[Closed] Commuting. Is it just a matter of time...

London? Then pretty much yes if you're going a significant distance on the roads.

I have a Fly6 which seems to work fairly well.

I have cycle commuted for 33 years, been hit twice in that time, one hit ended with a visit to hospital.
over the last few years, I have noticed it getting a bit worse on the roads, people seem less patient, which I find odd, as more and more people own bikes.
I now ride out of my way to stay away from busy roads and fast moving traffic. my direct route to work is 6 mile, I do 11 miles to stay away from traffic.

try and find a alternative route if possible. worse thing to do is get drawn into road rage incidents, they don't end well.

stay safe.

I had the closest shave ever on Monday. Big rigid wagon tried to overtake me at lights and had to cut in when cab was level with me to miss standing traffic. Properly shit me up. I thought that it was it! Managed to get the name of the company and called them up. Grovelling apology from owner of company and promise to haul the guy over the coals.

Still, its not much use if I was under the back wheels.

I've felt like this for a long time sadly :-(. Only a 4 mile commute, I usually do the " iffy" section down a country lane which results in meeting tractors or Arctics on blind corners :-(. I can see or hear them but not vice versa 🙁
My wife would like me to take the car especially during the winter but I'm too stubborn 🙁 That feels like giving in to them . Although when it's hammering down with rain it is nice to think I've got the car to go home in 🙂

I completely changed my commute in spring last year after 6 months of commuting the most direct way because it was just too dangerous. I'm also a medium defensive rider and my route involved two A roads.

I've adjusted the route now so I ride home on farm tracks for the first 5 miles then on quiet lanes for the last 10 and ride in on the mountain bike with about 3 miles of a 19 mile ride on roads. It's much more engaging, and a lot safer, but it's not an option for everyone.

I was heading up a country lane yesterday that was tight and steep in Tod, a very large 4x4 kept beeping at me to get past!! so yes, they are idiots on the road.. I had no place to go my only option would have been to stand in the bush at the side of the road.

I have also been knock of once and visited a&e this was once when I used to commute, I commuted for about 4 years. I tend to MTB now.

But, all said I read a report that suggested the general health of a cyclist is so much better than a non cyclist even when you factor in the knocks and a4e visits. ofc, any fatal or life changing accident would not be welcome.

I have seen these about, maybe they help?

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I've been hit once in 10 years of commuting. Got up and rode away so I was lucky.

Ride defensively. A good road position is essential. I've had a handful of people shout at me riding in a secondary position because they've struggled to overtake. On more than one occasion it has given me somewhere to go other than under the wheels of a close passing HGV.

Pick your route. I've gone for longer and quieter over short and busy. It can be enjoyable testing your ninja skills in traffic but after a few years I just want an easy/safe/long life.

I have seen these about, maybe they help

Help you look like a dick? Yep, they do that! 😉

Of course it's only a matter of time. Ride enough and something will happen. You can lessen the risk by riding sensibly, bright lights etc, but that's it. Just hope you don't die.

All this is making me feel less good about getting the road bike out and doing the 12 miles from home to the office on it. That's partially through Cambridge too.

Cheers for the replies. Sounds like route choice is going to be the most effective action for me. It's a commute from Gateshead to Newcastle of about 7 miles but a bit of re-planning could get me off some busy routes and only add 1-2 miles. Mind you the dickheed in the GL wagon this morning did his close pass about 25 metres from my front door! Took a mental note of his numberplate (some letters and numbers trying to say "Gordon")... not sure why but he must be local.

've had a handful of people shout at me riding in a secondary position because they've struggled to overtake. On more than one occasion it has given me somewhere to go other than under the wheels of a close passing HGV.

This. The point of riding away from the gutter is two fold, 1. to disuade passing when inappropriate. 2. to give yourself some space to move into (and be able to stop safely if required) when someone does pass too close, or a lorry/bus pulls across on you.

It's a commute from Gateshead to Newcastle of about 7 miles but a bit of re-planning could get me off some busy routes and only add 1-2 miles.

Post up a rough google of your route (obviously not pointing out your house!!), plenty on Geordies on here who might be able to help (inc. me)

I reckon things have actually improved (on my commute at least). I've been cycle commuting for the last 14 years and I used to regularly get close passed, abusive drivers etc etc, but that seems to be happening less and less. I never feel like it's only a matter of time before I have an accident & certainly no more/no less than I do when using any other form of transport.

