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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 15:46 
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:gatso2: From the BBC News -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38248488

Motorists should always have to give way to cyclists when turning at a junction, says British Cycling.

The governing body for the sport is calling for a change in the Highway Code to make drivers turning left give way to cyclists going straight ahead on the passenger side of their vehicle.

Former cycling champion and policy adviser Chris Boardman said the change "reinforces good behaviour".

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) warned it would lead to more accidents.

Mr Boardman has been leading the campaign after his mother Carol was killed in a collision with a pick-up vehicle while cycling in Connah's Quay, north Wales, in July.

The Olympic gold medallist said Britain should follow the European standard where anyone turning at junctions gives way.

"It just creates a duty of care for everybody and it makes it really simple. No-one's quite sure what the rules are," he told the BBC's Breakfast programme.

"It compels people to treat others as human beings and not obstacles."

The proposed amendment would need to be agreed by the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of an expected update of the Highway Code before being presented to Parliament.

Do cycle cameras make the roads any safer?

Why are junctions such a problem for cyclist safety?

London Cycling Campaign says the vast majority of collisions between all road users including pedestrians happen at junctions.

A spokesman for the group, Simon Munk, told BBC News several factors contributed to this:
?Drivers underestimate the speed of cyclists when they approach junctions
?Motorists think there is plenty of time and space so they think they do not have to wait
?Drivers should make sure they are not turning left into someone, slow right down and be careful
?There is the assumption of having the right of way by motorists
?Cyclists need to behave cautiously on the road too and not travel at high speeds at a left turn

He said while "drivers have a responsibility when pedestrians are crossing to be cautious" it is not this way for cyclists.

Duncan Buchanan, RHA's deputy policy director, said the rule change would introduce confusion and sets an "incredibly dangerous precedent".

"It is doing exactly the opposite of what we hope which is to ensure the safety of road users," he told BBC Radio 4's Today.

He added: "This rule while superficially appearing simple in fact makes it much more complicated - it means that you become responsible as the motorist for someone overtaking you on the inside when they have full visibility of what you're doing."

Mr Buchanan said there was a conflict in what was being proposed and what was already written in the Highway Code.

The DfT said it had launched a THINK! campaign warning drivers and cyclists of the dangers when turning left and is "determined to keep all road users safe".

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 19:08 
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Why not just do the reverse and make it an offence (or negative HC recommendation) for cyclists to overtake on the inside at junctions except where there is a dedicated cycle lane. After all, this is a very silly and potentially dangerous thing to do.

As I have said before, motorcyclists and cyclists should be just like any other road user and wait in queues at junctions like everyone else. This would substantially prevent the type of accidents described.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 00:05 
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Quote:
Motorists should always have to give way to cyclists when turning at a junction, says British Cycling.


WHY. If I choose to jump into Crocodile infested waters, do my dependants see fit to blame the crocs for my injuries ?
Quote:
The governing body for the sport is calling for a change in the Highway Code to make drivers turning left give way to cyclists going straight ahead on the passenger side of their vehicle.

Perhaps ,the cycling world might take a tip from the rail industry, where humans give way to trains.

Quote:
Former cycling champion and policy adviser Chris Boardman said the change "reinforces good behaviour".


More like Kami Kazi behaviour, and if as a car driver , I passed a truck on the inside, and truck moved over, I'd be charged with dangerous driving. SO why are cyclists and those in the limelight , not PREACHING, BE SAFE AND NOT LEAVE YOUR SAFETY TO OTHERS.

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Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 18:22 
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So, imagine a busy town at peak times.

A set of lights with a left hand lane for turning left and straight ahead and a second lane for right turns only. The lead car wants to turn left, has a green light but sees a stream of cyclists on his left...he daren't turn left so waits for a dozen or so to pass, lights turn red...result, no cars have gone through in that lane....1 minute later...ditto...result total gridlock.

I can see this working in all the anti car, left wing councils out there....

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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.


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 21:40 
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I've got a simple cure- when I turn left,at a two lane junction I always get as close as possible to pavement .Not to upset the proper cyclist ( who usually knows why), but to stop the idiots that flash down the inside .If they want to go round me on the inside, they'll have to ride on the pavement ( showing why I call them idiots) ,or do as the proper ones do - dismount and go pedestrian at the crossing.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 02:01 
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botach wrote:
I've got a simple cure- when I turn left,at a two lane junction I always get as close as possible to pavement .Not to upset the proper cyclist ( who usually knows why), but to stop the idiots that flash down the inside .If they want to go round me on the inside, they'll have to ride on the pavement ( showing why I call them idiots) ,or do as the proper ones do - dismount and go pedestrian at the crossing.


Must admit taking the primary position for the turn occurred to me too. ;)

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 22:18 
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But it's all down to self preservation. If in left lane of a DC ,with a truck in the right lane,would most folks on here blast past on the inside ?
Easy to be early in the next world. Safe road users prefer to be late in this world and avoid confrontation ,by planning ahead and ASSUMING( dangerous word that) that their presence does not register in a lot of other road users radar.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 13:05 
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Good point, there's no law to say how far from the pavement you have to drive, if all motorists drove a few inches from the pavement when approaching traffic lights it would stop the kamikazes whizzing up the inside....no left turn accidents then.

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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.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 15:14 
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First rule of the road in Britain:- KEEP LEFT, the mantra on which we rely.

Whereas most hog the white line! :headbash:


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