Close Pass of the Day .....

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
awavey
Posts: 300
Joined: 25 Jul 2016, 12:04am

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by awavey »

DaveReading wrote: 13 Aug 2022, 7:52pm
awavey wrote: 13 Aug 2022, 1:33pm
DaveReading wrote: 11 Aug 2022, 4:18pm
What's your evidence for that?
mine would be Id always expect driver to pause before an overtake in that situation to correctly judge the speed of the cyclist, but Ive never encountered any driver pausing in those situations, even when Ive been going down a hill hitting the speed limit, driver still overtakes. and Ive never met a driver who has ever said they only overtake if the cyclist is going less than 10mph, or who recognised that was even part of it, you speak to them, theyll swear blind they can overtake slow moving traffic, cyclists are slow, ergo they overtake.

YMMV though, so whats your evidence they do ? :D
Well I do, for a start, so that's enough to invalidate your "not a single driver" guarantee.

I'd be happy to agree that some drivers probably don't, though.
interesting, well if you say its so, I can argue against that can I, so 99.9% of drivers then... :wink:
DaveReading
Posts: 746
Joined: 24 Feb 2019, 5:37pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by DaveReading »

awavey wrote: 16 Aug 2022, 8:14pm
DaveReading wrote: 13 Aug 2022, 7:52pm
awavey wrote: 13 Aug 2022, 1:33pm

mine would be Id always expect driver to pause before an overtake in that situation to correctly judge the speed of the cyclist, but Ive never encountered any driver pausing in those situations, even when Ive been going down a hill hitting the speed limit, driver still overtakes. and Ive never met a driver who has ever said they only overtake if the cyclist is going less than 10mph, or who recognised that was even part of it, you speak to them, theyll swear blind they can overtake slow moving traffic, cyclists are slow, ergo they overtake.

YMMV though, so whats your evidence they do ? :D
Well I do, for a start, so that's enough to invalidate your "not a single driver" guarantee.

I'd be happy to agree that some drivers probably don't, though.
interesting, well if you say its so, I can argue against that can I, so 99.9% of drivers then... :wink:
Fair enough, I'm happy to accept that all the ones you have interviewed to ascertain their thought processes when overtaking are valid examples. :?
ChrisP100
Posts: 298
Joined: 24 Sep 2020, 9:00am

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by ChrisP100 »

I hadn't realised it was 'Idiot Week' on the roads; I must have missed the posters.

3 close passes this morning, one very close and almost certainly deliberate. Also a classic MGIF at a roundabout.

The driver at the roundabout cut me up 15yds from the roundabout then blocked the road because he couldn't squeeze past the 40ft truck waiting to turn right. I sarcastically thanked them for being so considerate and ended up with a foul-mouthed 45 second diatribe of anti cycling bingo (road tax, blah, insurance, blah, riding in the middle of the road, blah, running red lights, blah (I don't). The idiot then tried to brake check me on the roundabout while he was still ranting.

Oh well...
roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5815
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by roubaixtuesday »

ChrisP100 wrote: 22 Aug 2022, 2:15pm I hadn't realised it was 'Idiot Week' on the roads; I must have missed the posters.

3 close passes this morning, one very close and almost certainly deliberate. Also a classic MGIF at a roundabout.

The driver at the roundabout cut me up 15yds from the roundabout then blocked the road because he couldn't squeeze past the 40ft truck waiting to turn right. I sarcastically thanked them for being so considerate and ended up with a foul-mouthed 45 second diatribe of anti cycling bingo (road tax, blah, insurance, blah, riding in the middle of the road, blah, running red lights, blah (I don't). The idiot then tried to brake check me on the roundabout while he was still ranting.

Oh well...
I got an astonishing number of close passes yesterday, about half a dozen which scared me enough to involuntarily shout in reaction. Including several on roads entirely empty of oncoming traffic, and one unbelievably close to me in a cycle "lane" (one of those dashed lines in the gutter jobs).

No idea what's going on out there, but motorists seemed to have taken a collective day off paying any attention whatever.

