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So, out for a Sunday afternoon mooch and a taxi stops 1/2 in the cycle lane, and then the passenger gets out of the back. Swinging the door open and nearly having my partner off their bike.
I (at maximum volume) enlighten the passenger/driver combination
Now it would appear I'm to the right of Genghis Khan in my attitude to other road users
What would you do.
In my defence;
#1 Stopping in a bike lane is an executable offence. Period
#2 Letting a moronic passenger out of your vehicle without warning them cyclists were coming reduces the penalty attracted by offence #1 to death by slow starvation
If a taxi was stopped in a cycle lane I would assume it highly likely the door would open and react accordingly.
As for death it seems like overkill if you pardon the pun.
If a taxi was stopped in a cycle lane I would assume it highly likely the door would open and react accordingly.
Really! Never thought of that. Obviously that's where I have been going wrong all my life....
Taxis are a weapons-grade arseache for for being selfish outhouses on the road, if I had a pound for every time one had (easily avoidably) dropped anchor in the middle of the road with complete disregard for anyone else but themselves, I could retire.
+1 to 'should've seen it coming' though.
Picking up and dropping off. AFAIK anything other than single red lines (within times of operation), double red lines or white zig zags at traffic lights/crossings is fair game.
I saw a crash involving a taxi the other day. Clearly the fault of the taxi as they'd cut right across the path of the car they crashed into. Didn't stop them having a go at the poor woman driving the car though.
Ride as carefully around taxis as you would lorries, vans etc would be my advice.
IME hardly any drivers understand/care about the needs of cyclists or even the law so I ride accordingly. Make no assumptions about a car's likelihood of driving sensibly and legally...
So if I see a taxi doing anything but making progress, it's wide-berth time...
On a related matter my Mum's driving instructor gave her the advice to assume everyone else on the road is an idiot. She's 73 so we're going back 50 years here... yr average joe has clearly never been a competent driver...
Basically, if you see a taxi - assume you're dead. They're like The Grim of the roads.
I honestly don't know how they don't cause more accidents, the sheer number of times I've had to take emergency action to avoid being smashed by them.
Don't go down the inside of vehicles.