Like Ton & others, I pick a quiet and longer route to make the whole experience less stressful. Ride a good metre or more out from the kerb and cars give you a wider berth. I find a few well timed wobbles can make people give you more room too, they wouldn't want to get their cars scratched after all 🙂

I think GrahamS is in your neck of the woods OP, maybe he can help with a route

Yeah probably some sort of car bike interface is pretty likely at some point but there's a lot scope for insignificant accidents. I've been riding on and off road for 30 years including 8 years of commuting into central London every day and I've been hit by cars 3 times. Fortunately none of them were any worse than a run of the mill trailside off.

Worst places to ride always feel like the suburbs, in central London the traffic moves pretty slowly and there's so much of it that people seem a little more cautious. Get to the 'burbs though and all hell breaks loose as drivers suddenly find the space to use the accelerator.

Best tip I can think of for commuting is to do the same route and really learn from all the near misses and generally try to perfect the journey, become aware of the bits that are especially dodgy and if you assess that they are too dodgy find an alternative, even if it means walking a junction. It probably took me about 18 months of commuting to the same place before i felt like I had everything as safe as i could make it. I was still at the mercy of randomness, tiredness and outright carelessness but after about a year and a half I felt like I'd sussed out most of the controllable elements on that journey. Not sure if it was coincidence or not but I also became a lot more relaxed and less confrontational from that point onwards which was also a help.

...just a matter of time?

yes, it'll happen, you'll be riding sensibly, and visible from space. but eventually some dickhead will do something stupid/lazy that may well kill you.

you just sort of get used to it.

(i'm amazed that cycle-commuting is as popular as it is. my wife occasionally talks about starting, just the thought makes me feel nauseous)

Now have "Gordon is a moron" ear worm...
Stay safe, choose your route wisely.
Punto drivers are my personal nemesis but there are many considerate drivers. The majority you don't see because they wait and let you pass their left turn.

I ride most days in London and don’t find it that bad, 15km each way, almost all of it on the south circular. Although the traffic is faster I prefer the wider multilane roads as drivers tend to give you a bit more space and complain less when you take some for yourself. I do ride as fast as possible at all times which seems to reduce the number of impatient idiots. London drivers are generally very good around bikes.

I’ve often pondered on what the inevitable crash will be and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’ll be a pedestrian crossing without looking while I’m filtering. Hopefully it’ll be slow enough that neither of us gets hurt.

I have been commuting for about 20 years and have been hit twice. Both completely unavoidable by me so I just had to watch them both happen. Both fairly minor luckily and I don't worry about it happening again. I'm sure it will but it could just as easily happen if I walked to work or went in the car.

Worst places to ride always feel like the suburbs, in central London the traffic moves pretty slowly and there's so much of it that people seem a little more cautious. Get to the 'burbs though and all hell breaks loose as drivers suddenly find the space to use the accelerato

Yeah, my commute is pretty much 12 miles of suburb (City-small town-village-town, but they've all kind of merged into one without any proper gaps) and I think that's worse than really heavy, slow traffic. EVeryone's rushing, and they've got enough space to get speed up. If a car is sitting at a standstill the worst the driver can do is move over to block you. But meet a range rover doing 40mph round the wrong side of a junction to get past a queue.....

Stopped commuting after I was hit whilst riding along a cycle path on the pavement, the car that I hit turned across me leaving me no-where to go. My current office is situated such that I can't find a safe route in, it's probably the last 3 -4 miles of a 14 mile route that is a mix of busy cycle paths, busy roads and a stretch that's often dangerous in a car!

I miss the extra training, I would ride the long ~33 mile route back, but the above incident left me with a broken hand, a knackered knee that required surgery , 2 bulged discs in my neck a a C5 fracture so it doesn't seem worth it.

I now MTB more and run a couple of times a week on safer routes.

Hesitant to tempt fate and say it, but I've been commuting on and off for nearly 20 years and so far, touch wood etc, no trips to A&E.

The only two "offs" I've had were both my fault, in both cases I rear ended braking cars due to sub-standard brakes. The most recent of these (which isn't that recent) came on the morning when I'd thought to myself, as I set off "these brakes really need tightening, better do that later" - lesson learnt, brakes aren't put off until later.

Barring being rear-ended at random, I honestly think as a rider you can avoid pretty much anything that'll wipe you out with planning, anticipation, attention and sometimes the right amount of assertion (not aggression - I think there'd be fewer incidents if people didn't confuse the two).

