Safe Speed Forums

So, people are slowing down to a point where they don;t loose grip or make life uncomfortable for themselves, so how much slower would you like them to go?

When you are on your bike, you are much more aware of noise and how fast other vehicles are going, but it doesn't mean they are going "too fast", however fast that is .


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These posts have been split off from this thread here.

I hear an awful lot of sharp braking behind me, particularly when going round corners or people realise that there's someone else coming the other way and they're not going to make the gap when they pull out to go around me (although sometimes of course people just go for it resulting in a close pass and it only takes something else to happen and there's be a crash).

I also see many on coming round a corner over the middle line attempting to straighten out the corner so they can maintain their speed (see that in the car too of course).

How does one hear "sharp braking", or any any braking, especially from behind?

Are they all skidding? To this day I've never heard such a thing behind me, and I also live and cycle in London (I did an 11-mile bike ride today, in London).


Alternatively, they could be reducing the load on the vehicle for a given travelling speed. Again, you assume too much!

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

The point I’d quickly like to make, maybe in weepej’s favour, is that many drivers do drive too fast for the conditions and without consideration for others.

But in my cycling experiences it’s not the many who make my life miserable or dangerous in my daily commute, as a cyclist, but the very few inconsiderate selfish and stupid drivers – and it’s those few drivers which stick in my mind and which taint my opinion of most drivers.

Would you agree with me there weepej; any wriggle room for us on that point or are the majority of drivers you encounter ‘out to get you’? It may be that you feel they are, so if I may pre-empt your reply, (or one of them if I get one), it could be the City mentality.

You need to leave London and make a life elsewhere bud. If you love cycling so much and value your life, and quality of cycling life, I can't think why you or indeed any avid cyclist would choose to live or work there...



In my defence, I don't know London very well but I know it's big and has lots of cars

Edit: Just saw your post Steve. Looks like there are nice places in/around London to cycle

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I love living and cycling in London. It's cycling in the country that freaks me out.

Like I say, big concrete block round the corner of a country lane seven out of ten people will hit it or fall off the road trying to avoid it.

No not skidding, having to slow very quickly, a very distinctive sound.

And I'm not talking about in London, I'm talking country tracks/lanes, most notably corners.

I did 35 miles in London on my pushbike on Saturday (I generally do about 100 - 200 a week). Again hundreds of cars passed me with no incidents, but I recall three notable ''instances". A near head on with a guy coming the other way who was on my side of the road, very close pass by a guy on his mobile phone at speed (I was doing 25 and he went past me at at least 20 again) and a guy who thought because he couldn't see to his right down the road because there was a car to his right figured there was nothing coming and pulled out pretty quickly; all of which without my wits about me could've led to me being knocked off, and all examples of hurried driving.

There's a lot of hurried driving in the city, but there are some class drivers in London, you've got to be good and have your wits about you to get on and not annoy others.

I don't feel anybody is out to get anybody (although I've had some words with close passers who clearly thought I should be cycling in the gutter), it's just that some of the driving I see is selfish, lazy, over hurried and dangerous. Introduce a slight variable into some of the situations I see on a daily basis and you'd have a crash.

Again though, it only takes one.

You'd better believe it! It's a great place to cycle around, just spoilt by a minority of selfish drivers and riders, all of whom I associate with the "war on the motorist, anti speed limit/camera" brigade.

There's plenty of selfish cycling out there too, but it's highly unlikely I'm going to be killed by them.

I'm glad you're okay weepej - seriously and sincerely!!!

With respect I don't think the use of a mobile phone is an example, or fulfils your criteria, of what you called "all examples" of hurried driving. That's just plain stupid and nothing whatsoever to do with speed.

This typifies, you typify, the 'SPEED IS ALWAYS TO BLAME' culture we have these days IMO.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I see a few instances of just plain bad driving at low speed, but most bad driving/riding I observe comes from hurried driving, which even at low speeds is potentially lethal.

Of course, to me a hurried driver is much more likely to actually be a speeder.

Then you should be able to describe it with ease, so please do so. I would like to know what to listen for.


I used to do 10-20 miles of that a day some years before I moved to London (some of the areas between WestMeon, Rowlands Castle and Petersfield are just lovely, mostly twisty, single track country lanes), all without the rate of incidence that you seem to be plagued with!


Only hundreds of cars pass you (both ways) over hundreds of miles; isn't that of the order of 1 per mile?

