Highway Code changes effective from January 29th

[Wolfie1]

Dont think the land rover driver did anything wrong, was over as far as he could go, looks like the cyclist doesnt have enough skill to me

 

[GrahamT]

Dont think the land rover driver did anything wrong, was over as far as he could go, looks like the cyclist doesnt have enough skill to me

He moved and drove on the opposite verge and it was sufficient for the lead cycle to pass and not fall off, how was he to know there was someone who couldn't control her bicycle and was not proficient enough to unclip ?

 

[190]

The really worrying thing about this incident is not the cyclist's incompetence but the the incompetence of the law enforcement and prosecution. It really does look like they are determined that the cyclist will always be in the right even if they throw themselves off the bike. In that light, the size of the fine beggars belief. Shame on whoever imposed it.

 

[bolidemichael]

What a crock. The LR passed swiftly, but confidently and in a predictable manner. The cyclist failed to control their bike and didn't unclip. Pathetic.

 

[Martyn_n]

Dont think the land rover driver did anything wrong, was over as far as he could go, looks like the cyclist doesnt have enough skill to me

He may have moved over as far as he could but it wasn't the requisite 2m at the speed he was travelling, therefore he should have at least slowed down but probably stopped. Have to agree that the rider was a danger to themselves.
Personally I have suffered far worse close passes and I would simply have put this one down to another entitled car user having no respect for a fellow human being and moved on rather than reporting it. I may have given some similar hand gestures though (Without falling off!)

 

[ChrisHGTV]

He may have moved over as far as he could but it wasn't the requisite 2m at the speed he was travelling, therefore he should have at least slowed down but probably stopped. Have to agree that the rider was a danger to themselves.
Personally I have suffered far worse close passes and I would simply have put this one down to another entitled car user having no respect for a fellow human being and moved on rather than reporting it. I may have given some similar hand gestures though (Without falling off!)

Ive recently come back from Lanzarote and they seem to have a pretty good system -you are supposed to give 2m clearance (if possible) but also slow to 20 kph below whatever the prevailing speed limit is. I have to say it was only the obvious tourist drivers that weren't following this. Of course traffic density was much less which is often the problem in the UK.

Personally in this case i think the LR should have slowed. If you can't give a decent amount of room to reduce the risk of a collision the obvious control measure is to slow so both parties can stop if needed to avoid a collision, or if there is a collision it's at a survivable speed.

It's not just the bikes that may hit something in the road and swerve etc - i was nearly taken out once by a car that tried to squeeze past on a narrow road at speed and clipped the embankment. Luckily they swerved across the road when they had already passed. But if there were other people behind me - bike, car or horse, they would have been hit.

 

[CoopsSA]

Saw that clip of the LR on social media. Yes the driver should have slowed down to pass, but it appears that the cyclist fell due to the rider in front slowing and her not being able to control her bike.

I'm in the lycra mob (as others have put it!) and ride with clipless pedals (daftest description ever as clearly they do have clips!!!) and you need to get used to them and have them sufficiently adjusted to be able to "flick" your ankle out to release the clip. As someone else pointed out, she panicked and couldn't release in time.

 

[whitenemesis]

ride with clipless pedals (daftest description ever as clearly they do have clips!!!)

This always made me smile but it's quite correct "clipless" refers to not having toe-clips, more correctly termed toe-straps. I always rode with clip-in pedals and shoe cleats. Far more secure and allowed one to adjust to prevent knee strain. One has to reach down to release toe-straps but a simple twist releases the cleat, keeping both hands on the handlebars. That all said I fell over numerous times but never on the public roads, in traffic. Just down hills, in streams and forests...

 

[ChrisHGTV]

This always made me smile but it's quite correct "clipless" refers to not having toe-clips, more correctly termed toe-straps. I always rode with clip-in pedals and shoe cleats. Far more secure and allowed one to adjust to prevent knee strain. One has to reach down to release toe-straps but a simple twist releases the cleat, keeping both hands on the handlebars. That all said I fell over numerous times but never on the public roads, in traffic. Just down hills, in streams and forests...

