Near Misses Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169209#Comment_122169209

Loads of them you could anticipate the pedestrian coming out and he took no action, be it slowing or moving out. Good reactions but bad road craft.

Paddigol

I'll just have to disagree with ye so. Plenty of anticipation from what I saw. Also disagree on the filtering and 'undertaking' criticisms. There's not much you can do when a pedestrian steps off a footbath into a cycle lane without looking, other than ditch the cycle lane and just take the road. And then there's not much you can do on the road when drivers drift across/ hook you, other than take the middle of the lane. I think the 30kmph suggestion is well off too. In almost all of the clips he avoids collision by braking without any sign of locking up.

Anyway… I'll leave it there and have another look at the video for a few post-lunch laughs

magicbastarder

been five or six years since i was in london (well, dartford) and the cyclists were weirdly aggressive. big family funeral, we met at her house and it was a glorious day, with bunches standing out on the path outside and occasionally on the street. loads of being shouted at by cyclists, even though it was an otherwise quiet road.

MojoMaker

Can't watch that video. Too much going on.

ARX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169945#Comment_122169945

London is full of miserable d**kheads.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169976#Comment_122169976

i'm always wary about dissecting videos - it's easy to see things in a field of view in a video which would not be what would be the focus of attention for the cyclist.

blackwhite

To be fair to the person who uploaded that, there's really only 2 incidents I'd put him at fault for.

The one at 30 seconds; the videographer is entering a main road from a secondary road. The pedestrian is continuing along the main road, and technically has the right of way.

Yes, the pedestrian is engrossed in his phone and not aware of his surroundings, but equally well he's within his rights to continue to cross there. Piss poor awareness from the rider not to see that he was likely to step out.

The one at 2.22 - riding into the back of someone and blaming them not having a brake-light - that's a symptom of not leaving a safe gap to stop in - no different to a driver tailgating someone.

For some of the others, a bit of anticipation might have made them less of a close call, but equally well it's not like he's going so fast as to have to lock up to stop in time. I think the nature of the camera makes the speed look a bit higher than it is

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122170464#Comment_122170464

Couldn't disagree more with your first point, no pedestrian has the right to wander straight out on the road like that.

And agree more with your second, the brake light one was just stupid on his part.

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122171167#Comment_122171167

The pedestrian isn’t “wandering out into the road”, they are continuing along the main road.
Unless the junction is light controlled then the pedestrian continuing along the main carriageway has priority over any motorist or cyclist who is entering or exiting the main roadway.

Legal right of way doesn’t mean it’s sensible to just continue regardless, and any sane pedestrian will check that it’s safe before proceeding across the junction - but that doesn’t change that they have the legal right of way there.

Thargor

Oof Righttobikeit had a nasty accident for no apparent reason, havent seen it mentioned anywhere else so apologies if posted already:

https://twitter.com/righttobikeit/status/1793287889414975778?cxt=HBwWxMS3ybH1hOMxAAAA&cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email

magicbastarder

That looks sore - he points out in a subsequent tweet that he reckons his chain came off.

MojoMaker

Ouch, ouch, ouch….poor lad. That looked mystifying but if the chain did drop and locked up his rear it might explain it.

Collarbone is par for the course I guess, but 5 broken ribs from that kind of a collision is pure bad luck.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122172857#Comment_122172857

I though his chain dropped or slipped, rather than lock up the cassette, and so his left foot drops as he is out of the saddle, I've seen it happen before. On a side note, did that car just keep driving post, I have no sound in work.

hesker

Car stopped and helped. At least you can hear 2 lads assisting him.

Worn chainring has been suggested elsewhere.

Seth Brundle

Some time off the road might be a good thing!

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122172923#Comment_122172923

That would explain the chain dropping and his left leg slipping down

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122172598#Comment_122172598

Ooof is right. That looked properly sore. Sometimes it's the crashes you don't see coming that take the wind out of you the most, mentally as well as physically.

robinph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169898#Comment_122169898

The ones where he's filtering along busses and other stationary traffic, yes. He was going way too fast and not appropriate to the situation.

But the number of clips where he's riding with the pace of other cyclists on the dedicated cycle way and pedestrians just leap out into the middle of the flow surprised me. Of course we don't know how long he's been compiling that selection of clips for, but was a lot along a section of the Thames Embankment that I recognised, and it wasn't like it was tourists jumping into the path. It was people on their way too /from work who should know that is a cycle path.

fiacha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122172604#Comment_122172604

The anti-cycling brigade must have tampered with it /s

Poor jokes aside, that looks like a heavy fall. Scary getting winded like that. A few years back I had a very embarrassing clipping-in incident where I somehow managed to lift both wheels off the ground and land on my side in a bus lane. I was 135kg at the time. My arm driving into my side tore all the rib cartilage on the right side. Took months of painful healing. Can't imagine how painful those breaks must be.

I think the guy is an attention seeking plonker, but wouldn't wish harm on anyone. Hope he makes a good recovery and is back out terrorising the roads again soon.

magicbastarder

doing 40km/h+ along the side of the runway earlier, a chap driving a hannigan freight 40 footer overtook me, into oncoming traffic. it was not a mistake, it was quite deliberate. the motorist in the oncoming car had to swerve to avoid being hit.

remarkably, just as he had about finished pulling back into lane, the driver of a van coming the opposite direction (behind the car mentioned above) appeared to swing towards the lorry while leaning on the horn, presumably as a way of voicing his displeasure. he got uncomfortably close to him.

