White van man

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Rusty Rider
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Re: White van man

Post by Rusty Rider »

Paulatic wrote:If ever you’re looking for an example of a self righteous cyclist try this one
https://mobile.twitter.com/Babywayne100 ... 22/video/1
Has the audacity to blame ambulance driver for not obeying the Highway Code

Sadly can't read it/listen to it as I don't use twitter.
Peter
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Paulatic
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Re: White van man

Post by Paulatic »

Rusty Rider wrote:
Paulatic wrote:If ever you’re looking for an example of a self righteous cyclist try this one
https://mobile.twitter.com/Babywayne100 ... 22/video/1
Has the audacity to blame ambulance driver for not obeying the Highway Code

Sadly can't read it/listen to it as I don't use twitter.

I’ve just tried to take another look I think the guy has taken it down. No wonder as he received nothing but criticism and no support at all

He was cycling towards a roundabout and behind him was an ambulance with blues and twos on. He didn’t pull in and let it pass. He carried onto the roundabout at which point the ambulance was on his rhs and wanting to take the first exit. The driver bided his time until cyclist was clear and carried on. The cyclist was full of indignation and saying the driver endangered his life. ....Numpty
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

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Rusty Rider
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Re: White van man

Post by Rusty Rider »

Paulatic wrote:
Rusty Rider wrote:
Paulatic wrote:If ever you’re looking for an example of a self righteous cyclist try this one
https://mobile.twitter.com/Babywayne100 ... 22/video/1
Has the audacity to blame ambulance driver for not obeying the Highway Code

Sadly can't read it/listen to it as I don't use twitter.

I’ve just tried to take another look I think the guy has taken it down. No wonder as he received nothing but criticism and no support at all

He was cycling towards a roundabout and behind him was an ambulance with blues and twos on. He didn’t pull in and let it pass. He carried onto the roundabout at which point the ambulance was on his rhs and wanting to take the first exit. The driver bided his time until cyclist was clear and carried on. The cyclist was full of indignation and saying the driver endangered his life. ....Numpty


Let alone the person who was warranted a blues and 2's ambulance, as you say a numptie :shock:
Peter
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: White van man

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Paulatic wrote:
Rusty Rider wrote:
Paulatic wrote:If ever you’re looking for an example of a self righteous cyclist try this one
https://mobile.twitter.com/Babywayne100 ... 22/video/1
Has the audacity to blame ambulance driver for not obeying the Highway Code

Sadly can't read it/listen to it as I don't use twitter.

I’ve just tried to take another look I think the guy has taken it down. No wonder as he received nothing but criticism and no support at all

He was cycling towards a roundabout and behind him was an ambulance with blues and twos on. He didn’t pull in and let it pass. He carried onto the roundabout at which point the ambulance was on his rhs and wanting to take the first exit. The driver bided his time until cyclist was clear and carried on. The cyclist was full of indignation and saying the driver endangered his life. ....Numpty


Blues and twos are there for damned good reason. They don't use them when they don't have to - and that means someone is in serious trouble...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
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reohn2
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Re: White van man

Post by reohn2 »

Paulatic
Watched the video before it was taken down.Cyclist = idiot, 'nuff said :?
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Paulatic
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Re: White van man

Post by Paulatic »

You can find the story here
http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/22/cyclist-gets-way-ambulance-sirens-blaring-complains-near-miss-7248829/
Amazingly , when I’ve just looked, 8% think the ambulance driver was in the wrong.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

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thirdcrank
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Re: White van man

Post by thirdcrank »

I don't know when this was first published on twitter or whatever but it looks as though the date of the incident was 7 Jan so it's out of time for an NIP. Is it just coincidence or did the cameraman wait a couple of weeks before publishing it? :?
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Rusty Rider
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Location: Surrey

Re: White van man

Post by Rusty Rider »

Paulatic wrote:You can find the story here
http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/22/cyclist-gets-way-ambulance-sirens-blaring-complains-near-miss-7248829/
Amazingly , when I’ve just looked, 8% think the ambulance driver was in the wrong.


Good job I wasn't the ambulance driver :shock: what an utter moron on the bike.
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Bonefishblues
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Re: White van man

Post by Bonefishblues »

The only element I think that the Ambulance driver might perhaps have re-thought was the utility of sounding their horn at the point s/he could see what plank-o-cyclist was doing. Their best course of action was what they did, brake, turn more sharply than originally planned and pass safely behind the cyclist.

The cyclist by that point was obviously going s/a, so that's what they needed him to do asap, as opposed to any deviation or stopping, which might have been an unintended consequence of the use of the horn - or am I overthinking?
kwackers
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Re: White van man

Post by kwackers »

Bonefishblues wrote:The only element I think that the Ambulance driver might perhaps have re-thought was the utility of sounding their horn at the point s/he could see what plank-o-cyclist was doing. Their best course of action was what they did, brake, turn more sharply than originally planned and pass safely behind the cyclist.

