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PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 08:02 
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Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 13:55
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Location: middlish
About the closest miss I've had for a long while.

So last night (well 7:30pm still light) I'm cycling along a nice wide residential road, traffic is light.
For a few seconds I'm aware of a car approaching from behind, closing speed tells me it's about to pass and no reason why it shouldn't.
The next few lines of course take place over barely a few seconds...
It starts passing, a little close perhaps, I note it's a black mini (new), I also notice it's revving a bit higher than i might expect.
I then notice it's indicating left, which seems a little bizarre given it's still in the process of passing me and I hadn't noticed a junction coming up. My front wheel is now about level with the B-pillar and yup it is indeed turning left.
Fortunately I'm not travelling with a great deal of speed but still need to brake fairly sharply and manage to manouvre round the back as it (sorry, she) makes the turn.

Now for some reason she stops just as she's cleared the road and is peering back at me... as i'm peering curiously at her.
I'm almost tempted to have words but to what effect ? So I cycle on.

All pretty low speed, at worst I'd have had to make the left with her and/or leaned on the side of the car to stay upright, and it would be her nice shiny car that would come off worse in that scenario!

Pretty much nothing I could do to have foreseen or avoided this, the turning was a small, possibly gravel drive leading to a cluster of new houses. I wasn't moving particularly quickly and would have been in sight of this car for several seconds, with rear light on.
I was slightly surprised to find I was completely silent but then the actual useful timeframe for usefully yelling or similar was probably only fractions of a second.
Because I like to think the best of people I'm assuming this was a one off misjudgement or some distraction (the alternatives are a little alarming!) and I'm also assuming that her stopping was acknowledging she'd cocked up so sounding off wouldn't have helped much (although she was quite pretty).

Thoughts welcomed, but other than that do pay attention in future won't you.


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 14:41 
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Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 00:15
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Location: Windermere
Sounds like you need an AirZounds horn!

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I find it very effective in such (thankfully rare for me) occasions.

At a guess she realised what she had done, and half expected you to return to remonstrate?

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 07:47 
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Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 13:55
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Location: middlish
Ernest Marsh wrote:
Sounds like you need an AirZounds horn!


Same problem tho' ..... I wouldn't have had time to sound it !

In most scenarios (driving or cycling...) my theory is that if you've had time to find and sound the horn, you've probably had more than enough time to do something else about whatever impending doom you're sounding it at..... and if the horn is your only option you've probably done something else short sighted a short while ago.


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