Never experienced anything like it.
bluespeeder
Posts: 101
Joined: 9 Nov 2021, 3:40pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by bluespeeder »

The last few days seem to have been far worse than normal, thank you Schapps. It can be difficult to tell if it is ignorance or malice but I've been on the gravel at the edge of the road twice in the last couple of days. Things did seem to be improving once the dust had settled on the HC changes which seemed to annoy that small subset of motorists overcome by outrage and fury that they dont always have right of way. I wonder whether Schapps and Sunak have stirred the pot again with their recent pro motorist agenda.
ChrisP100
Posts: 298
Joined: 24 Sep 2020, 9:00am

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by ChrisP100 »

bluespeeder wrote: 22 Aug 2022, 2:55pm The last few days seem to have been far worse than normal, thank you Schapps. It can be difficult to tell if it is ignorance or malice but I've been on the gravel at the edge of the road twice in the last couple of days. Things did seem to be improving once the dust had settled on the HC changes which seemed to annoy that small subset of motorists overcome by outrage and fury that they dont always have right of way. I wonder whether Schapps and Sunak have stirred the pot again with their recent pro motorist agenda.
roubaixtuesday wrote: 22 Aug 2022, 2:39pm I got an astonishing number of close passes yesterday, about half a dozen which scared me enough to involuntarily shout in reaction. Including several on roads entirely empty of oncoming traffic, and one unbelievably close to me in a cycle "lane" (one of those dashed lines in the gutter jobs).

No idea what's going on out there, but motorists seemed to have taken a collective day off paying any attention whatever.

Never experienced anything like it.
I think it must be fallout from the Ill informed Schapps comments. There has been a lot of anti-cycling rhetoric off the back of those comments stirred up by the press in recent days, and it really hasn't been helpful at all. People are going to get injured or worse as a result.
cycle tramp
Posts: 3532
Joined: 5 Aug 2009, 7:22pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by cycle tramp »

...I'm still living in hobbiton. So far everyone's been polite (is it my size? Or my beard? Is it my lack of lyrca?)
However on a shared cycle/walkway path I stopped a pulled onto a verge and let a dog walker go by.... and got nothing.. no thank you or good morning or anything... and later I pulled in again to let a jogger..er.. jog by and again no thank you or good morning...
..whilst I'd love to blame anyone in government for this sudden change in mood... I think it's something else. Right now people are under more financial pressure than ever, and unlike covid, there seems to be no light or ending to this current situation.. and people under financial pressure never play well with others... so they're taking out their frustrations on any target...
..especially those people who still seem to be having more fun (and doing it more cheaply, while having more fun) than they are.
Every bad reaction I've had on the road, and will have in the future, isn't because I'm using a different set of rules to use the road, than they are - That's just the excuse. It's simply because I'm having alot more fun... ..and that's what they hate. Strangely that's even what they love to hate......People having more fun, squeezing more out of life, than they have given their own selves permission to do...
Motorhead: god was never on your sidehttps://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=m ... +your+side
roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5815
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by roubaixtuesday »

ChrisP100 wrote: 22 Aug 2022, 3:03pm
bluespeeder wrote: 22 Aug 2022, 2:55pm The last few days seem to have been far worse than normal, thank you Schapps. It can be difficult to tell if it is ignorance or malice but I've been on the gravel at the edge of the road twice in the last couple of days. Things did seem to be improving once the dust had settled on the HC changes which seemed to annoy that small subset of motorists overcome by outrage and fury that they dont always have right of way. I wonder whether Schapps and Sunak have stirred the pot again with their recent pro motorist agenda.
roubaixtuesday wrote: 22 Aug 2022, 2:39pm I got an astonishing number of close passes yesterday, about half a dozen which scared me enough to involuntarily shout in reaction. Including several on roads entirely empty of oncoming traffic, and one unbelievably close to me in a cycle "lane" (one of those dashed lines in the gutter jobs).

No idea what's going on out there, but motorists seemed to have taken a collective day off paying any attention whatever.

Never experienced anything like it.
I think it must be fallout from the Ill informed Schapps comments. There has been a lot of anti-cycling rhetoric off the back of those comments stirred up by the press in recent days, and it really hasn't been helpful at all. People are going to get injured or worse as a result.
Dunno. I've experienced some very unpleasant deliberate intimation in the past, accompanied by abuse, horns etc but yesterday's just seemed oblivious. I've no explanation.
ChrisP100
Posts: 298
Joined: 24 Sep 2020, 9:00am

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by ChrisP100 »

Ran a camera for the first time ever on this mornings commute.

I've been sporting a Pass-pixi on my pannier bag for a few months now, and that has certainly deterred all but the most determined of idiots. But, after Mondays displays of atrocious driving I thought it was time to try a camera.

