Cyclist fatalities

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cinek

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Some of you have probably heard that there were several incidents in the recent weeks which resulted in 4 cyclists fatalities (London).

As much I dont want to see anybody getting hurt, it starts to getting my blood pressure up hearing endless comments about the need of educating drivers.
Yes, you have heard it correct - drivers, not cyclists.

Before you can jump in your car and drive it around there are number of things that you must have in place.

Despite the fact I believe the current driving exam is not adequate, it is an exam nonetheless. You then have to purchase insurance, road tax, have valid MOT and generally speaking ensure the car is kept in good and safe condition. That includes tyres and brakes.

As a cyclists, you dont need none of the above. Jumping red lights, screaming down the footway whilst pushing pedestrians out of the way, riding up so close to the heavies that the driver has no chance of seeing them...these are just the tip of an iceberg.

In pretty much every situation where there is cyclist vs driver involved, it will be the cyclists who will get injured or possibly killed.
Of course I dont want them getting hurt, but what about the life of the poor sod in the car/van/lorry who will then have to live with the guilt for the rest of his/hers life.

Again, there isnt a simple solution to all this, but it is getting really tiresome of media blaming just the drivers, with very little attention directed at cyclists themselves.


These were taken about 2h after the fatal incident in Bow, less than a mile away from the scene.

IMG_2225_zps9496b65e.jpg


IMG_2227_zps740ef989.jpg


She is wearing a big, furry hoodie which prevents her from seeing around
She has headphones in her ears which indicates she cant hear to any noise around her
She is not holding to her handle bars
She instead holds a phone in her hands




This one is from few months back, driving on dual carriageway in the lane 1 where this cyclists pulls at full speed rather closely in front of me.
It is not shown on the video how close it really was, and that the only reason I avoided him was that lane 2 was empty at the time and that is where I had to escape not to run him over.

[YOUTUBE HD]2fwAxAwu12w[/YOUTUBE HD]
 
agree completely with all of that.

cyclists do appear to think themselves immortal - sadly they are not, and you have to remember that the car, lorry or bus driver unfortunately involved may be proven to be 100% without blame, fault yet still has to live with the fact he took someone's life

they are their own worst enemies
 
they are their own worst enemies

You cannot generalist all cyclists, nor drivers.

I cycled around 50miles a week getting to work and back. I am still recovering from my broken ribs due to a passenger opening their door on me.

Thread here:
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/driving-incidents-roadrage/160888-khz-vs-car.html

-Only last night on my cycle home a Woman pulled out infront of me nearly killing me, my front wheel hit her wing after I slammed my brakes on. I have an bright, flashing front light. She simply didnt look/no indicators.

-On Monday morning a bus pulled out on me without indicating, narrowly missing myself and 3 other cyclists.

However, when I am in my car I see countless cyclists without lights, going through red lights, risking their lives. I understand that there are countless 'fools' who are cycling around.

All modes of traffic are as bad as each other, except for one difference. On a bike your exposed and will always come off worse, maybe even fatal in a crash.

I write this from Cambridge, the UK's highest number of cyclists per journey.

And no, im not one of the Lycra brigade...!
 
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Did the police stop that woman on the bicycle and have a word with her? They should do.

Actually, I think that picture is worthy of sending to the newspapers to help highlight the issue.
 
Did the police stop that woman on the bicycle and have a word with her? They should do.

Actually, I think that picture is worthy of sending to the newspapers to help highlight the issue.

No they didnt stop her.
And you are probably right, it is worth sending it to the press/radio.
 
I expressed surprise to a friend of mine who cycles from Ealing to the City & back each day that the streets of London were not more densely paved with the mangled remains of Boris bikes and their users.

His take on it is that the damn things are so heavy & slow that users do not attempt some of the more advanced traffic weaving tactics and mostly stick to routes they know.

Tourists are the ones who generally come to grief on them, but then they can do that on foot as well.

(BTW, the most common RTA involving pedestrians in London is now collisions with bikes, very often those whose users think they are exempt from the laws pertaining to pedestrian crossings and traffic lights)
 
Its really easy cyclists and vehicles don't mix, remove the cyclists onto cycle lanes or off road trails and tracks, but no that would upset the greenies and the PC brigade so we'll keep on killing them instead :doh: India have got it right just ban them from the roads simples road deaths decrease, traffic flow increases win win for everybody :thumb:
 
I got smashed up cycling in London when a Bus driver decided to let a passenger jump out the front doors of the bus in a traffic queue. He actually stepped onto my front wheel. Both of us were hurt.

Bike v anything including other bikes, is never going to end well.
 
Tourists are the ones who generally come to grief on them, but then they can do that on foot as well.

(BTW, the most common RTA involving pedestrians in London is now collisions with bikes, very often those whose users think they are exempt from the laws pertaining to pedestrian crossings and traffic lights)

Or pedestrians stepping out without looking
 
IMG_2227a_zpsef0de316.jpg


Full resolution photo...

Or is it? Is it actually showing any bigger than previous one?
 
One observation I have about cyclist in London is that we seem to have a high concentration of cyclists riding very expensive high end bikes, dressed as though they are in a competition and riding at a pace that would justify a podium place. Really aggressive riding, rarely stopping or slowing for anything, ducking, diving and serious risk taking is seemingly de riguer.

I can't say I have witnessed this to such an extent in any other major European city.
 
You cannot generalist all cyclists, nor drivers.

Sorry if I came across that way - I wasn't trying to generalise.

How about "Some of them are their own worst enemies" ?

As a ex :)() motorcyclist I know exactly what you mean - you ride a brightly coloured motorbike, bright leathers & helmet & headlight on, yet indeed some drivers just don't see you.

