Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: themoudie on December 13, 2016, 03:54:16 PM
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This incident just highlights the dangers of the current gloomy conditions, possible inexperience and other distractions that we face daily on the roads at this time of year. Pleased that both Jeremy and his son appear to be OK. Marvellous to watch Jeremy in action.
Jeremy_McWilliams_close_call! (http://www.morebikes.co.uk/34149/jeremy-mcwilliams-hit-by-car-whilst-cycling/)
Go canny, Bill
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I had a near miss on Sunday evening....I live a few miles out of town and was driving my van in to pick up 2 of my sons,Came round a left hand bend at about 45/50 mph and was dazzled by a vehicle coming the other way,I was looking at the nearside verge so as to see as much as possible and just picked out a tiny blinking red light......4 people (adults not kids i must add) pushing their bicycles and all in dark clothes >:(how the hell I managed to swerve round them I will never know.....undercrackers went in the bin when I got home.. :o
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Yes, its terrifying when that happens, and I too have been driving at this time of year, and only seen pedestrians at the last minute. If I'm walking one of the dogs on country roads now, its full on hi-viz jacket minimum.
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A mate of mine who is a complete track day addict, keeps fit by cycling (a lot) says he's been knocked off his push iron more times than he ever was on his motorbike when he rode on the road. The real irony is that he only got into track daze as he felt it would be safer ;) ;)...cheers, Michael
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A mate of mine who is a complete track day addict, keeps fit by cycling (a lot) says he's been knocked off his push iron more times than he ever was on his motorbike when he rode on the road. The real irony is that he only got into track daze as he felt it would be safer ;) ;)...cheers, Michael
Yep, I can second this Michael. I cycle to work a couple of times a week and budget for getting hit at leat once a year. I have 7 lights on the bike (2 at the front, three at the back and two in the wheel spokes), flashing led arm bands and a high viz waistcoat which also incorporates flashing led's. I look very seasonal at this time of year. They still don't see me though - in fact the last time I cycled in last week I came within an inch of been hit whilst going round an island, by a transit which sped on from my left, and the three occupants also took the trouble to slow down so that they could give me a round of verbal abuse.
In comparison, I've been hit on the motorcycle twice in the same period of time as I've been hit on the bicycle about ten times.
I would have cycled in today, but I'm on the train instead as I'm seriously thinking about packing in cycling, as the older I get, the more mortal I feel, and the worse I bounce as I'm sure you can appreciate only too well yourself!
It's a shame because I hate it when the stupid actions of other people force me to change what I do, but perhaps it's time to quite whilst I'm ahead, or at least still alive.....
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The other thing that's worth remembering is that with low sun and wet roads it's very easy to be dazzled. If it's happening to us we can take appropriate action, but if the sun is behind us it can be blinding other road users and they may not see us. Sometimes SMIDSY is more like SMICSY.....
Spitfire pilots didn't attack out of the sun for fun.
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The other thing that's worth remembering is that with low sun and wet roads it's very easy to be dazzled. If it's happening to us we can take appropriate action, but if the sun is behind us it can be blinding other road users and they may not see us. Sometimes SMIDSY is more like SMICSY.....
Spitfire pilots didn't attack out of the sun for fun.
I get what you're saying Ian, but the onus is still on the driver to make sure the road is clear before he pulls out. Personally, if I can't see because I'm blinded by the sun, I'll raise my hand to block the sun, or even in very extreme cases completely block my eye with my hand and then squint between the cracks in my fingers. Pulling out and hoping for the best just because you can't be bothered to make the effort to look properly is totaly unacceptable IMHO...
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I do agree Pete but everyone makes mistakes and at the end of the day I'm always in favour of reducing risk as much as possible. If that means compensating for others' lack of care / skill then so be it.
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Yes I quite agree Ian, and I do just about everything I can to keep myself safe, including just about every visibilty aid known to man and defensive riding techniques, but I'm still thinking it's probably getting too unsafe to continue cycling to work :(.
FWIW, I think of the approximately 20 times I've been hit by cars when riding my bicycle, only two can I put down to poor visibilty caused by a low sun - all the others have just been appalling driving....