And even the risk of being rear-ended can be mitigated by all round situational awareness - there was a thread on here a while ago where I was surprised how many riders professed to being "surprised" by traffic approaching from behind.

I could go on all day about individual bits of "roadcraft" - when to take the lane, how to filter safely etc etc etc but you can look it up online or do a course or practice the f out of it. The basic principles that seem to have got me away with it up until now include:

1) Assume that, if another road user could do something that will f you up, no matter how illegal, brainless, pointless or unlikely, they will. Most times they won't, but sometimes they will, and on those occasions you're expecting it, you're ready for it, and you've got a plan for dealing with it. You can play a game with this - you are a secret agent and the enemy have sent assassins to kill you - you don't know who they are and what they look like but you know they are going to try to kill you on your bike and make it look like an accident...

2) Pay attention to everything, from every angle. Yes, this will involve moving your head. Pedestrians wearing headphones may step out in front of you without warning, and without looking but they do not, as I've read on the internet too many times, "appear out of nowhere" - there's a pedestrian walking along the pavement? Assume they're going to step out without warning... When they do, you can easily miss them with a rapid swerve away and into the road. You can do that because you've been paying attention to everything, including what's going on behind you, so you know it's clear behind....

3) Alright, just one bit of roadcraft - take the lane at traffic lights so the nob in the skip lorry can't pull alongside prior to a classic "left hook" when the lights change.

4) and finally, never, ever, ever rely on the law, the highway code, common sense or reasonable expectations of other road users. It will be scant consolation to my orphaned kids that Daddy's final words were "but I had right of way*"

[i]*I know that's not what "right of way" means and it should be "priority" but that's how people say it, and I dare say even my pedantry will be limited if I've got 20 tons of badly driven HGV squeezing the life out me.[/i]

Route planning to avoid HGV's is the big bit for me. Oh and being 100% switched on all the time. I had to stop in the middle of a roundabout the other day when a Scottish water truck just barreled up the dual carriageway and straight through without braking. Luckily had spotted him from miles off and just watched him all the way. Tw*t.

I've been cycling round and through Leeds in the two years while at uni, in my first term I was hit and knocked off by a van. While it wasn't my fault it radically change the way I ride on the road around the city.

Coming from Shropshire I had never cycled in a city before coming to Leeds. I am now acutely aware of cars pulling out from junctions without looking, staying well away from car doors and trying to always ride defensively and assuming every car is out to get me. Despite this I've since had a number of close calls, mostly from drivers paying no attention or being on their phones, despite not riding carelessly and having lights etc.

Another thing, it surprises me the number of people who ride around in the dark with no lights. And people wearing headphones while riding on the road, seems like a great way to reduce your awareness and increase your chances of getting hit.

I was knocked to the ground by a flock of sheep being herded into a truck on one occasion. Even with no traffic on a commute there's still things out there trying to kill you.

And even the risk of being rear-ended can be mitigated by all round situational awareness - there was a thread on here a while ago where I was surprised how many riders professed to being "surprised" by traffic approaching from behind.

I was probably one of them, if a car is doing 40mph, and you're on an average bit of country road with bends every 100m then the car will on average be in line of sight for 2 seconds (it's covering the 100m in 4 seconds). Given that above a pootle wind noise overcomes even an articulated lorry behind you, to sense the car coming would require you to look back more often than every 2 seconds.

@tinas - a fair point, and why I think it's a risk that could be mitigated rather than eradicated altogether. That's not the scenario on my commute, but I wonder if that sort of situation is one where those bar-end mirrors might be of value? Genuine question, I've never tried using mirrors on a bike - anyone have any useful experience?

20+ years commuting for me, hit once by a car. Ironically, this was when I was on a cycle path, so even getting off road doesn't guarantee safety.
My totally subjective view is that although there are more people cycling, it feels more dangerous. Perhaps this is simply because the roads are busier, so there are just more bad drivers out there. The benefits of cycle commuting still far outweigh the risks for me, however

I honestly think as a rider [b]you can avoid pretty much anything[/b] that'll wipe you out with planning, anticipation, attention and sometimes the right amount of assertion

Nonsense IMO.

You're reducing some of the risk, that's all. Even then, you are not infallible and incapable of making mistakes yourself, no-one is, including the people you share the road with.

I've been commuting around 17 years, no accidents (yet), but I'm under no illusions that a large amount of risk is outside of my control.