With a motor bike you have the added advantage of power to get out of a situation & incredible brakes but a cyclist has not. Bicycles have amazing maneuverability which clearly lulls some into a false sense of security and with zero lane discipline or appreciation that big things need space to turn, there is a depressing inevitability.

It happens with cars too - only last evening I'm driving up the road on which I live - cul-de-sac, two narrow lanes - and as I'm about to pass a car that parks annoyingly on the road, suddenly the door open wide right in front of me. Not sure which aspect of the headlights (this was night time) the driver missed :crazy:
 
My biggest gripe with cyclists is that many do not use or have lights. I encounter many in Taunton where I live and yesterday when driving in Bristol at 6pm I saw 4 grouped together without lights.

I don't want an accident with these people but I do want them to wear high viz jackets and display lights from sunset to sunrise when riding their bikes.

By the way, I am also a keen cyclist and cycle about 50 miles a week luckily, during daylight hours.
 
I've witnessed no end of stupid acts by cyclists - I won't list them all, they have been well described on this thread and many others.

The flip side is that there are cyclists who obey the highway code and remember what they were taught on the cycling proficiency courses. I know, I was one. I use the past tense as I simply will no longer cycle on the roads. Even keeping to the left, looking round, using mirror and bell, stopping at lights and junctions, signalling clearly and in good time, wearing hi-vis gear, having good lights and using them etc etc, I have experienced an ever increasing tendency to be cut-up, nudged into the kerb/hedgerows, verbally abused and made to feel I was inches from a visit to A&E (or even the afterlife).

So my bike stays in the garage gathering dust and a heather lifestyle takes a knock. I'd rather be alive and less healthy than dead or maimed. Apologies to all those drivers who create space and "think bike" - I know there are a lot of good drivers out there, but the idiots (and that includes the stupid cyclists with their iPods, hoodies and gung-ho attitude to the roads too) have made it simply too scary for me.
 
I recall speaking to a Police Officer. They too a HGV into London, and invited cyclists to sit in it and see what they could see.

Cyclists then argued (more argued than not) that they would be in the right, even though they would be dead.

Say's it all really.
 
I drive into and out of London every day and have done for the last 15 years. Cycling in London has expanded dramatically in London over the last 3 years since the Boris introduced the Barclays cycling scheme on 30th July 2010 and the introduction of the blue Barclays cycle lanes.
Prior to this cyclists were around on London roads but nowhere near the numbers we see now.
In general, most drivers I encounter in London day to day are ok and I would say the standard of driving is good. Yes I do sometimes encounter drivers who are aggressive or not aware of their surroundings etc etc but generally you can spot them quite easily and learn to avoid them or give them a wide berth. Even if they are not ok drivers then they mostly obey the rules of the road. Percentage wise I would say 95% of drivers in London are ok.
I also see lots of cyclists every day and have to say I am stunned at how badly and stupidly lots of them ride. I see tens of incidents per day where cyclists either ride in a dangerous manner, go through red lights, put themselves in an extremely dangerous position with respect to a HGV or bus or zip in and out of traffic with no warning or indication that they are going to do this. It staggers me why more cyclists are not injured on a daily basis and the reason why is explained in the paragraph above in that drivers in London are generally good and it is this reason why so little cyclists are being injured compared to the number on the streets of London.
 
Very complex multifaceted problem. There appears to be good and bad on both sides. Most of recent deaths appear to collisions between large commercial vehicles trucks--buses and cyclists-- which one could argue is almost certainly a visibility problem.
London cycling deaths: Woman killed in lorry crash becomes fourth fatality in eight days on streets of capital - Home News - UK - The Independent
Despite councils wanting people to abandon their cars in favour of bikes it has perhaps reached the point where the Laissez-faire attitude to cycle ownership has to be reconsidered. Perhaps some form of licencing or permit has to be introduced for everyone's safety/sanity ? Part of the present problem stems from the fact there appears to be very few effective sanctions that can be applied in law to cyclists for any transgressions in their riding behaviour. At present we have a road population consisting of one group that are highly regulated and another which are not. Human nature being what it is that's a situation that's on a collision course with itself literally and metaphorically.:dk:
 
Cyclists then argued (more argued than not) that they would be in the right, even though they would be dead.

This is actually what I have observed in that when talking to cyclists about incidents (we have several cyclists in the company) they never seem to accept any responsibility for the fact that it might have been their fault. It is always the car driver, bus driver, HGV driver, motorcyclist or pedestrians fault.

This attitude was further illustrated last week when I had a cyclist attempt to run straight across the main road in front of me (not in stationary or slow moving traffic btw) - I managed to stop in time before he ended up on the bonnet and wound the window down to have a word with him pointing out that he was breaking the law and in this scenario the accident would have been totally his fault. His response was interesting in that he said I should give him a little consideration (in other words expect him to do something stupid.) He clearly thought that obeying the rules of the road (or having common sense for that matter) did not apply to cyclists.
 
Part of the problem seems to be cyclists overtaking on the nearside. I was taught never to do this but it now seems to be accepted practice.
 
Cyclists then argued (more argued than not) that they would be in the right, even though they would be dead.

Say's it all really.

Dead right?

A few weeks ago a string of 4 teenaged cyclists were casually running the staggered 4 way traffic light in my village with litre bottles of something in their hands when I, with the green light in my favour, came through the light, around the bend & had to brake fairly sharply or mow a couple of them down.

Blowing my horn resulted in the obligatory suggestion that I Foxtrot Oscar.

Anyone who cycles in London is crazy.
 

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