De Bhál

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174645#Comment_122174645

I emailed Fingal County Council and a few Fingal councillers after Christmas about installing some sort of hard shoulder or better still a cycle track along those roads by the runways. Swords Finglas by the back of the airport is a road I use often and the amount of close passes is scary enough.

They responded eventaully saying

A number of the perimeter roads around the airport are in the ownership of Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). There are ongoing discussions between Fingal County Council and the DAA in relation to changing these roads to public ownership which would allow Fingal to start planning for improved pedestrian and cycle facilities around the airport. Unfortunately at this moment we can’t provide a definitive timeline as government funding will be required and project teams are at capacity delivering other cycle schemes in north Dublin.

magicbastarder

how common is that i wonder; public roads which are not in public ownership?

i've often wondered why they don't stick a roundabout at the western end of the runway (the junction only a couple of hundred metres from the other roundabout); that can be hairy, and clogs up badly if the M50 is busy. maybe if that junction is also owned by DAA, they're not going to invest in that.

magicbastarder

it turns out my father in law knows the owner of that truck company.

CramCycle

Two near misses, one my fault. First, car came round a bend, head in phone, wrong side of the road. Missed me by inches, not even sure he noticed. The second was my fault for not keeping my ego in check. Winding back roads, lorry in front, never going to be a place for anyone to pass but we are doing the same speed so I give a gap just for breaking as he might have to. Two moron kids overtake me into the braking gap, so I had to slam on but my ego got the better of me and as soon as we had a straight stretch (roads not wide enough for an overtake), I done to them what they done to me and called in as I passed, telling them it was well **** worth it. It was childish, stupid and reckless but I'll hold my hands up and admit that but that doesn't make me right and I'm a bit ashamed of it as I'd have had more of an impact just sitting in his rear view like I was for the first few minutes, hands off the bars and shrugging my shoulders like a sarcastic f*ckhole.

nicksnikita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122140534#Comment_122140534

When the opportunity arises, I would usually make eye contact with the driver, smile and give a thumbs up as a sarcastic response to daft driving.

It usually enrages the driver even more than an abusive response. It also takes the opportunity for the aggressive verbal response away from the driver. Or if they’re aggressive, I always ignore, or laugh.

I don’t do any urban commuting anymore though.

elchupanebrey

Driving to the exit of a housing estate yesterday. Cyclist in front of me, car in front of them. Just before the exit of the estate onto main road there is a right turn into a shop/pub carpark. The driver in front stopped to take the turn into the carpark. Cyclist decides just as the car is beginning it's turn to scoot around the right of the car to cross the road and mount the footpath on the other side. Luckily the driver reacted at last second or the biker would have been face planting the side of the car. Cyclist didn't even notice how close they came to getting a rattle

(I say cyclist but they were using a motorised bike/scooter hybrid thing with small wheels and a saddle, not sure what they are)

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174645#Comment_122174645

today i hit the side of the runway and turned right (crash on the M50, which snarls up the road westbound along the runway).

a lad in a black qashqai overtook me; again into oncoming traffic, who had to swerve to avoid him. about 100 or 150m after passing me, he braked and indicated to turn right into na fianna's grounds. i guess he was late for something.

magicbastarder

good ****, driving really *did* get worse in the eight month hiatus i had off the bike. two quite hairy ones in about 10km today.

going up through ballymun, approaching lights which went green, so i accelerated. but the guy in the white van to the right (i was in the bus lane, he was in the normal driving lane) decided 'actually, i want to go left at this junction' and put his indicator on at the very instant he gunned it and swung left. if i'd been two or three metres further up the lane, he'd have hit me.

then, on a winding countryish road, some **** with an N plate who'd been stuck behind me less than five seconds, decided to overtake into a blind bend, just as a double decker bus appeared round the bend. i'd say he missed it by about a metre. i suspect the bus driver needs new pants.

we were travelling in the direction the camera is facing here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4569871,-6.2662067,3a,75y,320.18h,81.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLVE8ya6R5G9chdbxjsHYLA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu

monkeyslayer

Nearly got rammed into the ditch by the local postman yesterday… was ambling up a quiet sunny kidare laneway with not a care in the world when started to pass a parked post van with its engine idling outside a garden gate when suddenly it sprung to life and came straight for the side of my bike only for him to hear me shout and swing back in and miss me by about a half a millimetre. I just kept going, afraid I might actually get violent with this guy if he tried to reason he was right, he slowed along side me a bit further up and apologized I just said check your mirrors and your blind spot will you please, I could've been a child, a horse, a car, anything really. He kept talking but I just went on after saying there's nothing really to discuss, I'm not in the mood, just check your surroundings.

Quango Unchained

I had a recent unpleasant experience with an An Post van. He overtook me on a stretch of road, where a stop-go was in place and the other half of the road was closed. The road was only closed for about 150m, the overtake was too close and totally unnecessary. He stopped just up the road to pull out some post and was looking over his shoulder to see my reaction. I just kept going.

I used to work in an office beside an An Post depot. Everyone in the office used to complain about the maniacal driving around the carpark.