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Had this happen again last night, it seems to be fairly common around here - driver sees you cycling along the road and decides to pull onto the main carriageway just as you are opposite the junction.
Does it happen to motorcyclists too?
Its just the same as them pulling alongside when they are going to turn in, they just dont realise the speed so end up alongside you for a while. Just slow down if you see it happening, no point fighting them and putting yourself at risk, not really anything you can do about it unless you get the chance to point it out to them.
I think with motorbikes because of the speed and positioning it happens a lot less.
Can't decide with cycles whether its the perceived slowness of the bike (so they think they can get out before bike gets there) or just plain idiocy. I suspect the latter, especially the old giffer who did it to me last week.
Make sure you obviously look at them as they sit at the junction
Changing line slightly makes you look as though you're travelling faster
I think is because of the old way of thinking that cyclists should be riding in the gutter, not in a good secondary position.
The motorist thinks there is plenty of space to slot in along side and there is not.
Got the chance last night, as the daft girl pulled right into me - just managed to stop with my right hand hood touching her car.
She pulled out when I was across the junction, went across my line of travel then basically stopped.
When we had words about it she claimed to have seen me approaching,but obviously thought it was ok to pull into the space I was occupying.
What do others do to combat this?
Not much you can do imo. Make sure you scratch her car next time! Its just dumb ****s being dumb ****s. Try not to argue with the dumb ****. I always fail at this!!
Sometimes in this situation, if the road is otherwise clear, the driver will pull out just before/as you're passing the junction but give you enough space. I can't decide whether this is a bad thing or not.
If they didn't pull out, they'd likely pull out behind you then almost immediately overtake, so if there's nothing coming the other way, what's the point in waiting rather than pulling out onto the RHS of the road - i.e. immediately going into an overtaking manoeuvre. Sometimes this annoys me sometimes it doesn't.
The twonk yesterday who, in broad daylight, in a 20 zone, with me in the middle of the road with my right arm fully out to indicate I was turning right, overtook me on my right. No ambivalence there.
I always fail too! Last nights vocal rant didn't achieve much beyond scaring both the driver & her boyfriend, and leaving me feeling angry & frustrated.
I'd much rather avoid it happening in the first place.
Does happen to me often.
I just chalk it down to them not realising (at least this is what i hope) how scary it feels having a car pull out next to you like that.
Life's to short to give a flip, i just chug on.
I've had this happen frequently. I guess the only way to stop it might be something like putting up your hand in a halt type gesture which might stop them long enough for you to zip by.
Other than that I'm at a loss after various words with culprits - you just get a load of verbal - pointless.
muddydwarf
“A good scare is worth more than good advice.”
It's an issue to do with how we identify the speed of a moving object. When something is moving towards us we see it apparently getting larger. It's more noticeable with larger/wider objects. At night we use the apparent increase in distance between headlamps. I think many drivers just find it hard to determine the speed of bikes and motorbikes.
Its just the same as them pulling alongside when they are going to turn in, they just dont realise the speed so end up alongside you for a while.
I think that's partly due to some motorists instinct to pass a cyclist as soon as there is one in front of them, with complete disregard for whatever they may need to do further up the road. It's like they can only think about one thing at a time.
I had one the other day when a driver pulled alongside to pass just before a roundabout. He wasn't passing quickly or aggressively, there was loads of visibility, he gave me plenty of room. I ended up at the roundabout in the LH lane and the driver stopped in the RH lane where another car was trying to exit the roundabout. Just absurd!
Edit... Oh and perhaps more directly related to the OP's post. How about cars in the opposite lane pulling into your lane while overtaking on wide-ish roads assuming that passing closely with a closing speed of about 90mph is an ok thing to do?! Get this a lot 🙁
There is a junction I often pass where cars always seem to do this. I don't mind if they leave enough room, but once in a while someone just pulls straight into you. Trouble is, you can't tell what is going to happen when they start to move. My solution is to drift well to the right as you approach the junction to discourage any movement.
I've been contemplating a laser pointer on the lid, but like sandwicheater, I tend to just let it slide. I'd rather have these drivers ahead of me.
Perhaps riding a bike on public roads should be part of the driving test.
I get it in the car even. Some people are just dicks.
Invariably after they've just squirted out into traffic in a space that isn't there, they then dribble along at 20mph.
Perhaps riding a bike on public roads should be part of the driving test.
+ a bazillion
The twonk yesterday who, in broad daylight, in a 20 zone, with me in the middle of the road with my right arm fully out to indicate I was turning right, overtook me on my right. No ambivalence there.
Happened to me so regularly at one particular junction, I use a different route to avoid it
+1 Slowoldman
So should walking along a pavement on a busy road and crossing the road with toddlers...
I still fondly remember the time a lady did that to me in Henley. A few hundred metres later as she waited at a mini roundabout I rode up and opened her rear passenger side door She was not overly impressed, but I felt wasting her time was a tidy reminder not to pull out into the side of a cyclist in the future 🙂
I rode up and opened her rear passenger side door
Maybe pepper spray could be the answer?
Well the gobby female driver of a 64 plate blue Vauxhall Mokka on Walton Hall Avenue in Liverpool got a good reality check on Wednesday as she pulled out right in front of a woman on a mountain bike who had to almost go OTB to not crunch into the side.
Woman in Mokka flicked the V's at woman on bike when she shouted, bad move as she was a WPC in uniform, saw the WPC stop & call on the radio by the time I reached Walton lane she had been pulled over and by the sound of it was being read the riot act 😀
had one last night - i was doing ~45 kmh.
thinking don't do it, don't do it, he's done it, then he pulls out slowly and has to drive along side me on the wrong side of the road for nearly 30 m, until he pulls back in narrowly missing the back of a police van!
young lad in a corsa, thought they normally went quick!
I've started to consider crashing in to the next one that does it to me..after all my bike is 4 year old!
It really twists my melon when some fool attempts to kill me.
And if I get angry it spoils the ride completely.
So I normally do the eye contact thing and slow down.
I had a guy do it while I was turning right. He stopped to remonstrate with me for not indicating (wasn't indicating himself!). I made it clear that it was a stupid thing to do whether I'm turning or not...
Had my first left hook for quite some time the other day too. Almost nostalgic.
All the bloomin time!The twonk yesterday who, in broad daylight, in a 20 zone, with me in the middle of the road with my right arm fully out to indicate I was turning right, overtook me on my right. No ambivalence there.
There's a few junctions round here that I don't even bother indicating if I can hear a car coming up behind, just ride onto the next one.
Faster junctions seem to be the probem, drivers just won't slow down.
Yup, as above. A van pulled out on me at the point of no return and forced me to the kerb(on my road bike and in the wet) Just managed to stay upright(travelling at 25-30mph) Shouted out of fear/anger and he carried on. Calmed down and chalked it up to experience. But then noticed the light changed and he was stopped. I was quite indignant as he had just about killed me. I rolled up next to his van gently tapped on the rear(ie I put a man size dent in the bodywork...explain that one to your boss) and the look on his face as I smashed on the glass was priceless! I was in full rip snorting mode by now. I am a big lad who doesn't like to get angry. I was angry. He literally shit himself cowering in the drivers seat. I think he will pay more attention now, hopefully!
Don't really get the thing in the OP myself, do get ****s overtaking as I go to turn right though.
I get both, what I can't understand is the mentality that says they will happily drive begin you for several hundred yards without trying to overtake, yet as soon as you indicate & move to the centre line they drop a gear and hammer past.