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Commuting to work along the usual 13 mile route on a busy Rural A road. Traffic coming towards me and I can hear a lorry come up behind who proceeds to overtake even though traffic is coming the other way. They get the cab past (doing about 50mph)and then immediately swing back in. I watch the trailer swing towards me, I went into the debris and crap on the side of the road clipped my pedal on the curb as it approached and managed to hop onto the verge into a hedge as the whole back trailer whizzed by not more than a foot from the curb. Foreign number plate on the lorry. Cars behind stopped to ask if I was ok.
In 24 years of cycling on the road that is the closest I have ever come to being dead and it scared the crap out of me. If I was not an experienced cyclist I would now be dead for sure.
Just had to share as part of my coping mechanism. Stay safe!
(I can now see why so many cyclists are wearing cameras)
Well done for surviving
I does seem that A road cycling is like a ticking time bomb...
It must be gutting not to have the number
Did you get his plate and report him? If you didn't he/she will continue to do it.
No, happened way to fast. I work in Road Safety delivering education and work with several police traffic officers. If I had a camera I would be over there right now! Going to get a tiny camera I think.
[quote=ChunkyMTB said]Did you get his plate and report him? If you didn't he/she will continue to do it.
From the description of the accident I doubt it, unless someone following noted it.
Glad to hear you're OK though, that would shake anyone up.
Enjoy your 'new' life - phew eh? Same happened to me nr Bromyard, never forget the smell off rubber and sound of air brakes as the truck driver nearly took out me, Volvo in front and the pedestrian refuge. A roads freak me out these days more often than not - skills aren't always enough so yeah stay safe.
eek nasty - glad you're safe. I got knocked off by an elderly farmer who came straight onto the roundabout I was on a few years ago (near Bromyard as it happens!) and it all happens so quick.
Always ride with a front and rear flashing light now in full daylight, not that this would have helped you as he must have seen you to swing marginally past.
Sadly not that uncommon. It has happened to me although I didn't have a curb so just went off onto the grass.
Riding further out can help prevent it but creates its own problems as some people don't understand the reasons.
Glad you're still in one piece fella. That sounds like a proper brown trouser moment.
I've had a car actually clip me, and went down like the proverbial sack of spuds. luckily as I lay sprawled in a bloody heap on the road, nothing ran me over.
It doesn't half make you think. After that, I changed my attitude to riding on the road. To manage what I see as the potential risk of interface with nobheads, I'll now tag miles onto a journey to avoid roads or junctions that I regard as just not safe. Or take off road routes whenever possible. Riding on the kind of 'busy A roads' you describe scares me so much now, I just won't do it.
Going to get a tiny camera I think.
Why not go the whole hog? 😀
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This would be a more appropriate rig, by the sounds of it:
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Ms Rickmeister was hit yesterday. Elderly driver who overtook despite a car coming the other way and had to squeeze past. Driver admitted a lack of sense of room and speed of approaching cars.
She took his wing mirror out and the pedal made a nice circular gouge in his door, but fortunately stayed upright and was able to stop safely.
It's that kind of quick thinking and having an escape route in mind that has saved you. I think I would be very shaky for a while after that. I also avoid nasty roads and junctions whenever possible.
It makes me queasy to think how easily this can happen..
Unfortunately, the ****ed up overtake from buses and lorries is far too common. Had the same thing last month from a Plastico lorry. Company couldn't care less. While I didn't expect a conviction, I thought the police might be helpful enough to "chat" with the driver but apparently, they now have a policy of specifically not doing that.
You either need an independent witness or to be injured/dead.
Incredibly frustrating that we have no way of improving the situation for all concerned.
^ love the fact that mr_scary_camera guy up there cannot even wear his helmet properly. In a crash the strap over his chin would try and tear his nose off, assisted by the extra leverage of the cameras on top... 😆
Double tap.
So much for a Tour legacy of more considerate driving. 🙁
Hope BR can heal fast - not easy at that age.
binners - Member
To manage what I see as the potential risk of interface with nobheads, I'll now tag miles onto a journey to avoid roads or junctions that I regard as just not safe.
