Run in with a twerp

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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incidentman
Posts: 19
Joined: 15 Jun 2012, 3:40pm

Run in with a twerp

Post by incidentman »

Just riding along a residential road. Road is 30mph speed limit, quiet - a car perhaps every three or four minutes, no particular speeding problem.

At the end of the road (distance of 355 feet) from where I entered is a T-junction meeting a main A-road, also 30mph speed limit but constant traffic. Just before that is a cul-de-sac, also on the right (so about 340 feet, say).

When I was probably around 300 feet from the junction I heard a car behind me. I was riding on the right of the lane (just to the left of the centre line), since I wanted to turn right at the junction.

I didn't expect the car to overtake in this situation given my road positioning,the distance to the junction, and our relative speeds but it did. It appeared initially that he would turn from the wrong side of the road, however he decided it was a bad idea and cut back in. I was braking and stopped at the side of his car. No impact as such, but I think I brushed it with panniers or possibly pedal not sure.

He stopped his car (black Mercedes SLK, an older one I'd say, but not really sure) got out, and started blathering about how I'd gone into his car. Tried to grab me but obviously the SLK is a hairdresser's car and so he wasn't terribly intimidating.

He said 'you went into my car' and 'you stop, you've scratched my car' and 'I'm going to call the police'. I said 'you do that', and made to leave. He then said 'I'm taking a picture of you on my mobile phone, I've got a picture of you', as I was leaving, but not sure if he actually did. Also 'I'm going to call the police'.

I had somewhere to go, otherwise I guess I would have stopped to tell him about how awful his driving iis. Should have said something like 'And I'm going to report you to the police for careless driving, overtaking next to a junction, and cutting me up.' Most probably he's gone away thinking 'bloody cyclists, law unto themselves', which is a bit of a pity.

Don't know if he did acquire a hairline scratch on his car (wouldnt have been more than that), I guess in actual fact the car was unscathed, but who knows, I didn't want to stop for a 10 minute confrontation, and it was absolutely no business of mine - my bike wasn't damaged, neither was I, and if he's going to cut me up that's his problem.

Would be surprised if he did anything about it, especially as there's probably no damage at all and no name, address or phone number. If I'd taken his number plate I might report him myself, but I didn't.
Tonyf33
Posts: 3926
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 3:31pm
Location: Letchworth N.Herts

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by Tonyf33 »

Bit confused but you actually said you were 300 feet FROM the junction, if correct then at around 95metres you positioned to the right of the lane far too early given that you already knew that traffic was very light for that road. Still doesn't excuse the idiotic attitude of the driver.
However if you meant you were 55 feet FROM the junction (As in 300 feet along the residential road) then yes the driver was a berk and you had the legal right of way in any case. If he reports you then without independant witnesses the police cannot take his version of events over yours anyway so I wouldn't worry one iota (likewise when police say the same to cyclists all the time)
It happens all the time, next time just ring the police yourself and state that a car deliberately veered into your path forcing you to brake violently to a halt, the driver intimidated you and threatened to assault you.
that'll get 99% of numpties on their way :D
Last edited by Tonyf33 on 15 Jun 2012, 6:37pm, edited 1 time in total.
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meic
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Joined: 1 Feb 2007, 9:37pm
Location: Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen)

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by meic »

I always find that a motorists' acceptable distance from the junction for a cyclist to move to the right side of the road is HALF that at which the motorist claims you pulled out too late and they were already committed to overtaking you.
Unless you pull out early enough to inconvenience them then you are pulling out too late for them to react in time and they MUST overtake despite your arm signal and road position.
Yma o Hyd
incidentman
Posts: 19
Joined: 15 Jun 2012, 3:40pm

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by incidentman »

Yes I was about 300 feet from the junction when I heard him behind me, and I always ride primary along here. I don't think that's too early at all. The time for me to reach the end of the road from the point I enter it is less than the typical wait to find a gap in the traffic at the junction. If I ride in the gutter I wind up waiting for the car who has just overtaken me to turn himself. Don't see why I should, his journey is not more important than mine.

There's really no reason why you shouldn't be right over at the centre-line when preparing to turn right. And it's better to move over when there's no approaching car than when there is one.

I had a car driver get annoyed about assertiveness a couple of weeks ago.

I was cycling along, free flowing in my direction, stationary traffic the other way, I saw a car behind me start to try and pass but backed off because of the cars queueing the other way. Saw this indicator of impatience so moved over towards the middle. Road was then downhill so I got up quite a speed, pretty much the 30mph limit, turned off he followed, then moved steadily over to the left and allowed him to pass on the minor road. For some reason he beeped his horn as he passed. Not really sure why, I guess he objected to me dictating to him, rather than allowing him to pass me dangerously.
hexhome
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Joined: 1 Oct 2010, 10:33am
Location: Hexham, Northumberland

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by hexhome »

300 feet is about 20 - 30 seconds on a bicycle and half that in a car. Seems a reasonable distance to take position to me. Thing of it in terms of the 100 metre mark for a motorway exit.
hexhome
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Joined: 1 Oct 2010, 10:33am
Location: Hexham, Northumberland

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by hexhome »

incidentman wrote:For some reason he beeped his horn as he passed.