I used an old (4/5 years) GoPro Hero 4. The video quality is awesome. I just had one close pass this morning. Everyone else behaved impeccably, although that wasn't down to the camera as it was bar mounted and drivers wouldn't have seen it until they passed me.

Let's see what it picks up on the way home...
ChrisP100
Posts: 298
Joined: 24 Sep 2020, 9:00am

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by ChrisP100 »

ChrisP100 wrote: 24 Aug 2022, 9:26am Ran a camera for the first time ever on this mornings commute.

I've been sporting a Pass-pixi on my pannier bag for a few months now, and that has certainly deterred all but the most determined of idiots. But, after Mondays displays of atrocious driving I thought it was time to try a camera.

I used an old (4/5 years) GoPro Hero 4. The video quality is awesome. I just had one close pass this morning. Everyone else behaved impeccably, although that wasn't down to the camera as it was bar mounted and drivers wouldn't have seen it until they passed me.

Let's see what it picks up on the way home...
Watched yesterdays video back last night and I hadn't realised that the close pass driver had potentially gone through a red light, and most definitely a late amber.

About 6 seconds before the incident there was a cyclist waiting to cross at a pedestrian operated crossing who had just pressed the button. The lights changed to amber as I was right in top of the crossing, and then approximately 5 seconds later I was close passed at speed (30mph zone).

Amber to red is approximately 4 to 6 seconds, and there is no way that driver couldn't have stopped safely at the crossing.

Anyway, I've submitted the video to the police, so we'll see what comes back.
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Cowsham
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Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by Cowsham »

Not so much of a close pass as a very close shave.

On my way to work this morning on a dark country road but approaching the town where I work so traffic starting to get slightly busier. Still pitch dark so had my cateye 400 on full gizzy.

A big Jeep appears to slow down to stop at a T junction I'm approaching on my side of the road. There's an oncoming car on the road and we are all approaching the junction at the same time.

But the Jeep driver doesn't stop and just drives on out. I pulled on the brakes -- bike does a bit of a slide with rear stepping out to the left leaving the front of the bike pointing towards the oncoming car me along side the Jeep drivers side window and now shouting at the driver, my headlight lighting up his stupid face but he still drives on!

When the Jeep had just missed me cos of my avoiding action I thought that was close until the 4 wheeled trailer he was towing just brushed my trouser leg!

He drove on but giving me a flash of the indicators while the oncoming driver seeing the whole incident was tooting his horn -- in some way think he was checking I was OK.

The Jeep driver pulled in at what seemed to be his farm / workplace or whatever a few hundred yards on down the road -- I stopped with him to let him know what he'd just done and how I'd managed to avoid a terrible incident.

He admitted he hadn't seen me -- I said " so you didn't see this beam of light shining at the side of your face ?" Pointing to my still lit cateye " and me in full high vis ?"

I told him "you didn't look to your right at all " and he again admitted he didn't look right before exiting the junction -- then I told him about the trailer wheels brushing my leg. I think he got the picture -- he seemed contrite and apologetic but I said " why didn't you stop to check if I was OK?" He had no answer only to say he was completely in the wrong there and completely to blame.

I told him we were both very lucky boys cos it could've been a life changing event for both of us. ie one of my sons would've taken care of him, but not in a Florence Nightingale kind of way. ( I'd have needed Florence for a while
I am here. Where are you?
maximus meridius
Posts: 791
Joined: 14 Feb 2023, 10:55pm

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by maximus meridius »

ChrisP100 wrote: 25 Aug 2022, 8:41am I've been sporting a Pass-pixi on my pannier bag for a few months now, and that has certainly deterred all but the most determined of idiots. But, after Mondays displays of atrocious driving I thought it was time to try a camera.
Which Pass-pixi do you use please?

I would like to attach one to my Carradice bike bureau, which is their usual cotton duck material:
https://carradice.co.uk/shop/panniers/b ... cba1185463

Thanks.
PM999
Posts: 102
Joined: 6 Sep 2016, 11:56am

Re: Close Pass of the Day .....

Post by PM999 »

'Tis the season for year end retrospectives and all that kind of stuff. As my candidate for "close pass of the year" step forward & take a bow Nissan Micra NL15 DZY. Of necessity, soundtrack redacted. (We were both a teeny bit sweary).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i6fQX8 ... p=drivesdk

The police put it forward for further action, I have no idea of the outcome.
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