+1
See lots of cyclists on the dual carriageway near me (horsham-crawley) which is super busy during rush hour. Even saw a woman with her kids in a trailer on there once! Insane.
The route I take is through the country lanes, think it's actually quicker (but does have a short sharp climb on it) and I get overtaken by maybe 10 cars between Horsham and Crawley.
Same happened to me a little while ago. Camera on the bars, not switched on cos it was one of the safest, quietest roads on my route.
Foreign lorry as well - almost ploughed into the back of another cyclist turning right just ahead of me too.
Tried to track him down to give him a similar near death experience, but couldn't.
But, yeah it's always cyclists who should STAY BACK. Grr.
It happens so fast - maybe you seen the name of the company you can report him through that
Sorry to hear that but very good skills! I had a slower speed lorry crush 3 years ago except there was only a wall which I was scraped along franticaly trying to stay away from the looming rear wheels. Apparently overtaking on a blind village A road bend in rush hour is driving without due care and attention not dangerous driving.....
Will you change your route? I sold my summer road bike and now use a mountain bike on small lanes. That's not without it's own issues but I tend not to see lorries.
Glad you're OK and a real shame you couldn't get the reg. I've reported a number of trade related vehicles for coming way too close (luckily for me not this close) and occasionally get a good response. One driver of a mini-box lorry thing came within about 3 inches of my handlebar end. He was apparently an agency worker and I was told on email they had in cab cameras and they must have reviewed the event since I had reported it. I was told the guy got removed from driving duties after they investigated it, so hopefully the roads are a little safer. The company (at least they claimed to) took it seriously. Had a Dutch flower van come too close for comfort, caught up with him in traffic and he was reading the damn paper spread across the steering wheel!
I'm definitely considering a camera permanently for commuting though, sadly the GoPro is such a bloody dead weight swinging about on the helmet it's a pain to use.
I'm surprised no-one has started a Kickstarter crowd funding thing to make a camera which you fit rigidly to the back of the bike to record drivers coming up behind you. Ideally it would have a nice high resolution/FPS to get good images of the drivers for identity purposes and also has a little laser measurer pointing sideways (like a DIY room size measurer) to measure how close they pass and log the measurement on the video. Maybe with a bluetoothable (or otherwise) front camera to capture twunts coming head on at you.
I once had a Monaro VXR over take a car coming in the opposite direction to me, as the three of us aligned, I was minding my own business on the left of my lane, the doddery old biddy was doing about 35mph in her lane and the Monaro was in my lane, passing within 1.5-2m going the opposite way at what sounded like about 80mph in a 50 limit. Arsehole. Got the reg and see him regularly. He seems to have calmed down a bit now though, penarse.
But yes I definitely take a + 2.5 mile detour to avoid as much of that B road as possible. It's impossible to avoid all twuntish drivers though, they're everywhere (without starting any debates about bad cyclists...)!
I probably will change the route little now. There is a parallel minor road a few fields over which I'll probably start using even though it has a climb in it.
I have a Mobius camera for riding off road that has been great. Its the size of a match box and now they do a waterproof cover that makes it a little bigger. Think I'm going to start using this.
I have various things over the years but nothing quite like this!
Similar happened to me one when I was commuting, a skip lorry tried to overtake me where the council had put in those traffic calming bollards in on a notorious A road.
Slammed on brakes and jumped on the grass when I heard it coming, no following cars gave a toss, but this was 3 or 4 years when cyclists were all still scum.
Didn't put me off for a while, but it was one of the factors that led to me going back on the train.
I saw a cyclist do this to another cyclist this morning near Waterloo. Must have clipped him as he went past and the poor guy and his bike went cartwheeling through the air into the opposite lane. Luckily, there was only very light traffic or it could easily have been curtains.
He shared a few choice words.
Glad you're ok, OP - just so unnecessary to have to go through that.
Similar happened to me, but on a smaller scale the other evening. I became aware of a car coming from behind (in my mirror), he pulled almost alongside as we both approached a blind, right hand bend on a narrow country road. I heard a car coming the other way so predicted what was going to happen, thankfully. Guy behind / beside me emergency stopped, practically head on to the car coming round the corner.