Could he be thanking you for moving over?
incidentman
Posts: 19
Joined: 15 Jun 2012, 3:40pm

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by incidentman »

hexhome wrote:
incidentman wrote:For some reason he beeped his horn as he passed.


Could he be thanking you for moving over?


No, it was more of a blast than a toot.
Tonyf33
Posts: 3926
Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 3:31pm
Location: Letchworth N.Herts

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by Tonyf33 »

hexhome wrote:300 feet is about 20 - 30 seconds on a bicycle and half that in a car. Seems a reasonable distance to take position to me. Thing of it in terms of the 100 metre mark for a motorway exit.

Sorry but I disagree, the OP says a car every 3 minutes and admits it is a quiet road there is absolutely no need to take up the whole of the lane so early and is nothing like a motor vehicle approaching a 100 metre marker on a motorway.
Even at a conservative 60mph nearing your exit you would be covering 100m in approx 3.75 seconds, at say 15mph for an average cyclist that is 15 seconds, four times longer.

To trundle up a road at that kind of speed and for that length of time/distance is totally unecessary, If the road were really busy then yes you would get in the flow of traffic and hold your line until the junction, but in this case it wasn't. There was a solitary vehicle, and whilst the actions of said driver as I said were out of order, effectively blocking the lane will rile a driver up every time.
That's where I stand, the OP was in the wrong in the first instance on this occasion in my opinion.
incidentman
Posts: 19
Joined: 15 Jun 2012, 3:40pm

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by incidentman »

Tonyf33 wrote:
hexhome wrote:300 feet is about 20 - 30 seconds on a bicycle and half that in a car. Seems a reasonable distance to take position to me. Thing of it in terms of the 100 metre mark for a motorway exit.

Sorry but I disagree, the OP says a car every 3 minutes and admits it is a quiet road there is absolutely no need to take up the whole of the lane so early and is nothing like a motor vehicle approaching a 100 metre marker on a motorway.
Even at a conservative 60mph nearing your exit you would be covering 100m in approx 3.75 seconds, at say 15mph for an average cyclist that is 15 seconds, four times longer.

To trundle up a road at that kind of speed and for that length of time/distance is totally unecessary, If the road were really busy then yes you would get in the flow of traffic and hold your line until the junction, but in this case it wasn't. There was a solitary vehicle, and whilst the actions of said driver as I said were out of order, effectively blocking the lane will rile a driver up every time.
That's where I stand, the OP was in the wrong in the first instance on this occasion in my opinion.


I don't see why the driver should be riled, we are talking about 100 metres here to the end of the road, not 3 miles down a narrow country lane.

I take the lane (which isn't actually a lane I should add) because I don't want to be held up when I'm turning right.

Here's the road:

Image
bluemint
Posts: 19
Joined: 27 Jan 2012, 10:46am

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by bluemint »

i don't think you did anything wrong, he sounds just like an impatient prat. You know the road so know what is best practice, I have a section on my regular route where I take the lane from about a similar distance out into slight traffic. It never seems to bother anyone but then I can get a good speed up most days with a slight downhill, going around the speed bumps and a favourable wind.

Most people would take into account that there would most likely be a wait at the junction so there would be little advantage, never mind the danger aspect.
aprildavy
Posts: 247
Joined: 3 May 2010, 11:48am

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by aprildavy »

300 feet is about 20 - 30 seconds on a bicycle


In fact 100 metres at 30kph, or 18.75 mph, is only 12 seconds. That is not long at all. I average 17-18 over 25 miles on my occaisional commute in god weather, and reach over 20 comfortably on short stretches of flat roads. I easiy reach 25-30 down inclines, or more.

However, cars will ALWAYS underestimate your speed.

The only advice I can give is to get a mirror. I really believe they are a life saver. It allows you to build up a constant picture of the traffic behind you without looking round and allows you to pick the safest time to move out. Without one, all you can do is assess if it is acceptably safe to move out when you do look around - you may have one already!

At best, without one, all you can do is get a snap shot and I find it hard to believe a quick glance round to see if the road is clear allows you to corectly judge the speed of the traffic behind you. Cars can easily be doing 40 in a 30 zone or more, so if you pull out, they certainly are inconvienced. Of cours, they shouldn't be, but they do!
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danfoto
Posts: 983
Joined: 2 Jun 2009, 2:59pm
Location: East Sussex

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by danfoto »

What a delight it is to see somebody use the word "twerp".

I thought it was extinct.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
binsted
Posts: 329
Joined: 6 Jun 2012, 1:13pm

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by binsted »

[quote="incidentman"][/quote]

:) Sorry, I just couldn't help smiling reading the post and seeing your posting name, bit of a theme here? :)
DougieB
Posts: 626
Joined: 23 Nov 2008, 6:59pm
Location: Barcelona

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by DougieB »

binsted wrote:
incidentman wrote:


:) Sorry, I just couldn't help smiling reading the post and seeing your posting name, bit of a theme here? :)


possibly related to : "I take the lane (which isn't actually a lane I should add) because I don't want to be held up when I'm turning right."
Deako
Posts: 35
Joined: 25 Apr 2010, 9:35am

Re: Run in with a twerp

Post by Deako »

Looking at the picture if I was turning left or right I'd hold the same line, don't think I'd let anyone pass me on that lane. I'd probably nip on to the pavement if a car was behind though.
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