watch out for crossroads.

That sucks and he really should have stuck around... Happened to me recently too, I swerved and narrowly avoided actually being hit.

You really need to keep an eye out and be ready to stop if necessary, disregarding your right of way.

I do find that a VERY bright front light dissuades this sort of behaviour massively. I use a torch and this has the benefit that you can direct it easily. If you shine this directly in the eyes of a driver who looks like they are considering turning across you it really does stop them in their tracks.

TimAllen wrote: »

Your post is very telling. It assumes that drivers do such things deliberately and ignores the fact that such incidents are usually complete accidents.
Your actions, in shining a bright torch in the face of a motorist that you "think" is "considering" turning is reprehensible in the extreme and downright dangerous for the motorist and for you.
At least I will know its you if this happens to me, and you will know its me when you have to retrieve said torch from "where the sun dont shine"

i agree with the basic point you are making that it's very dangerous to shine a torch in a driver's face BUT why the b!tchyness? anger management pal!

morninwood wrote: »

i agree with the basic point you are making that it's very dangerous to shine a torch in a driver's face BUT why the b!tchyness? anger management pal!

morninwood,

I see you're new to Boards. You'll get used to TimAllen after a while.

I will say one thing for him though, he's consistent.

TimAllen wrote: »

Your post is very telling. It assumes that drivers do such things deliberately and ignores the fact that such incidents are usually complete accidents.
Your actions, in shining a bright torch in the face of a motorist that you "think" is "considering" turning is reprehensible in the extreme and downright dangerous for the motorist and for you.
At least I will know its you if this happens to me, and you will know its me when you have to retrieve said torch from "where the sun dont shine"

It's got nothing to do with anything you just said. It's to break motion camouflage, I'm sure. (Maybe directly in the eyes isn't so good an idea though.)

oflahero wrote: »

Turning cars generally sit passively while waiting to turn as vehicular traffic goes by, but actually tend to start the turn as the cyclist goes by, which can be unnerving for the cyclist until one gets used to it.

Yes that is quite unnerving. When someone does that, there is no way of knowing that they have actually seen you.

Raam wrote: »

Yes that is quite unnerving. When someone does that, there is no way of knowing that they have actually seen you.

I have LEDs on my wrists at night and high-viz cuffs during the day. I quickly pretend to scratch my cheek just before I enter the danger zone. That definitely draws their attention (something very visible moving in an unexpected way). Sometimes I point straight ahead for a more visible motion, and so it's clear that I will be crossing their trajectory.

I try not to have my hands off the brakes for too long, obviously.

tomasrojo wrote: »

I have LEDs on my wrists at night and high-viz cuffs during the day. I quickly pretend to scratch my cheek just before I enter the danger zone. That definitely draws their attention (something very visible moving in an unexpected way). Sometimes I point straight ahead for a more visible motion, and so it's clear that I will be crossing their trajectory.

I try not to have my hands off the brakes for too long, obviously.

I know a lad who descends Howth with one hand stuck out in front in order to disuade anyone from pulling out in front of him from a side road

When someone approaches from a side road or similar, I try make a deliberate and obvious head movement, does the trick... usually.

@Tim- often drivers don't notice cyclists. They can be looking straight at you, their eyes see you all right but you just don't mentally register. This is a natural human trait, it's not something specific to motorists. Driving requires a lot of information processing of the environment around you and things can be missed. I don't think any* driver deliberately drives into a cyclist but they can either miss seeing you or just have a mental block and and do it unintentionally.

You use the word "accident"- well accidents can be avoided and I will do whatever is in my power to avoid them. Part of this involves increasing my visibility to motorists and this is why I light myself up like a christmas tree in winter, from the back as much as the front.



If someone looks like they are going to drive into me then shining my light at them gets their attention and makes them conscious of my presence. A quick flash is all it generally takes. Completely non-invasive, it is exactly the same as flashing your lights at someone in a car to warn them of something.

This results in the driver stopping and not driving into me. Win-win situation for both parties I would have thought.

Since getting a strong front light I have found the instances of drivers cutting out in front of me has decreased dramatically. Generally, it just doesn't happen. If a motorist looks like they haven't noticed me, I alert them to my presence. This is a good thing and promotes road safety, I thought I would share it as a tip.

It boggles the mind really, the OP posts a story of a motorist illegally turning right across him (I am sure not intentionally), I post a suggestion as to how a cyclist can make themselves more visible to avoid this sort of accident and you fly off the handle?

I think you have anger issues all right if someone shining a light at you to alert you to their presence and prevent an accident would lead you to physically assault them.

*excepting a tiny minority of Dublin Bus drivers.

Have to say when I approach junctions with cars preparing to turn across me or my view is obstructed by traffic ahead then my head is well up (so I can be seen behind any cars in front) from the normal dipped position and my hands are on the brakes and my speed is properly decreased.

There's alot to be gained from cycling defensively imo.

Gavin wrote: »

Post reported for threat.

Has anyone else noticed that Tim seems to have quite the anal fixation, I don't think this is the first time he has gleefully imagined sticking objects up there (I think the last one was a U Lock into "Niceholetom" as he put it himself?)

blorg wrote: »

Has anyone else noticed that Tim seems to have quite the anal fixation, I don't think this is the first time he has gleefully imagined sticking objects up there (I think the last one was a U Lock into "Niceholetom" as he put it himself?)

It's his secret yearning for a bike seat- but like many people who come out, the initial realisation can often be difficult to accept, and you keep resisting, resisting...

Nobody can make someone come out if they don't want to; all we can do is provide a supportive environment when they reach that decision for themselves.

We're here for you, Tim. Take all the time you need.

clairebear83 wrote: »

Tiny minority ?
Having been victim of a bus driving into me from behind & subsequent countless near misses i beg to differ ! I think they are trained to try and plow down as man cyclists as possible - they probably have some sort of league amongst themselves !!

There are a minority of bus drivers who have taken upon themselves to intentionally scare cyclists to "teach them a lesson" for not using dangerous cycle lanes, happens in particular on the N11. There have been threads on it with many people confirming that it has happened to them and that the bus driver did it on purpose. This is INTENTIONAL steering of the vehicle into the cyclist. 99.9% of the time when someone drives into a cyclist they are not doing it intentionally. Often they are negligent but their intention is not to drive into the cyclist.