The cyclist by that point was obviously going s/a, so that's what they needed him to do asap, as opposed to any deviation or stopping, which might have been an unintended consequence of the use of the horn - or am I overthinking?

I'm not actually sure what the cyclist is guilty of or why the ambulance driver wouldn't be in the wrong.

I ran this past my son (he's a paramedic) and he's of the opinion that regardless of what the cyclist was doing it's up to the ambulance driver to avoid crashing into him.
He suggests that if he was coming up to the cyclist and he wanted to turn left through two lanes of traffic then it's up to him to give way to the cyclist (or any vehicle) and only turn if it was safe. Sounding the horn is a no (apparently they're advised not to use sirens at junctions to avoid panicking drivers into doing something stupid) and as he pointed out the ambulance driver gained almost nothing in terms of time whilst risking a collision.

From my understanding of the HWC the cyclist didn't do anything technically wrong. You're not meant to simply slam on - and coming up to a junction that may well be the worst thing to do. If they believed the ambulance was going straight on and the car to their left was turning left then entering the roundabout to pass the car and moving far left may well be the best option.

Overall I think it's a storm in a tea cup. Personally I can usually hear ambulances from half a mile back and sort myself out long before they get to me - although I'm usually passed by a fair number of cars whose drivers aren't paying attention.
Bonefishblues
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Re: White van man

Post by Bonefishblues »

Good post. I think that the cyclist was unwise to carry on and lacking in awareness. If the ambulance had simply passed behind sans horn I wouldn't have posted, but the horn seemed petulant, perhaps.

People do all sorts of odd things around B & 2s and drivers are specifically trained to expect the unexpected whilst making swift and safe progress aiui.
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Paulatic
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Re: White van man

Post by Paulatic »

thirdcrank wrote:I don't know when this was first published on twitter or whatever but it looks as though the date of the incident was 7 Jan so it's out of time for an NIP. Is it just coincidence or did the cameraman wait a couple of weeks before publishing it? :?

He first posted it on the 21st and gave the impression he had done nothing wrong and was accusing the driver of endangering him and not following the HC. Very quickly a reporter jumped in and asked for permission to use. He granted that and I believe he did so because he thought the reporter would back him up.
He took it down and has posted today the following
Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter
@Babywayne10000
Good afternoom all. footage that was posted was all part of an opinion poll re the popularity of cyclist on UK roads. Shame we didn't get more than 22 comments but a massive thank you to you all and the BM for running the poll

I don’t fully understand it, I think the guy must live on another planet.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

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thirdcrank
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Re: White van man

Post by thirdcrank »

I was able to watch the vid before it disappeared and it was rather short in that you didn't seem to get anything of the run up to the incident. As has been implied above, so long as the siren is in continuous use, then a cyclist has plenty of warning of the approach of an emergency vehicle - probably a lot more than somebody in a car with the radio blaring etc - and it's generally not hard to get right out of the way, even if others don't respond with the same consideration towards others. OTOH, cyclists don't routinely have mirrors so they can be surprised by the unannounced arrival of a vehicle relying on beacons. When driving, as a frequent mirror-checker, I often see the blue lights before I hear the siren and if there's another vehicle immediately behind me, pulling over often leads them to pull out to pass me. Now, you might think that even if they didn't appreciate that I was pulling over because there were a couple of fire engines coming, that they would check their mirrors before pulling out but rather than mirror-signal-manoeuvre it's sometimes manoeuvre-mirror-look of sheer horror. :roll:

Drivers of emergency vehicles are subject to the law on dangerous/careless driving like everybody else and neither blue beacons nor sirens create any dispensations: in these circumstance they merely are to indicate to others "the urgency of the purposes for which the vehicle is being used." (Rather quaintly, the con and use reg's refer to "any gong, bell, siren or two-tone horn." Memories Of "No hiding place" and Chief Superintendent Lockhart's black Wolseley zooming out of New Scotland Yard with the bell ringing.)

A vid like this doesn't always record the distances between a vehicle and the camera, but it didn't appear to me that the rider was put in danger by the ambulance, unless they were disorientated by the sound of the siren, and that's not said tongue-in-cheek.

I'd not suggest that this type of warning equipment is never misused, but it has to be taken at face value at the time and without over-reacting, others should give these vehicles as clear a run as possible.

And FWIW, I got the impression that the ambulance driver gave the rider an unnecessary blast on the motor horn, which didn't reflect well on them. IMO.
kwackers
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Re: White van man

Post by kwackers »

A quick update:

It's over two weeks now since I reported it and I doubt it'll come as a surprise to anyone that I've heard absolutely zilch, not even an acknowledgement of receiving the report.
I don't have a particularly high opinion of Merseyside police anyway so it wasn't unexpected.
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