Recumbent safety

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
Vorpal
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Vorpal »

Stradageek wrote: 5 Jun 2023, 9:05am
Vorpal wrote: 5 Jun 2023, 8:48am I used to drive farm equipment quite a bit, and I assure you that farmers can see recumbents, if they are paying attention and not driving too fast for conditions.
Question for you Vorpal; is it because driving a tractor up and down a field all day can get a bit lonely or is there another reason why so many of the tractor drivers that I see on the roads are chatting on their mobile phones? Van drivers aside, the only other group which seems to be more prone to this offense is parents leaving day care nurseries, they are all on their mobile phones :(
I suspect that it's really only because tractors & combines were a bit behind the game when it came to hands free. Some farmers replaced the radios or added equipment to use their phones hands free, but lots of equipment didn't, and still doesn't have hands free for phones.

The only reason you don't see this absolutely everywhere is that many drivers who use their phones whilst driving are doing so hands free.
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Pinhead
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Pinhead »

yostumpy wrote: 4 Jun 2023, 8:54pm We had many VERY near misses with riders coming down our lane even though it was access only and locals wrongly using it as a rat run

Thanks for the advice, but how many of the many VERY near misses, were recumbents?

And, if the road was just a car wide, how did they get a 40t lorry down there?
NINE out of 11
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Pinhead
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Pinhead »

Campag wrote: 4 Jun 2023, 9:05pm A few questions in relation to this:

- if it's a narrow country lane the drivers will be driving slowly and with care?

- if it's a narrow country lane there won't be any 40 tonne trucks?

- if it is being used as a rat run have you considered reporting this to the highways authority with a view to making an 'access only' restriction?

- if a driver can see the edge of the road and any junction markings (which obviously are at zero ground level) why would it be difficult to see something at car (recumbent) height?

- do you ride a bicycle of any sort?
No but there will be the farmers tractors, carts, vans
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yostumpy
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by yostumpy »

Pinhead wrote: 5 Jun 2023, 5:36pm
yostumpy wrote: 4 Jun 2023, 8:54pm We had many VERY near misses with riders coming down our lane even though it was access only and locals wrongly using it as a rat run

Thanks for the advice, but how many of the many VERY near misses, were recumbents?

And, if the road was just a car wide, how did they get a 40t lorry down there?
NINE out of 11
Now then...are you quite sure it wasn't EIGHT
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pjclinch
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by pjclinch »

Pinhead wrote: 5 Jun 2023, 5:36pm
yostumpy wrote: 4 Jun 2023, 8:54pm We had many VERY near misses with riders coming down our lane even though it was access only and locals wrongly using it as a rat run

Thanks for the advice, but how many of the many VERY near misses, were recumbents?

And, if the road was just a car wide, how did they get a 40t lorry down there?
NINE out of 11
If it were round Falmouth (i.e. on ICE's doorstep) I might believe that, but 'bents are otherwise vanishingly unusual and since your opening gambit was they were effectively invisible on that lane I'm not entirely confident in your counting...

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
Vorpal
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Vorpal »

Pinhead wrote: 5 Jun 2023, 5:36pm
Campag wrote: 4 Jun 2023, 9:05pm A few questions in relation to this:

- if it's a narrow country lane the drivers will be driving slowly and with care?

- if it's a narrow country lane there won't be any 40 tonne trucks?

- if it is being used as a rat run have you considered reporting this to the highways authority with a view to making an 'access only' restriction?

- if a driver can see the edge of the road and any junction markings (which obviously are at zero ground level) why would it be difficult to see something at car (recumbent) height?

- do you ride a bicycle of any sort?
No but there will be the farmers tractors, carts, vans
Tractors may have a visibility range that is designed for somewhat different needs than that of a Ford Focus, but forward visibility range is only a little worse than that of a GMC Sierra or a Dodge Ram Power Wagon.

