First RTA

[[XAP]Bob]

To be fair to the driver in question I think it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

I was taking my normal route to work, which includes a long right hand bend, but the bend has a T junction (where the bend is the "straight ahead" road). A way down the road is a one lane bridge, with traffic lights, so the traffic generally queues back way past the junction (and I get to steal 5-15 minutes on all the car drivers waiting to cross the river).

Anyhow, I'm cycling along, overtaking all the stuck motorists . Not going full whack because I'm squeezing along, ducking in when anything was coming the other way. As I approach the gap (which has unusually been left by the queuing traffic) a Jag pulls out to turn right (i.e. back past me).
I swerve to go behind him.
He stops to look the other way for traffic.
I swerve further, but just don't have enough room any more.

Collision between my right foot (clipped into the pedal) and his rear bumper takes my foot out of the pedal (not in the 'correct' release direction).
I managed to stay upright though.

I stop and check that I'm still in one piece (I am), and that the pedals still work (they do). He's stopped a little way down the road, but then moves off - I'm not that fussed, it wasn't major, and it wasn't a clear fault. A couple of other motorists check that I'm OK as well (which was nice)

A couple of miles later I wave a car past as I round a blind corner and see that the road is clear for a good way, the same car overtakes me, pops his hazards on and pulls over. I pull up behind him, he gets out to check that I'm alright.
What are the odds of my first RTA being with another cyclist??
When he drove off I was hoping I'd mangled his bumper, but as he'd managed to come and find me (spotted my high vis vest along from the junction after the bridge ) I was quite pleased to see that I hadn't - not that he cared, so long as I was OK.

So - There are drivers who care!

Bob

PS - I must get round to getting decent brakes though - my rim brakes are failing horribly in this weather, and I might have been able to stop if I'd had good brakes.

[irc]

Oops!.

Having read other replies and re-read the OP I misunderstood how the accident happened. Previous post here deleted.

[eileithyia]

Not so sure re- the 50/50 of the accident.
The gap was left by a considerate motorist to facilitate another entering the road. This happens frequently on my way home from work, but I always watch to ensure no one is pulling into/out of the junction.
However just as no motorist should take the say so of a "flash" from another motorist that it is safe to proced with a manouvre without checking for themselves, in this situation the motorist leaving the junction should also ensure the road was clear to execute his manouvre.

As a fellow cyclist I would thought he should have been more aware that a cyclist just might be overtaking the stationary traffic.

Still no harm was done, no damage done, he was decent enough to ensure you were ok and everyone (hopefully) is older and wiser and will be more aware of such manouvres.

[Mick F]

Glad everything ended amicably. No damage done.

However, you were overtaking through a junction. That's a no-no isn't it?

[Gisen]

Glad everything ended amicably. No damage done.

However, you were overtaking through a junction. That's a no-no isn't it?

If the traffic was stopped (or very slow moving), then he wasn't overtaking, he was filtering. Totally legal.

[Mick F]

Totally legal.

Totally?

Legal maybe, but a junction is a junction.

Care is always required at a junction, no matter who has priority.
Note the word 'Priority'.
Not 'Right of Way'.

As I said, no damage done. 'nuff said, end of.

[Gisen]

Totally legal.

Totally?

Legal maybe, but a junction is a junction.

Unlike the highway code, law is black and white; legal is legal

[skrx]

What are the odds of my first RTA being with another cyclist??

I'm not sure -- but my first (very minor!) collision was with another cyclist yesterday. Although he was on a bike. (Well, he hit me, but that's because I wasn't looking enough and went into his path.)

The road: The South Circular/Upper Richmond Road near Barnes Station (London). The eastbound lane splits into two for the junction (with traffic lights), one for left and one for straight on.

I was waiting at the lights, at the front, but behind the two cars that were in the bike box (there wasn't room to get between and in front of them). I heard an ambulance while waiting, but couldn't see it behind me (buses/lorries in the way). The cars in front of me started edging towards the sides of the road, then stopped when they (and I) realised the ambulance was coming around the side (i.e. on the wrong side of the road across the junction).
As the ambulance cleared the junction (lights were green by now) I cycled into the space the cars had made... at exactly the same time as another cyclist did the same! He must have been a couple of car-lengths behind me. It was a low-speed collision, we both just said "Sorry!" and went on. I'll remember to look next time though, even when I've been waiting at lights for several minutes!

[paulah]

but my first (very minor!) collision was with another cyclist yesterday.

Was there something about yesterday? Start of the silly season among motorists perhaps? Evenings getting lighter so they don't have to look anymore?

Yesterday I had my first (very minor) collision was with a motorist who overtook me on a roundabout, cut in too soon, forced me off, and failed to stop afterwards. Problem is it's a two lane roundabout so there's no way to block them... This follows on from Monday - narrowly avoided the car pulling into me on same roundabout and Tuesday - motorist overtaking me on the same roundabout decides to stop and let a bus on. Fortunately the bus driver had more sense. The previous two weeks when I've been going home when it's darker I've had no problems.

Today, after a long study of the A-Z, I found an alternative route that doesn't take any longer, although the 11% hill I can now manage with gears to spare has been replaced by a cycle path going up an even steeper one.