably not the best way to assess such things.

[Zigster]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

If you're stinking of BO mid ride, you were probably stinking of BO before you started. People don't start stinking as soon as they start sweating.

[Pachydermus]

Nanook said:

Zigster said:

If you're stinking of BO mid ride, you were probably stinking of BO before you started. People don't start stinking as soon as they start sweating.

So when you work out, get hot, sweaty, etc, you smell exactly the same?

I certainly don't. I shower at least twice a day, but I'm not afraid to say that after a good run I'll probably not smell quite as fresh.

unless it's a particularly hot day or you're totally unfit you don't sweat that much on a leisurely group ride.

[DoubleD]

heebeegeetee said:

Cobnapint said:

What are driver's supposed to do, keep looking left and right as we cross every junction on green fking light or what....?

Errrrrr... Yes!

Well, it depends if you want to stay alive or not, I guess. If you think a red light physically stops a 44 tonne hgv, then crack right on with setting off from a junction without checking if it's safe or clear.

fk me!

All road users should check that the way is clear even on a green light.

All road users should stop if the light is red.

Fairly simple stuff really.

[heebeegeetee]

Anyway, here's todays. It was in Westt Sussex, which is nearly London.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4248496/Da...

Let the victim blaming begin.

He is wearing hi-viz and a helmet, which rules out 2 reasons for the car hitting him. I think it just boils down to him not knowing his place.

Ooh ooh, no I've got it - the cyclist is crossing on a green without checking it's safe to do so.

Edited by heebeegeetee on Wednesday 22 February 18:07

[Digby]

IroningMan said:

It feels to me like you're assuming powers of anticipation which I simply don't possess

It's hardly a power to be able to slow at junctions where cars are waiting to turn.

Maybe I'm just used to being this way.

It doesn't always work, of course, I was hit by a van doing much the same as the car in the clip although there was no indication, nobody else waiting to turn, the road was a dead end, no other traffic etc.

[Pachydermus]

while we're at it, let's count how many different ways can someone screw up in the space of a few metres:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-135469...

[Pachydermus]

Digby said:

It doesn't always work, of course, I was hit by a van doing much the same as the car in the clip although there was no indication, nobody else waiting to turn, the road was a dead end, no other traffic etc.

do you have any clue what you post on here? The other day you claimed there's no way you'd ever be hit at a junction and that it was my fault my rear wheel got clipped, now here you are saying it's happened to you. Make up your fking mind.

[Digby]

Pachydermus said:

while we're at it, let's count how many different ways can someone screw up in the space of a few metres:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-135469...

Typical looking right, nothing coming, must be clear type of driver

Hope the rider was ok.

In a similar vein, this is one of the reasons at junctions and roundabouts, I only ever focus on the vehicle in front and never spend much time looking left or right until that vehicle has actually gone.

It's so easy to look, see nothing, assume they have gone and...whoopsie!

[Digby]

Pachydermus said:

Digby said:

It doesn't always work, of course, I was hit by a van doing much the same as the car in the clip although there was no indication, nobody else waiting to turn, the road was a dead end, no other traffic etc.

do you have any clue what you post on here? The other day you claimed there's no way you'd ever be hit at a junction and that it was my fault my rear wheel got clipped, now here you are saying it's happened to you. Make up your fking mind.

I didn't claim I would never be hit at any junction. I didn't say it was your fault. Why make things up?

A speeding van driver chucked his van into a road I was passing. I said the situation was similar, not the same. I also said you can't avoid everything eariler in the thread.

Which part of this is making you angry to the point of needing to swear?

Had I been further back, I would have slowed.

My wheel comment related to being in the position of the rider in the clip. I wouldn't have been hit. The car would have passed across and I would have slagged them off.

There will always be something outside of your control, but knowing this and doing all I can has helped me remain crash-free on a bike.

I might be missing the point to many of these comments, but why is being extra careful on a bike a bad thing?

I wouldn't jump a red and I would have been slowed at the junction in the clip.....and that's somehow stirring emotion!

[TheGreatSoprendo]

heebeegeetee said:

Anyway, here's todays. It was in Westt Sussex, which is nearly London.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4248496/Da...

Let the victim blaming begin.

He is wearing hi-viz and a helmet, which rules out 2 reasons for the car hitting him. I think it just boils down to him not knowing his place.

Ooh ooh, no I've got it - the cyclist is crossing on a green without checking it's safe to do so.

Edited by heebeegeetee on Wednesday 22 February 18:07

That's a shocking piece of driving. There are some predicable but depressing displays of idiocy in the comments section too.

[Pachydermus]

Digby said:

I didn't claim I would never be hit at any junction. I didn't say it was your fault. Why make things up?

Digby said:

Why not assume someone is about to turn?

That's what I do. Never been knocked off in my life.

Digby said:

Who is more stupid? My wheel wouldn't have been clipped because

[DoubleD]

Plenty of youtube videos online of bad road use by all road users. Cant be arsed to post them though.