B********* parents

[thirdcrank]

IMO much of this could be avoided by people looking to their own responsibilities, rather than what they see as the duties of others.

I've witnessed an example this morning, when a horse was being spooked by passing traffic while waiting to emerge from a side road. (0800 Sunday morning) The horse was wheeling around (if that the correct expression) and the rider was doing an excellent job of keeping it under control while waiting for an opportunity to ride on. FWIW, the rider was fully togged up in hi-viz, helmet etc

The driver of one truck thundered by with no obvious thought for the horse and its rider. It struck me as odd because this was a horse box. If anybody was going to show consideration to the horse and its rider, you might think it would be the driver of the horse box, but I presume the rule that guides their conduct is the one advising other road users to be considerate to them

[DropperPost]

I'll hold my hands up to being wise after the event here, but the video shows the OP accelerating to an inappropriate speed during that short stretch of narrow road. Given the narrow width, the proximity to front doors/parked cars and the lack of vision around the bend, that's a stretch of road where you ought to be cautious. If you arrive at a stretch of road like that at speed you would, at the very least, want to take your foot off the accelerator and be ready on the brake. If, like the OP, you're pulling away from a standstill, it's simply bad driving to be accelerating up to anywhere near 30mph until you're past the last house on the left where the round widens and straightens.

I won't pretend that I haven't been guilty of driving just as bad as this, however it's worrying that the OP's response is illegal use of the horn and posting a 'shaming' clip online (showing an identifiable minor.) A more constructive response to an incident like this would be to (a) thank your lucky stars that you're not now under investigation for an accident involving a kid and (b) do a bit of self reflection about whether your style of driving within that setting was antisocial or unsafe. (Hint: it was.)

[Pinhead]

I was a single father of three when their mother walked out, from 12/11 and 9 they all had bikes.

ALWAYS wore helmets, and at that age we cycled at Sherwood Pines and off road in Devon never pavements and roads and when they did come to a road OFF the bike, WALK and cross safe


https://youtu.be/EYW51KNN0Qs

At what age did you start to teach them how to cope with motor traffic?

I ws teaching MY sons from the age when they were old enough to walk with me unaided, say 2 on

[Carlton green]

I blame the council for making the pavement so narrow.

Hey mate, can you just chop the corner off your house?

I’ve been thinking of that corner and the very narrow pavement - I doubt that it’s wide enough for a pram or mobility scooter. To my mind one way forward would be to narrow the road there - away from the house - to a single track with one direction having right of way.

[Mike Sales]

I was a single father of three when their mother walked out, from 12/11 and 9 they all had bikes.

ALWAYS wore helmets, and at that age we cycled at Sherwood Pines and off road in Devon never pavements and roads and when they did come to a road OFF the bike, WALK and cross safe


https://youtu.be/EYW51KNN0Qs

At what age did you start to teach them how to cope with motor traffic?

I ws teaching MY sons from the age when they were old enough to walk with me unaided, say 2 on

I am sorry, but I understood from your words that when the boys were approaching teen years they still had to get off and walk if there was any chance of motor traffic. Did they actually ride on the road at those ages?
I don't doubt that you were a much more responsible teacher than the parents of the boys you write about.

[cycle tramp]

https://youtu.be/EYW51KNN0Qs

So having watched the video a couple of times, your reaction time is about 1 to 2 seconds slower than what it should be - the kid comes into view just after the man is standing on the pavement... at which point you appear to be still accelerating...

..indeed the man standing on the pavement should have been your first indicator to check your speed (foot off the gas, feet covering clutch and brake) as his presence on the pavement blocked your view from anyone else using the pavement. And that's an issue because anyone else would have had to step out in the road to get around them... After all, if you ain't seen them, there's a strong possibly of them not seeing you..

The other thing which appeared not to happen, is that despite no on coming traffic, there appears to be no change in your vehicle's road position. At no point could I tell if there was any attempt to move your vehicle to the right when approaching the guy on the pavement, that in itself would have given everyone a little bit more space and reduce the chances of a possible collision...

... I'm not sure why you failed to recognise the potential hazard, and slowed before the bike rolled from the pavement onto the road, because there was an additional risk that the child could have simply fallen from his bike in front of you, if they had slammed their brakes on too hard, whilst still riding on the pavement..

As it was, you appear to have failed to recognise the risk present, and only slowed when the potential hazard actually became an actual hazard, after which you reacted badly, rather than coming away thinking 'if that happens again, what could I do differently ?'

Personally, I'd take down the YouTube video and just be thankful you didn't collide with them.

[Carlton green]

https://youtu.be/EYW51KNN0Qs

Personally, I'd take down the YouTube video and just be thankful you didn't collide with them.

Of course the folk here are a straw poll and certainly not one that’s pro motoring, that possible bias aside we pretty much all drive too and the consensus is clearly not supporting the OP’s stance. Best to take the video down? I’d have said so too and the sooner the better (‘cause stuff can have unintended consequences).

[Vorpal]

Why is this B********* parents? And not B********* council for not providing safe infrastructure? At the very least, it should have 20 mph speed limits and traffic & speed reduction measures.

That besides the point, this is a residential area with poor sightlines. The likelihood of hazards of this sort is high.

[Pebble]

Its a brave man or indeed woman that uploads a video to a cycling forum of their driving for all to comment on...

if anyone wishes - choose a minute of my driving from my last trip out - who knows it could be very embarrassing


or indeed choose a minute of my cycling from 13:05 to 20:50 and I will upload that vid, warts and all. (if it is a non cycling moment I will use the next minute of riding)
51 mile of glorious edinburgh to choose from

[Nearholmer]

Maybe we’ve been a bit hard on the way the OP reacted too. It’s not exactly unknown for a person to ‘blow their top’ when they’ve had a bit of a scare, I’ve certainly done it on odd occassions …… it’s a stress reaction, and we’re all human.

[thirdcrank]

There's a choice between reflecting on what we might have done better and ranting about the perceived shortcomings of others imo

[PH]

I’ve certainly done it on odd occassions …… it’s a stress reaction, and we’re all human.

Likewise, though such reactions usually subside before I go uploading to Youtube and starting righteous threads on a forum.

[Nearholmer]

Yes, well, I will say that if I’d blown it a bit in these circumstances, I almost certainly wouldn’t have prolonged the blow on social media.

[slowster]

OP, I suggest you sign up for some advanced driving lessons. You need to improve your ability to recognise and anticipate road hazards, and your ability to assess those hazards and drive according to the conditions.

[Tangled Metal]

Can I just say that a good way to improve one's hazard awareness is a commentary of your drive highlighting hazards you see. Kind of like police commentary when in a chase. I did that as part of an advanced driving course and it is amazing to find out how much you miss compared to what an experienced person in this spots. My first drive out on that course was with a guy who's day job was training police in High speed pursuit. He took over the commentary and the driving at one point and he saw a lot I didn't.

To the OP I would certainly recommend giving a commentary a go. Perhaps if you've got a passenger who drives they could point out if you miss anything. Knowing and recognising a hazard is the first part needed to drive safely. If you see it you'll likely drive appropriate to the hazard.