The only accident i did have was in the car, when someone waiting at a side road pulled out straight into the side of my car in broad daylight, having watched me approach for at least 10 seconds. If i was on a bike, i'd have been knocked into the opposite lane. It was a learner drive, maybe they had a lapse of concentration, or looked the other way, who knows.

Some good advice up there but really, I wouldn't assume getting hit is a certainty - it isn't. You've far more influence over driver behaviour than you realise, and 100% control over your own observations, anticipation and actions...

My tips:
1. Bikeability and Cycle Craft by John Franklin, do the Bikeability and read the book - you'll learn lots about road position, observation and managing traffic
2. Remember you're not a second class citizen when you're riding. Those who think you should ride in the gutter or always let traffic past are flat wrong - they've not read the highway code.
3. Always assume the drivers around you are about to do the stupidest thing possible and have a plan ready in case they do
4. Eye contact with drivers - over your shoulder, to those at the side and all around - it humanises you and you get a better idea of how well they're watching you and what they're about to do
5. Pick a route down quiet side streets and avoid roundabouts and right turns where possible
6. You'll find there are certain road/infrastucture designs which seem to have conflict designed into them e.g. pedestrian refuges. Find a route away from these places.

Life is not without risk. Riding a bike is not any more risky than lots of other things in life so expecting to be able to eliminate it is daft. But you can expect it and mitigate against it.

I've been riding in London for 5 years c 80-100 miles/week and whilst I've had plenty of harassment and abuse, I've not once been hit. However, I've been to hospital 3 times in 8 years with broken bones - every time was me falling off my MTB in Surrey Hills...

hit once by a car. Ironically, this was when I was on a cycle path, so even getting off road doesn't guarantee safety.

On the contrary, my least favourite bit of my commute are the roads with on-pavement cycle paths. Definitely more dangerous than staying on the road, but you need to be pretty thick-skinned to not use them.

Same total hit ratio as Ton,twice in over 30yrs commuting.
They were both in London (11yr tour of duty).

I honestly think as a rider you can avoid pretty much anything that'll wipe you out with planning, anticipation, attention and sometimes the right amount of assertion

Nonsense IMO.

You're reducing some of the risk, that's all. Even then, you are not infallible and incapable of making mistakes yourself, no-one is, including the people you share the road with.

I think there is more that you can do as a cyclists than most would realise. I see a lot of people that just dont bother paying attention, like its too much effort (mind you get the same from drivers). It probably seems daft to many of us on here, but as you said there is a lot you can do to reduce risk, its just a lot of people dont seem to realise they need to.

Agree with most of the tips above.

But would add, wear bright eye catching clothing (not necessarily Hi-Viz) and get one of those retina searing rear lights, like a Bontrager Flare.

Cars still hit other cars - Sorry mate, I didn't see you (SMIDSY)

If they can hit a metal box weighing over a ton then can hit a piddly little cyclist

I ride a motorbike too, same applies

I like my commute though, I'll keep going as long as I can. I try to ride sensibly and defensively whenever possible

I ride with what I would say is a "medium" level of defensiveness.. I don't ride in the gutter but don't want to get my head squashed under a car wheel just to prove a point either.

I don't think you understand defensive riding. Done properly it reduces not enhances the chance of car-head interaction

I was overtaken by the same guy 3 times in his GL wagon today and each time it was close and he never learned his lesson that it was fruitless).

I now ride out of my way to stay away from busy roads and fast moving traffic. my direct route to work is 6 mile, I do 11 miles to stay away from traffic.

try and find a alternative route if possible. worse thing to do is get drawn into road rage incidents, they don't end well.

This +1.

The extra distance doesn't bother me, i like cycling, not fighting with idiots in cars...

also look at timings i used to find the worst instances of driving 8:45, 20 minutes from town! Aiming to arrive at 8:30/ 9:30 instead of 9 made a huge improvement.

1st half:

[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1555/24411601322_d71774388b_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1555/24411601322_d71774388b_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/DcaQzY ]Route_1[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/69309759@N02/ ]VeeeDubStar[/url], on Flickr

2nd half:
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/23893099883_43cfac8e17_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/23893099883_43cfac8e17_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/CpmoaZ ]Route_2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/69309759@N02/ ]VeeeDubStar[/url], on Flickr

For any geordies out there with route suggestions... second half is a doddle actually and involve a cycle path and a normally empty bus route by the banks of the Tyne. It's very satisfying cycling underneath the very congested Redheugh Bridge!

