Cycling UK Forum

Reading some of the topics it occurred to me that cyclists use a whole host of senses to stay safe.

Apart from sight and sound what special things do we do??

For instance I always look at the driver of a car at junction and see if they are concentrating?? Are they talking to passengers?? Looking other way?? Old?? young??? Smoking??? Anything that may make me feel they ahve not seen me??

Type of car?? BMW's used to frighten me but not as much as these Colin McCrae clones in Subaru Imprezzas!!!

Come on lets pass on some life saving knowledge.

Fat blokes in vests and sideburns in a clapped out Merc, very dangerous!!!!

Pilot,
You may do more than just look at the driver.
It is likely that you give him a thorough "eyeballing"
and if you don't get eyeball back then you take even more care. When the eyes have met then you know you are safe with that driver..... human body language.
That's one!

gar

Are we talking about spotting the merely inept, or the git who's likely to run you down simply for being on the road? If the latter then anything with ladders on the roof. The former - everyone else!

What an imaginative window cleaner
and him doing a job like that!

g

Gar

you are right.

only by getting a reaction do you know that you are in a safer position.

I hate these folk who drive up to a junction looking straight ahead. You just don't Know?

getting back to staying safe.

Those small wheel refectors really do stand out in headlights when you are cycling across them re- junctions. It's often a blind spot we overlook. good lights front and back, but what about side view?

I find roundabouts worrying and therefore try to make eye contact with the drivers to the right wherever possible on approaching a roundabout.

I hate these folk who drive up to a junction looking straight ahead. You just don't Know?

Pilot,
Those are the kind of people I was refering to as white sleepers, and somebody else described
accurately as "semi-conscious"
They do NOT see you and are to be treated with extreme caution as very unreliable drivers indeed.
If they will NOT eyeball then they are contemptuous of cyclists as such and there is something wrong with their vision; types who are such "good" drivers that they can do it with their eyes shut.... mentally defective.

A cyclist HAS to seek trust with other road users
from time to time and eyeballing is the human nature way of doing it.

gar

Bricycle,
I gave up trying to use roundabouts as a way of getting from point a to point b on a road.
I always use the sidewalk or pedestrian facilities and often find to my suprise that they have been designated as pavement permissive. Even if I want to go straight ahead I then cross the path of traffic (coming from behind me) at right angles,
which again allows very effective eye contact
indeed with them. They will frequently stop
or slow down considerably whereas they would carry on blythely otherwise.

Miniroundabouts which you know well,would be the ones you are using I guess, and then they have to see your arm/hand signals too.
I am quite generous with my hand signals in such circumstances, to promote eye contact and good humour in the driver from the right.

regards,
g

I find mini-roundabouts frequently frightening, especially those which were once T-junctions. Drivers crossing the top of the T in either direction still treat it as a T, not giving way when required to to either cyclists or other drivers.

Although i think i may have started the 'hate situations' in a tongue in check way.

I was hoping some practical points to help others on the road.

e.g. eyeballing, making contact with your nearest driver does reduce the risk ofbeing hit.

Thanks keep it up.

Be assertive not passive and you are more likely to be noticed.

gerry says "frightening" and nick says "assertive"
I agree with Pilot that the cyclist's psychology is very interesting.

I presume that "frightening" means not knowing it is going to be frightening until it is! Unless you are a teeny horror fan you are not going to look for fear for pleasure or even going to work purposes, and even then u have gpot cycle discipline to remember.

I know what nick means by "assertive".... when he has to be.

If it is not knowing the road in both cases then fear and assertion are essential parts of a cyclist's baggage.

If it is fear and assertion on a familiar road then avoiding action should have been considered before the ride/journey.

Ok so there is one dangerous part on the whole of a beautiful journey! They have to live through the fear or assertion every day! What do they do?!!Break the law and ride on the sidewalk until the fearful bit is gone? Yeah!

g

Look for :- Drivers wearing base-ball caps or Large British Legion Poppy stickers in the car window or drivers using mobile phones or ladies doing the school run, any of these are likely to run you down. Also be on your guard when there are Local Authority vehicles around, I find that drivers of Local Authority vehicles are amongst the most dangerous of all.

The cold hard fact of the matter under discussion here is that you take your life in your hands these days whenever you have the temerity to venture out onto our wonderful road system on a bicycle !! By far the majority of drivers either regard cyclists as a nuisance and inconvenience that simply should'nt be there or, worse still, ( and this applies mainly to so called 'professional' drivers ) as someone whose safety can be deliberately endangered by their actions. We all know some of their little 'tricks' - who hasn't been treated to the old classic of 'white van man' or similarturning left right in front of you when the driver obviously KNOWS you are there ???!!!

The only drivers who have the slightest regard for cyclists are those who cycle themselves. Driving standards in general have deteriorated over the years to what I consider to be an all time low.
Stand at any traffic light junction and count the number of drivers blatantly crossing on red long after the change - you'd be surprised. The sad thing is that the police seem to take far less interest in routine traffic infringements than they should and if its a cyclist who has had his/her safety threatened by the actions of some of these people then they seem even LESS interested. Its about time the government launched a tv ad campaign to highlight the problems experienced by cyclists. Maybe the cycling organisations should start a pressure group for just such a campaign.
Meanwhile, wear a helmet and pray before you leave home !!!!

saw an axxxhole on a bike the other day with a mobile phone to her ear and a water bottle in the other hardly in control ? its not just the car drivers who need a telling