Cyclist, another close call today

[emd]

Having just read this thread it has reminded me to get a camera installed in the tractor. It is a fact now the roads are not safe for all users. Personally I think all must accept some blame, esp the lorry driver who should of hung back enough to let you back in if needed. There seems to be a lot more people on the roads who are ignorant and no patience. For me the only way to protect yourself is cameras ( having gone through insurance claim which was there fault but It can’t be proved because they lied ) for evidence and give yourself time. No matter the law would you really want to lame or worse someone even if it was there fault. The law is old and not clear but you would be left to defend yourself as to how an accident occurred.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

10-15 years ago if I met a cyclists down narrow road they would get off there bikes and hop up on to the verge. Doesn’t happen these days, they even ride past a perfectly good passing place too and expect me to reverse or drive into the ditch or hedge. Complete bell ends!!!

I do that all the time . But I want to be liked , not hated , do the same when I'm on the road with a tractor . Give way if I can . Did the same when I drove my straw lorry , , but lorries were very slow in those days,, I think it's to do with how people a bought up . Some have an arrogant attitude

 

[slackjawedyokel]

I do wonder when I notice a cyclist seemingly either oblivious to other road users or so arrogant that they feel they’re more important than anyone else what role an app is playing. Are they so focussed on gaining a PB (or bettering someone else’s time) that everyone else can go hang?
This is a small minority of cyclists I hasten to add!

Always pulled over as kid(50 years ago) on my bike on our narrow country roads when heard vehicle behind me. Modern cars are very quiet now. Try to take tractor on A road at lunchtimes and avoid rush hours at either end of the day..Got to remember we are not paying for fund licence anymore and these huge tractors are really destroying the country roads which were never built for such weights. Part of the problem is that tractors sometimes spend more time on the roads than in the fields especially when transporting.
Having said that cyclists too could do with learning some good manners but maybe it just a sign of the me only society we live in and also all these apps that record P.B. times as they cycle. (P.B. = Personal Best.)

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I would say one thing, it's not always easy to see someone behind . If there is a lot of car noise . Cyclist depend on hearing a lot . Its not safe to keep looking behind on busy roads . I take the point about mirrors being a good thing .
Cyclyng. Is all about weight,
It's very competitive. One ounce added is a lot to some of them

 

[JJfarmer]

Came in behind 2 cyclists going up a hill. Had the tractor and 4 furrow plough on, they were doing about 15mph and couldnt get past. There was a lorry right on my tail followed by numerous cars.

Turned a corner at the top of the hill and went for the overtake going down hill now. Of course as always they sped up! Peddling for all they were worth. I was barely able to get back on to my side of the road in time for on coming traffic. Basically had to barge in just ahead of them. The alternative was to abandon the overtake but i had an artic lorry right on my tail.

What are these people trying to prove? Who is going to be the worst of in a collision, do they really think they have a chance or are they willing to risk there life to prove a point?

And who is in the right here? They sped up dramatically from when i started to overtake.

They then followed me for a mile down a slight hill holding everyone else up.

Why are there so many cyclists on a farming forum page get to f**k an away to a.. I bum my 15 grand bike page ! Cyclists have 2 categories, decent mountain bikers , usually families out for fun who 9 out of 10 times pull off the road for you , and then there are those absolute cock knockers in lycra that think they are doing the tour de f**king France on a country lane ! They are a plague , wish they would all just get to f**k !

 

[JJfarmer]

I would say one thing, it's not always easy to see someone behind . If there is a lot of car noise . Cyclist depend on hearing a lot . Its not safe to keep looking behind on busy roads . I take the point about mirrors being a good thing .
Cyclyng. Is all about weight,
It's very competitive. One ounce added is a lot to some of them

Clearly because most of them lack an ounce of decency !

 

[roscoe erf]

To the op you only really made one mistake posting it on here

 

[SRRC]

I've said this before but perhaps some of the more intolerant drivers posting on here need reminding that this is a public forum.
If you are involved in a serious road accident then the prosecution will find your posts on here and they will be used against you in a court of law. Your posts won't sound quite so funny when read out in court, especially when the prosecution uses them to suggest murder (that you deliberately set out to kill) rather than manslaughter (that it was an accident).
Please be patient and tolerant.

 

[betweenthelines]

Part of being a good driver is knowing that other road users will often do something unexpected

 

[hoff135]

The argument against me seems to be i should have anticipated they would speed up and i did. What i did not anticipate is they would go as hard as they could making it very difficult to return to the correct side of the road. I thought this sort of behaviour would be classed as dangerous. I WAS AHEAD, they were cycling somewhere near the rear of the plough and i was flat out.

Tractor and plough is a handful at the best of times, slowing down and returning to behind the cyclists would have been a nightmare.

 

[multi power]

I had the speed going up the hill but there was on coming traffic.