Poly - point taken. "Gordon" was in a queue of about 15-20 other cars that I filtered past - maybe I should take note of close passers and not filter in such scenarios.

track stand behind "gordon" with 2000lumens through the rear window might help when "waiting" 😆

You need to either get on to NCN 14 earlier (on my map it looks like there is a bridleway/path from Market Lane to the North of Whickham which goes under the A1 then to the back of the Metrocentre to join the cycle path at Mandela Way), or go slightly West to drop down to the Derwent Walk, and cross the river over Scotswood bridge and use the excellent Scotswood Road/Quayside cycle paths (NCN 72)

Something like this?

[img] [/img]

Or this?

[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-35372113 ]Don't do what Arnie does,you may get terminated[/url]

i used to do pretty much that exact route out to the artificial boldering rock next to the A1. I think the 1st route posted by legolam is okay (it was a long time ago).

As legolam says, you can get straight down to NCN14 and itll make life much nicer on the way into town, on the way back itll be a big climb tho. There is a path/track off the bottom of duckpool lane which connects to cross lane and an underpass under the A1, from there go directly north alongside the Metrocentre and under the railway, joining the NCN.

https://goo.gl/maps/6RjDLaLBYqw (map shows a loop around cemetery as the path/track is not on google).

Both good shouts. I like the idea of going west and over Scotchy bridge. I used to do that route when I worked at the old Vickers plant.. However, I might get a bit nostalgic thinking about Chally 2's as I ride past knowing that the UK no longer have a tank factory!

1st suggestion is good as well as Market Lane is wider than Whickham highway. Cheers

Cheers Stato - Aye, think I know the path at the bottom of Duckpool. Few different options to explore.

Have been commuting since the bridge I drove over every day to work got damaged and closed following the floods in the Calder Valley floods on Boxing Day.

Have had nothing but respect on the roads but can see why others do have issues.

There is a difference between a cyclist and a person on a bike and I think they get treated differently by motorists.

I do have Smudges luminator on the front which has drawn many comments as well as a flashing front and back light on my helmet plus 2 lights on my seatpost, one flashing and one steady.

The best addition to my bike for side visibility is some reflective spoke clip-on sticks from Aldi. Originally bought for my lads bike, they are great and my lights light the front ones up and make it a lot more reassuring when side on to traffic.

I do find 100% awareness of what is around you and making obvious thank you gestures when drivers have given you courtesy is helping my cause as most of the drivers are on the commute to work at the same time every day so will see me 100's of times a year.

It is sobering when last week I was rushing home only to be stopped by the police as the road had been closed by an RTA with a cyclist who had been killed (RIP). I know no more details but it hits quite hard when you see it on your route home knowing I will be on the same roads every day.

But I still love riding home from work, it clears the mind and helps separate work from home but it is now raining.

I know no more details but it hits quite hard when you see it on your route home knowing I will be on the same roads every day

He was killed because some twunt decided to overtake in an inappropriate spot without looking properly and hit him head on. A friend of a friend was driving the car that was overtaken, they were driving at approx 45 in a 50 apparently. They asked the guy afterwards why he'd overtaken them and he just said "because you weren't going fast enough".

There's been a marked increase in cycle traffic on that stretch of road since the floods and the damage to the canal towpath, not a particularly nice road to ride on TBH.

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/police-name-cyclist-killed-brighouse-10753903

Depressing reading. I'm currently getting up at 5am to do 90 minutes of turbo before driving a 21mile route that would be perfect training were it not too dangerous.

I'm looking at a route to avoid most of the A road (Wallingford to Aylesbury) but there is still a section of dodgy cycle path, 500m of A road and it's 26miles.

Ridgeway to car when it dries out. Actually may do that in the mud.

Depends where and when you ride I suppose. There are certain routes that I've ridden in the past where the chance of an accident felt quite high, whereas my current (very occasional) commute feels pretty safe, by which I mean there aren't many opportunities for idiots to take me out unless I do something daft.

Of course there's no accounting for something like someone just driving straight into you on a straight road or something, but for me that falls into one of those areas of risk that would have you never leaving the house if you worried about it too much.

If it's really starting to feel inevitable then it's time to do something different I reckon.

I've been commuting 12 years into and around Notingham and Derby. I'm sensible with route planning, proactive on positioning but still could do more, had a few close calls but never been hit.

Assume the others are out to get you. Always. And ride appropriately.

