Rules regarding undertaking moped (Rules on the Continent)

keithclancy

Had an incident on Saturday, was driving down to the shops here (link)

Basically I had my indicator on to go right, was positioned closer to the right hand side of the road, going about 30km/h to drive into the car park.

Next thing I hear a beeping and someone banging the rear Window, looked at at my right mirror and couldn't see anything, looked back and there was a guy on a moped at the rear right corner of my car

I move over left, guy starts undertaking me, i mean literally he only has about a foot of road, he drives past screaming bloody murder. (I recon he was about 18 or 19)

My question is who would be at fault, if he hadn't used the horn I wouldn't have seen him while driving along and he might have gotten creamed off the curb.

CiniO

To be honest I think you should ask on a forum in your country, as rules in every country might be different.

For example in Poland undertaking by mopeds is prohibited so it would be definitely his fault. But undertaking by cyclists is permitted (for about 2 years now when rules were changed) so if you struck a cyclist over the kerb there, it would be most likely your fault. However I'm not sure if they are allowed to undertake just before junctions.

KamiKazi

I'm a biker and that lad is a knob for doing that. Never undertake on a bike, traffic just doesn't expect you to be there.

djimi

If it was Ireland then Id say you should not be making a turn without knowing fully what is going on behind/beside you. No idea how the rules work in Holland.

That said, the guy sounds like a proper twat, and cyclists/bikers who undertake cars generally have a death wish. I dont care who is in right or wrong; they are the ones who will come off worse and they generally dont have the slightest regard for the fact that it is very hard to see a cyclist in your blind spot or when they are coming down your inside.

keithclancy

djimi wrote: »

If it was Ireland then Id say you should not be making a turn without knowing fully what is going on behind/beside you. No idea how the rules work in Holland.

That said, the guy sounds like a proper twat, and cyclists/bikers who undertake cars generally have a death wish. I dont care who is in right or wrong; they are the ones who will come off worse and they generally dont have the slightest regard for the fact that it is very hard to see a cyclist in your blind spot or when they are coming down your inside.

I wasn't talking about turning, I mean driving along in a straight line. I'd look before turning anyway, but generally I wouldn't look over my right should while driving along in a straight line

Alkers

It depends on what country you're in tbh, in a lot of SE Asia and places like Greece and Turkey where there is loads of scooters it's common for them to drive on the outer edges of the roads, sometimes they even have a lane for them there. Aren't you supposed to check your mirror before you put your indicator on anyway

Anan1

I think what the moped driver did was both 100% wrong and very dangerous. All the same, i'd be asking myself why I didn't see him enter my blind spot.

keithclancy

Anan1 wrote: »

I think what the moped driver did was both 100% wrong and very dangerous. All the same, i'd be asking myself why I didn't see him enter my blind spot.

Well, thing was I would have seen him before I positioned myself on the road to turn right, however I'm thinking more about just driving along the road and if he got

Do you normally check your blind spot when your not changing direction ?

Anan1

keithclancy wrote: »

Well, thing was I would have seen him before I positioned myself on the road to turn right, however I'm thinking more about just driving along the road and if he got

Do you normally check your blind spot when your not changing direction ?

I have my lapses, but I do try to maintain an awareness of everything around the car. I'm particularly aware of motorbikes because they're small enough to hide completely in your blind spot and quick enough to get in there in no time - a moment's inattention and you've missed them. I'm not for an instant defending the moped here, but even the innocent party can generally learn something from a near miss.:)

wonski

From what I learned living in Netherlands for happy 6 months, cars have very liitle rights in towns and cities, and cyclists/mopeds and scooters do whatever they want. Not sure where their law stands, but after seeing how wide cycling tracks were, as opposed to actual road, drivers are not welcomed... I was only cycling there, but these scooters going pretty fast beside me scared the hell out of me - and no, I wasn't stoned, before someone asks...

keithclancy

Anan1 wrote: »

I have my lapses, but I do try to maintain an awareness of everything around the car. I'm particularly aware of motorbikes because they're small enough to hide completely in your blind spot and quick enough to get in there in no time - a moment's inattention and you've missed them. I'm not for an instant defending the moped here, but even the innocent party can generally learn something from a near miss.:)

Definitely, as a motorcycle rider myself previously, I was always sure to make sure I could see the driver otherwise the driver couldn't see me.

But yeh, I'll ehh .. expect the unexpected in Future