When i started my overtake we were doing 15mph. I can do over 25. I was ahead of them but they were following at the end of the plough going as hard as they could.

I thought it was the responsibility of road users to allow vehicles to overtake safely?

What you are saying is next time im in thr car and someone overtakes me i can speed up and keep them out and force them into a head on collision or pull back risking a collision with the vehicle behind?

You surely understand that bikes go faster downhill?
In any case the responsibility when overtaking rests 100% with the person overtaking

 

[Nearly]

Part of being a good driver is knowing that other road users will often do something stupid

 

[hoff135]

You surely understand that bikes go faster downhill?
In any case the responsibility when overtaking rests 100% with the person overtaking

No matter what antics the person being overtaken carries out?

 

[TheTallGuy]

The argument against me seems to be i should have anticipated they would speed up and i did. What i did not anticipate is they would go as hard as they could making it very difficult to return to the correct side of the road. I thought this sort of behaviour would be classed as dangerous. I WAS AHEAD, they were cycling somewhere near the rear of the plough and i was flat out.

Tractor and plough is a handful at the best of times, slowing down and returning to behind the cyclists would have been a nightmare.

That's the point though... you didn't consider that they might actually go quite fast once beyond the brow of the hill in, your actions are much the same way that idiots overtake when exiting roundabouts. Furthermore, it sounds like you didn't factor in the handling before committing to the manoeuvre or have a "Plan B" if something should go wrong. Yes the cyclists should have considered/followed rule 168, but two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Please dont tar everyone with the same brush , I can assure you I go out of my way to be helpful to passing engines,
What about the tractor load of bales driving toward carmarthen yesterday. Must have been 40 engines behind him . Drove straight past a big pull in , I'm sure what he is doing was far imprtane than the 40 others behind him

 

[hoff135]

That's the point though... you didn't consider that they might actually go quite fast once beyond the brow of the hill in, your actions are much the same way that idiots overtake when exiting roundabouts. Furthermore, it sounds like you didn't factor in the handling before committing to the manoeuvre or have a "Plan B" if something should go wrong. Yes the cyclists should have considered/followed rule 168, but two wrongs don't make a right.

Is it dangerous driving to keep an overtaking vehicle out on the wrong side of the road by closing the gap or matching their speed? Should i predict that every slow vehicle i overtake would deliberately speed up to keep me on the wrong side of the road? Plan b in any case would be an emergency stop

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Is it dangerous driving to keep an overtaking vehicle out on the wrong side of the road by closing the gap or matching their speed? Should i predict that every slow vehicle i overtake would deliberately speed up to keep me on the wrong side of the road? Plan b in any case would be an emergency stop

Would you overtake in your car if it was restricted to 30 mph and you was following a,Ferrari

 

[hoff135]

Would you overtake in your car if it was restricted to 30 mph and you was following a,Ferrari

If he was doing 20 yes. Small cars over take high powered cars all the time. What they are doing and what they arw capable of doing are 2 different things

 

[Derrick Hughes]

If he was doing 20 yes. Small cars over take high powered cars all the time. What they are doing and what they arw capable of doing are 2 different things

Yes but I can overtake 30 cars in town they get gridlocked. I would never attempt to overtake a car on a country road

 

[Oat]

I had a slightly similar instance were a bike hit me after I had overtaken them. But fortunately, I was driving a car, and the hit was only minor and caused no damage.

I was driving along a road and came across a timed cycle race were cyclists were being released at set intervals. This meant that for about 5 miles all the vehicles travelling along the relatively small road with lots of bends were continually having to hold back behind cyclists, waiting for safe opportunities to pass, and then once you got past one, you would get stuck behind another one or two in a few hundred yards.
The problem I had was that when I came to a straight stretch of road with no oncoming vehicles, I overtook a cyclist (or several in a group) safely and got back to the correct side of the road behind another car; but then myself and the car in front had to slow down because there was a bend in the road and we were stuck behind another slower moving cyclist. The problem was that while overtaking, the cyclist had decided that since it was a straight piece of flat road, and they were being timed, they could start increasing their speed (nothing wrong with that). But what they didn't appear to notice was that myself and the car in front had slowed down considerably as we approached the bend. As the cyclist was positioned quite close to the edge of the road (actually meant it was easier for other people to overtake them), the next thing I knew was them hitting/bouncing off the side of my car.
The cyclist was very apologetic and accepted it was their fault. They also said that as they were part of a cycle club, they had insurance, so if I wanted to make a damage claim, it was OK. When I checked my car, there was no damage; the cyclist was a bit bruised but there was no serious damage to them or their bike (they could still ride it), so everyone parted and continued with their journeys. Obviously the cyclist wasn't going to win the race, but hey ho. A few hundred yards later, I saw a race steward, so I stopped and let then know that the incident had happened, and that everyone was OK.