I have spotted objects as small as a leaf or sweet wrapper in the road from the seat of a tractor, so I'm sure other tractor drivers can manage to spot a recumbent.
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Lodge
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Lodge »

The Google Streetview lane in Devon looks very similar to many lanes in my local Staffordshire Moorlands. I still ride my bicycles and rode my ICE Sprint down those lanes. No issues with the local farmers or other traffic.

I sold my Sprint last year. That lane in Devon shows why - it was impossible to get a smooth ride on a three track vehicle, and very uncomfortable with no suspension. So now I only have two-wheelers. The sale was nothing to do with feeling unsafe.
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Cowsham
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Cowsham »

It occurs to me that if the lane is only one car wide and twisty then it would be very dangerous especially meeting an oncoming vehicle on a bend. Nowhere to go so even if the two vehicles were creeping along the chances of a collision is high.
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pjclinch
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by pjclinch »

Cowsham wrote: 7 Jun 2023, 11:22pm It occurs to me that if the lane is only one car wide and twisty then it would be very dangerous especially meeting an oncoming vehicle on a bend. Nowhere to go so even if the two vehicles were creeping along the chances of a collision is high.
That's a lot or rural single track for you.

To quote Highway Code Rule 126...
Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear
So on a blind bend you need to be taking them slowly whether driving or riding. And not just single track, there could be something like a tractor emerging from a field just around the corner on a wider road.

One nice thing about 'bents is if you slam on the anchors in a big hurry there's markedly less tendency to sail over the bars than on an upwrong...

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
a.twiddler
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by a.twiddler »

It's true that recumbents are hard to see. I've only seen four on the road in the last three years. The thousands of others that I didn't see must have been invisible. :)
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Cowsham
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Cowsham »

pjclinch wrote: 8 Jun 2023, 8:01am
Cowsham wrote: 7 Jun 2023, 11:22pm It occurs to me that if the lane is only one car wide and twisty then it would be very dangerous especially meeting an oncoming vehicle on a bend. Nowhere to go so even if the two vehicles were creeping along the chances of a collision is high.
That's a lot or rural single track for you.

Pete.
Yes where I come from that's a farm lane and usually private so we don't see that type of "road" yous boys have. Been on a few over there and it's scary. Are they all one way or can you meet someone walking or cycling head on in a bind bend with high banks / hedges?
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mattheus
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by mattheus »

Surely almost every county in the UK has SOME sections of narrow single-lane road with poor visibility?!? Some people here are making out it's only in Cornwall and Narnia ...

Road-users just slow down if they can't see round the corner (mostly).
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by yakdiver »

a.twiddler wrote: 8 Jun 2023, 9:56am It's true that recumbents are hard to see. I've only seen four on the road in the last three years. The thousands of others that I didn't see must have been invisible. :)
I'm the only one in North Baddesley :D
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pjclinch
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by pjclinch »

Cowsham wrote: 8 Jun 2023, 10:52am
pjclinch wrote: 8 Jun 2023, 8:01am
Cowsham wrote: 7 Jun 2023, 11:22pm It occurs to me that if the lane is only one car wide and twisty then it would be very dangerous especially meeting an oncoming vehicle on a bend. Nowhere to go so even if the two vehicles were creeping along the chances of a collision is high.
That's a lot or rural single track for you.
Yes where I come from that's a farm lane and usually private so we don't see that type of "road" yous boys have. Been on a few over there and it's scary. Are they all one way or can you meet someone walking or cycling head on in a bind bend with high banks / hedges?
Hardly any are one-way IME. If it's the only way to get to a not-that-well-travelled place like the head of a glen or a farm in the middle of nowhere then if you don't have it two-way you can't get out again...

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Tangled Metal
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Re: Recumbent safety

Post by Tangled Metal »

If not two way then what a good trap for Emmetts! Just a little sign pointing to teashop or ice-creams or similar and they'll never get out!

Or just a sign to Porthemmett.
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