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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 19:52 
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Big Tone wrote:
It's not often I get stuck for words :whome: but they floored me with that one.
Make of it what you will but I’m still gobsmacked and don’t know what to think. (We need a fainting on the floor backwards smilie). :wink:


In the light of what Maria and Tracy said, look at the sixth bullet point in the quote in my OP and then look me in the eye and tell me you agree with those who say it is a load of useless cack.

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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 20:38 
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dcbwhaley wrote:
Big Tone wrote:
It's not often I get stuck for words :whome: but they floored me with that one.
Make of it what you will but I’m still gobsmacked and don’t know what to think. (We need a fainting on the floor backwards smilie). :wink:

In the light of what Maria and Tracy said, look at the sixth bullet point in the quote in my OP and then look me in the eye and tell me you agree with those who say it is a load of useless cack.

Well I can only e-look with my big blue eyes but yes, I agree with you 100% on "* Include a "cycle awareness" section in the driving theory and practical tests"

Can you not make me look for bullet points in future please Dave :wink:

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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:54 
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As for the "more cyclists" argument, there are bloody loads of them in London, nipping through red lights, cycling on the pavement and going the wrong way up one-way streets. How is exposure to even more of this lawlessness going to improve the wider perception of cycling?

Ever heard the one about removing the plank from one's own eye before looking for the speck in others'?

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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 12:39 
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A cycle awareness section is no good unless all cyclists stick to the same rules of the road.

Marla and Tracy have hit the nail on the head - you never know what they are going to do!

Even I am often at a loss as to how to communicate to another road user what my intentions are when there is no procedure laid down.

e.g. peddling up a steep hill on a cycle path, when a vehicle appears at an exit (driveway from a small industrial estate).
I am on their left, and to their right is a brow of the hill, from which vehicles appear quite quickly.

How do I indicate that I am not going to get there fast, and that they should look out for themselves, because the worse that can happen for me is that I will have to drop back to 2mph instead of 4mph?

I have tried waving them out - only to have them think I was waving them back in out of the way... then having to wait for me to get there and pass in front! :doh:

I now resort to trying to tuck back in out of their view, so that they can concentrate on the real hazard - the vehicles approaching over the brow on their right! I then extend a hand, palm upwards in a sort of "after you" gesture!

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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 09:18 
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Ernest Marsh wrote:
Marla and Tracy have hit the nail on the head - you never know what they are going to do!

Even I am often at a loss as to how to communicate to another road user what my intentions are when there is no procedure laid down.

e.g. peddling up a steep hill on a cycle path, when a vehicle appears at an exit (driveway from a small industrial estate).
I am on their left, and to their right is a brow of the hill, from which vehicles appear quite quickly.

How do I indicate that I am not going to get there fast, and that they should look out for themselves, because the worse that can happen for me is that I will have to drop back to 2mph instead of 4mph?

I have tried waving them out - only to have them think I was waving them back in out of the way... then having to wait for me to get there and pass in front! :doh:

I now resort to trying to tuck back in out of their view, so that they can concentrate on the real hazard - the vehicles approaching over the brow on their right! I then extend a hand, palm upwards in a sort of "after you" gesture!


tbh i think the worst thing to do in (almost) any situation is to be anything other than consistent & predictable, changing speed or road position if not observed / interpretted in the same way as you mean it only serves to increase the uncertainty.


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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 09:27 
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Yes, a very interesting point about consistent and predictable actions.

Just from general observation, most car drivers do just this. Whether it's a product of (modest) training or experience on the road, the vast majority obey certain norms of behaviour. I'm sure we all come across someone who drives "out of sync" with you from time to time but most drivers are fairly predictable.

My experience of cyclists is the reverse. You have to be ultra cautious as there seem to be no general standards which most adopt on the road. Is the average cyclist less trained and experienced than a driver?

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 Post subject: Re: Save our cyclists
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 18:31 
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Th problem is there seems to be a spectrum of riding styles which correspond to the type of cyclist (a bit like drivers really). The old bloke cycling to the papershop will cycle slowly and very close to the kerb, the serious type will adopt some kind of position in the middle of the lane/road as prescribed by something he's read, and probably be going a lot faster.

As with cars, I find a look at the cyclist is a good clue as to how they're going to act/react.


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