... in London?


How did you evade someone coming from behind when you were on your bike? Don't answer here as it is way off topic. By all means respond within the cycling forum; I am most curious to know what tricks you employ in these specific situations.

Perhaps I'm doing something right when on my bike. I do happen across the occasional idiot, but it's always dorwn to lack of awareness on their part.
I have seen riders whose actions will invariably needlessly antagonise drivers, some of the idiots even video themselves, riding in the middle of the carriageway, then shouting 'killer driver' when one eventually snaps and passes then with reduced headroom.


Are they really?
One could have been avoiding a potential hazard (still leaving you with plenty of room) - how is that hurried driving?
How is being on the phone a case of hurried driving?
How is poor judgement hurried driving?

Seems to me that it is you who has the obsession with speed weepej!

_________________
Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Oh come on weep!

Look, I may be many things but I am not a bullsh1ter.. I cycle to work most days and I can tell you speed is the very last problem I encounter on a weekly basis. They, car drivers, are: -

Too close to me

Didn’t see me

Did see me but don’t give a Sh1t!!

I could go on...

Speed in itself is way down on my list, but I see what you’re doing...

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Agree with 100% Tone. The two most scary things are: the driver who passes you at a relative speed of 5mph with about six inches clearance; the driver who sits about one foot behind you. I like to be passed briskly and with maximum clearance.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Late gear changing, gritty noise, verging on a skidding noise, hard to describe it, but it's a big warning sign that somebody hasn't seen you soon enough.

Compare a car slowing sharply under braking without skidding with one cruising to a slower speed using a little bit of brake (possibly). That they've even had to use their brakes on a corner is telling.



Oh yes and some of the country roads I ride on are lovely, very few cars, but always be ready to dive into a hedge when you hear a car coming at speed! (and yes, not all do).

Regardless, I'm imaging more A and B roads not your unclassifieds.



Per journey. I'll count tomorrow, although I leave early.



Well, I've been struck once before in 20 years of cycling in London (by a van driver who clearly thought I shouldn't have stopped for an orange light on Trafalger square), so clearly I'm doing something right. I've had numerous near misses though.







The case I quoted the guy was clearly speeding, and he was on his mobile.



More often that not the result of wanting to drive too quickly.

You left off the ones that pass with about six inches of clearance with their foot on the floor...

Nice to see that once again , Weepej has managed to drift a thread about speed limits over to crazy cars out to kill cyclists (so long as they are called Weepej anyway)....so I might as well join in.

Although I don't cycle anywhere near as much now as I did fifteen to twenty years ago, ALL my cycling has been on rural roads,A roads, B roads and unclassified and just like the tailgating problem we hear so much about....I never used to experience the antics that you describe, Weepej. I have never had a problem with cars nearly knocking me off or having to jump in hedges. Just as I never have problems with tailgaters...perhaps it's YOU?

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Which could be simply a gear change?

Maybe, just maybe, they were just simply just braking?


Is it really? When do you expect a vehicle to slow when catching a comparatively slow cyclist - before the corner so leaving an unreasonable gap?


How do you hear that? How do you compensate for the different gears and ratios?
What if they're behind you? Have you ever actually ridden into a hedge?


Yup, done all those too.


What a wonderfully useful response!


Yes, you and your judgement of speed and your "clearly accelerating"


So it is a possible example, not an actual example?

_________________
Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

It is obvious that you haven't cycled much in company. Join any group of cyclists over tea and you will be regaled with numerous horror stories of bad driving and near misses.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Admittedly, the biggest group that I have ever cycled in, has been 4 and mostly done in just pairs or maybe two adults and one under ten child but still never had a problem with "near misses".

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

You know what I would like to do weepej? I’d like to follow you on your route around London and see exactly what dangers you encounter because I think you relate them to speed when in reality and fact they are not speed related at all.

I think it’s all in your mind because of your obsession with speed and slowing everything down. If someone pulls out on you it’s speed! If someone clips your handlebars it’s speed! If you stub your toe at work it’s speed!

Talking of which, I just got in work today on my Trek and the only problem I had, again, is someone passing me too closely. That they maybe going at 20mph or 30mph isn’t what is going to kill me; it’s if they hit me or send me up the curb.

Can you give me an example of how speed in and of itself does or has hurt you on your cycle? I reckon you can only talk in terms of if he was going slower it would have mitigated the situation, not prevented it.

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.