I had to re-aquaint myself with toeclips and straps when i got into vintage cycling (I did the Eroica Britannia in the UK on my 1982 Gazelle a few years ago). The Monsal Head hill climb was a heady mix of fear of stalling and falling off while strapped in, and the trauma of modulating power through an aged drivetrain with completely inappropriate gearing. All with a big crowd watching from the pub at the top - to add an extra frisson!

 

[Fady]

Dont think the land rover driver did anything wrong, was over as far as he could go, looks like the cyclist doesnt have enough skill to me

Well the LR driver very clearly did do something wrong - hence the reason for him being fined. Surely at least that part is obvious?!

Travelling at a speed not appropriate for the road situation. A more considerate driver would have slowed right down and maybe even driven partly on the verge (taking into account the ruggedness of the vehicle). Having passed, it would then take a full half second to get back up to speed.

As a cyclist, if you saw a car hurtling towards you with such momentum on what is a single track road, you can't be sure that he has actually seen you and is not going to mow you down. And that the (likely novice) cyclist failed to unclip and fell over should have had no bearing on the judgement but was no doubt partly caused by the hysteria at what they saw as a near miss.

 

[anglaslt]

Well the LR driver very clearly did do something wrong - hence the reason for him being fined. Surely at least that part is obvious?!

That's not strictly true. The driver pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention. Maybe he was advised to do so but if he had pleaded not guilty maybe he would not have been convicted.

I'm not convinced he did wrong and I do think that GoPro cameras, like dash cams, might possibly give a false impression of speed by distorting the field of view.. I say that because whenever I watch a dash cam recording the vehicle in question usually looks to be diven at speed.

 

[Wolfie1]

So if both partys stopped to let the other go past they would have sat there all day looking at 1 another, it looks like a knee jerk reaction by the police to pacify the angry cycling mob as lets be honest thats what they are an angry mob of cyclists shouting and making hand gestures at the land rover owner and then 1 fell over and made a fool of themselves and then jumped up and down and made a lot of noise till someone was forced to do something

 

[GrahamT]

An EV for 'real men'? Should be an excellent vehicle for mowing down any Extinction Rebellion protesters sitting in the road and feeling even better about it

I test-drove the all-electric Hummer. Can it win over America’s EV skeptics?

A climate-friendly version of the macho, gas-guzzling pickup is aimed at obdurate devotees of US’s supersized car culture

www.theguardian.com

 

[m80]

Bit of a thread resurrection, re the 1.5 - 2m gap for cyclists when overtaking.

As I understand the motorists must allow the safe gap to allow the cyclist to swerve, around pot holes and such.
Ignoring that is an admission by the state that they aren't maintaining our ever deteriorating roads adequately,
how come this danger seemingly disappears when there are a thickett of cyclists up to 3 abreast?

If I do as I can to provide the 'safe' gap but as I overtake a cyclist does swerve and so closes that gap, am I then guilty of the offence?

I considered my exposure to their many helmet cams as I passed 2 groups earlier.
2 lane rural stretch of road, 50mph limit.
At a little over 30 I passed both lots as far over to the right as I could, on straight sections with good view of the up coming 'clear' road. Driving a large Viano I would v possibly be closer than the 2m.
My trailer might have worried them further, if they were anyway.

Any oncoming car would present the same level of risk, although not over taking.

I wonder how far our responsibility goes toward giving the road over to cyclists.

 

[Fastcar155]

I wonder what will happen when a driver stops on the side road waiting to turn left on to the main road, when a pedestrian assumes that the driver is giving way to them in order to cross the main road, and as a result doesn’t look left and right properly before stepping out.

How man drivers are aware of the New Highway code and the said requirements ?

How many pedestrian are aware of the New Highway code ?

How many Cyclists are aware of the New Highway Code ?

50 % may be re the above

If a pedestrian who does not drive why should they know of Highway Code changes ?