Never race, or try to beat your time, in traffic. You get impatient, you make mistakes. Like the car drivers around you.

Be courteous to other road users and acknowledge it when they are courteous to you. What goes around etc...

We all die sometime. If it's while riding my bike, at least I was riding my bike.

I think my worst commute incident was with a pedestrian who stepped off the central reservation into a gap between vehicles on a fairly quick downhill of town dual carriageway. I'd been holding my own in the outside lane, ready for an impending right filter turn at the next lights. She saw a gap and went for it, despite my lights and hi-viz. We both ended up lying in the road but she ran off when she saw that my helmet was busted. Ever since I've done the awareness thing big time and try harder to be prepared for the worst. Out of town, I'm off road or back roads wherever possible.
One thing we do find is that commuting on the tandem gets a lot more space and respect from drivers than I do on a solo bike. Perhaps something about its size, shape, movement or just unfamiliarity.

Following on from one of the comments above about noise and awareness, I also meant to add:- for me, wearing a buff under my lid seems to reduce wind noise over my lugs and therefore increases awareness of the surrounding traffic.

I reckon things have actually improved (on my commute at least). I've been cycle commuting for the last 14 years and I used to regularly get close passed, abusive drivers etc etc, but that seems to be happening less and less

I agree. There's always the odd **** of course, but overall there does seem to be a bit more acceptance. I also found that life got easier when I decided to chill out and ride a bit slower.

I think things have improved a lot in "real" London and don't think it's as dangerous as others do. There could be a perception v reality thing obviously but London drivers are mostly used to slower speeds and cyclists all over the shop. I suspect it would be worse in the suburb/country borders were there are fewer bikes, higher speeds and less infrastructure. I have also grown up a bit and don't cycle on busier/confusing roads any more (Elephant and Castle etc) but choose quieter longer routes. Although people blindly pulling out on smaller roads is more of a worry for me than eg being rear-ended on a bigger road.

Also, more and more councils in London are going to 20 mph. Even if it only brings real speeds down to actual 30 mph I think it's making things better. I'm also a car driver and honestly it hasn't slowed journeys down in reality - actually it's a bit more relaxing. If cars were invented today, you'd probably start with a speed limit of 20 in town...

Regular commuter for about the last 7 years here, 25 mile round trip with a proper mix of urban, suburban and fast rural. I've been T boned once in an incident bad enough to wreck a wheel and give me cuts and bruises. Good average I reckon, but, funnily enough last night's ride home was one of those that made me feel very mortal with 2 very close passes and a chap starting to pull out from a junction as I was passing in front of his bonnet. Just made eye contact in time, he was very apologetic. Most of the time I feel safe, but I reckon everyone has those days when it feels like a dangerous sport.

Like Ton says, try a number of routes. The only thing I'd add is that the quietest is not always the safest. I have 4 routes to work, varying between 16 and 21 miles. The two shortest routes have long stretches of B-road where it's not always easy for a car to pass if traffic is coming the other way. the 3rd route (19 miles) has a bit more a-road, but as such, there are more cycle commuters on it and the traffic seems to be more aware of, and tolerant of, bikes in their midst. Additionally, the roads are wide enough to allow for a bike and 2 cars to pass safely. It really helps reduce tension.

Finally, if you find yourself constantly meeting someone, stop for 60 seconds and the problem goes away...literally.

I found cyclestreets.net pretty useful when I was trying to figure out the best options for my commute. Lets you look at the fastest/quietest/balanced route.

London riding/commuting I never really mind. Commuted in London for years way before bikes were a common mode of transport round there. Somehow, in spite of the general chaos, London just works.

Certainly the comments about the suburbs being more dangerous is true, - drivers have been stuck in gridlock for an hour, they find their way onto some clear streets and boom, time for the loud pedal. 🙁

I had a really lovely country lanes commute for a little while when I lived in Lancaster and worked 1 or 2 days a week in Kendal, that was about as good as commuting gets.