What, when, where did reasonably intelligent adults start making decisions like this? If you remove the cyclist from the equation, when the hell would you EVER enter a blind bend on the wrong side of the road? What is the thought process that people are making these days? It's getting so common I reckon at least once every 20 - 25 mile road ride I encounter someone making that sort of decision - A or B roads, double white lines or not - it seems to be fair game to overtake a cyclist come what may.
I politely put this to the driver - probably in his 60s, wife alongside but he just stared straight ahead. The other driver was nodding his head in agreement throughout. Head on collision, plus a cyclist in pieces doesn't seem to be worth the risk of maybe saving 30 seconds on your journey (at about 7.30pm on a weekday evening). I dunno.
Veho Muvi cameras can be had for £30 quid online at the moment, they're absolutely tiny. I've just ordered one to use as a helmet cam, should be discreet enough to use without attracting the 'looking for trouble' accusations (I'm not, honest). My commute has doubled in length recently and I sort of feel like it's only a matter of time until I end up coming a cropper.
If it works alright I might get another to mount on seatpost looking backwards to cover all angles.
Just checked the video of last night when a woman was going to drive into the side of me on a roundabout. Can't see her as my cam is on the bars. Her face was "what are YOU doing there?".
Unfortunately all the camera picked up was me shouting "STOP! STOP YOU FU... IDIOT!"
The jag should've waited, but it was the bid in the red car that nearly hit me..
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bmw bloke who did this (and more)
Just got 4 points and a £1000 fine.
[url= http://www.sussex.police.uk/whats-happening/latest/news-stories/2014/07/17/driver-fined-for-intimidating-cyclists-on-the-a27 ]http://www.sussex.police.uk/whats-happening/latest/news-stories/2014/07/17/driver-fined-for-intimidating-cyclists-on-the-a27[/url]
Glad someone got caught.
Hmm, interesting that wwaswas -
[i]If you see someone driving or riding antisocially, report it at www.operationcrackdown.co.uk or send a text to 85999.
If you think someone is driving dangerously, call 999 when it is safe to do so.[/i]
Operation Crackdown - to report driving that is careless, deliberately aggressive or dangerous.
Bar cam is staying on.
I've used that operation crackdown a few times. Never heard another thing but I assume if the same person/car gets complained about multiple times they'll act.
@DezB that looks like a classic case of the [url= 
]A-pillar blindspot[/url].
Not an excuse, but there was only a brief moment after the jag moved out of the way for her to spot you, and that's most likely why she didn't.
But was the lorry speeding? If not, then all's ok........
[i]Not an excuse, but there was only a brief moment after the jag moved out of the way for her to spot you, and that's most likely why she didn't.[/i]
Nope. She just wasn't looking. I could see her stupid face, so if she'd looked properly she could've seen me in plenty of time. She was driving slowly enough, which is why the timing of her pull out meant she would've hit me if she hadn't stopped.
I'm surprised no-one has started a Kickstarter crowd funding thing to make a camera which you fit rigidly to the back of the bike to record drivers coming up behind you. Ideally it would have a nice high resolution/FPS to get good images of the drivers for identity purposes
http://fly6.com
There you go.. Funded by kickstarter but no laser unfortunately.
[quote
http://fly6.com
There you go.. Funded by kickstarter but no laser unfortunately.
Watching the video - Same shit the world over!
That footage doesn't look much better quality than the Veho, know which I'd rather have at the price! Shame as it's a good 'covert' idea.
The blurb on the camera tail light says you can now ride worry free. Well, you'll still worry but at least you'll have your final seconds recorded for posterity. I just hope someone notices the light among the tangled bits of wreckage!
Seen this one on road.cc?
Scary!
http://road.cc/content/news/124114-video-russian-teenager-amazingly-survives-being-hit-lorry
@GrahamS that is ****ing horrible!
The Screams afterwards.... How anyone walks away from that with just bruises is mind boggling...
How anyone walks away from that with just bruises is mind boggling...
Because Russia! 😀
Any other nationality would have been instantly killed to death, but spend some time watch Russian dashboard cam videos on YouTube and you'll soon realise our red comrades are nigh on indestructible. Perhaps just as well given the state of the driving!