My tips:
Always have an escape route. Know the parks, cycle trails, one-way streets, cut-throughs, pedestrianized areas etc that you can escape into if necessary. I've only needed it once (road rage incident) but it was a lifesaver.
ALWAYS use lights. Even in midsummer.
NEVER get into fights. Chances are on a regular commute, you'll be meeting the same drivers in the same places and next time he might come prepared.
Traffic lights are optional extras - if it's safer for you to jump them then do so. (I have to say that most of the time I obey them but there are a few awkward sets on my commute that are best dealt with by "carefully negotiating" them and as an added bonus it's more convenient for the drivers if I get out of the way too).
Try to vary your commute a bit, change routes sometimes. It keeps things fresh and interesting and sometimes you end up discovering a nice bit of road or trail by mistake!
If you're within the main traffic flow (rather than off-road/on segregated cyclepaths) you'll get fewer stupid passes if you ride fast. This applies to all road riding actually, if you can more closely match the speed of traffic, it's better all round.

getting worse? i find it comes in 3s. nothng for months then 2 or more in 1 day. i find trucks better now then ever in my area. purley way etc and white van man well at least u know they are gonna go past quick and get out the way! 4x4 quashqui etc pretty bad. big car no spatial awareness

Some good stuff on this thread - worth considering Walker's research too

[url= http://opus.bath.ac.uk/37890/ ]http://opus.bath.ac.uk/37890/[/url]

Abstract
This study looked at whether drivers overtaking a bicyclist changed the proximities of their passes in response to the level of experience and skill signalled by the bicyclist's appearance. Five outfits were tested, ranging from a stereotypical sport rider's outfit, portraying high experience and skill, to a vest with ‘novice cyclist’ printed on the back, portraying low experience. A high-visibility bicycling jacket was also used, as were two commercially available safety vests, one featuring a prominent mention of the word ‘police’ and a warning that the rider was video-recording their journey, and one modelled after a police officer's jacket but with a letter changed so it read ‘POLITE’. An ultrasonic distance sensor recorded the space left by vehicles passing the bicyclist on a regular commuting route. 5690 data points fulfilled the criteria for the study and were included in the analyses. The only outfit associated with a significant change in mean passing proximities was the police/video-recording jacket. Contrary to predictions, drivers treated the sports outfit and the ‘novice cyclist’ outfit equivalently, suggesting they do not adjust overtaking proximity as a function of a rider's perceived experience. Notably, whilst some outfits seemed to discourage motorists from passing within 1 metre of the rider, approximately 1-2% of overtakes came within 50 cm no matter what outfit was worn. This suggests there is little riders can do, by altering their appearance, to prevent the very closest overtakes; it is suggested that infrastructural, educational or legal measures are more promising for preventing drivers from passing extremely close to bicyclists.

[url= http://opus.bath.ac.uk/9332/ ]paper[/url]

This older paper provides evidence for wearing a long blonde wig

Abstract
A naturalistic experiment used an instrumented bicycle to gather proximity data from overtaking motorists. The relationship between rider position and overtaking proximity was the opposite to that generally believed, such that the further the rider was from the edge of the road, the closer vehicles passed. Additionally, wearing a bicycle helmet led to traffic getting significantly closer when overtaking. Professional drivers of large vehicles were particularly likely to leave narrow safety margins. Finally, when the (mate) experimenter wore a long wig, so that he appeared female from behind, drivers left more space when passing. Overall, the results demonstrate that motorists exhibit behavioural sensitivity to aspects of a bicyclist's appearance during an encounter. In the light of previous research on drivers' attitudes to bicyclists, we suggest drivers approaching a bicyclist use physical appearance to judge the specific likelihood of the rider behaving predictably and alter their overtaking accordingly. However, the extent to which a bicyclist's moment-to-moment behaviour can be inferred from their appearance is questionable, and so the tendency for drivers to alter their passing proximity based on this appearance probably has implications for accident probability. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

All papers available from http://www.bath.ac.uk/psychology/staff/ian-walker/

Fight Club quote - "On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero."

if you're going to get a camera, remember and practice shouting out number plates on your videos, people expect that now because of this knobber

[img] [/img]

Is it just a matter of time? Yes

I'm getting some bike stickers made:

"Attn: Paramedics. This bike is to accompany me in the ambulance NO MATTER WHAT"

Shall I put you down for one?

It most definitely is a matter of time. I leave at 9am and shift my day by an hour. The reduction in traffic peri-heathrow is breathtaking. I also use a fly6 and am waiting for a fly12 front camera. I've not had to use the footage yet.

statistically, every day is an independent event so the probability of an accident is the same every day (all things being equal, such as weather, bike failures etc.).

So if you ventured out yesterday, then it's the same chance today. Hope this helps.

It might happen but probably wont. Assume you're invisible, ride accordingly and you'll be fine.

Compared to the risk of being inactive, it is no risk at all.