[Travel] I felt powerless - So I started filming’: one-man battle with dangerous drivers.

[Motogull]

[tweet]1478663732918202368[/tweet]

 

[Easy 10]

Quite topical, this. I nearly had a spandex goon under my wheels at about 7.30 this morning. He was going like the CLAPPERS along the A259 eastbound through Southwick. I prepared to overtake, going wide and giving him plenty of room, but just as I was about to pass him, absolutely without warning or signal, he veered to the right, straight across the front of me to take that turn at Shoreham Port that leads down to the locks. There was no oncoming traffic, so he clearly thought this was the perfect moment to just swerve out and clatter across the road to make his turn without slowing down, regardless of what was behind him. I was within inches of wiping him out.

I jammed on the brakes and gave him a blast. The pedestrian crossing ahead was red, so I stopped there and had the opportunity of winding the window down to call him an absolute f*cking moron. Predictable finger gestures were returned from the Froome wannabe as he barrelled away full pelt.

Yes there are plenty of shit drivers as well, etc etc. But the staggering ARROGANCE of this prick had to be seen to be believed. I sincerely hope that prat ended up in the canal.

 

[zefarelly]

Quite topical, this. I nearly had a spandex goon under my wheels at about 7.30 this morning. He was going like the CLAPPERS along the A259 eastbound through Southwick. I prepared to overtake, going wide and giving him plenty of room, but just as I was about to pass him, absolutely without warning or signal, he veered to the right, straight across the front of me to take that turn at Shoreham Port that leads down to the locks. There was no oncoming traffic, so he clearly thought this was the perfect moment to just swerve out and clatter across the road to make his turn without slowing down, regardless of what was behind him. I was within inches of wiping him out.

I jammed on the brakes and gave him a blast. The pedestrian crossing ahead was red, so I stopped there and had the opportunity of winding the window down to call him an absolute f*cking moron. Predictable finger gestures were returned from the Froome wannabe as he barrelled away full pelt.

Yes there are plenty of shit drivers as well, etc etc. But the staggering ARROGANCE of this prick had to be seen to be believed. I sincerely hope that prat ended up in the canal.

Zis can be arrayn-jed

I nearly booted a lycra **** off on my way home today. Full beam bender oncoming, in the middle of the path . . . I was left side, as was a padestrian ahead, I slowed and pulled out to pass them, he just kept coming.

I'm sure lots of these cyclists haven't even passed a cycling proficiency test let alone have any form of proper license.

 

[1066familyman]

We are so far behind the curve on progressive thinking about sustainable transport as a real holistic approach across the board.

All this transformation to electric cars or whatever technology is going to be meaningless if we just swap motor vehicle for motor vehicle on our roads.....'but at least it's an electric powered rush hour gridlock'.

[MENTION=225]Hamilton[/MENTION] points out, a percentage of human beings are dickheads, so it matters not that drivers text, jump lights, do stupid things because an equal percentage of cyclists will behave the same - it's the human beings not the vehicles. It's just that getting hit by a push bike is likely to be walking away a bit angry rather than in an ambulance to an ICU.

Comes back to the overarching discussion about infrastructure and what we're going to do in order to give up our addiction and belief that it is a god given right to drive a car everywhere we want and when we want.

Many people require a vehicle as a necessity for their daily lives whether through work, disability or other requirement, but a huge number, especially in cities and towns they are just a convenience, not a necessity. Those where it is a necessity need to be prioritised, their journeys made easier at the expense of those whose journey is only a convenience.

My daughter is 18 in the summer, we talked about getting her a car, but why? We live in Hove, close to buses, trains, we all have bikes, surprising how far a brisk 40min walk gets you. We have 1 car we can share between us. We don't need a car each, it would be convenient of course, if one person has the car, and you need to nip out to the supermarket, but that is what needs to be let go of - that convenience is a necessity, it simply isn't.

Excellent post!

100% this all day long

 

[1066familyman]

They're actually doing the right thing. When there's a group of cyclists, they should ride in a pack. This reduces the amount of time that a car needs to overtake the entire pack shorter, and also "encourages" the driver of the vehicle overtaking to do so correctly by giving the cyclists the required room instead of trying to squeeze between the cyclists and oncoming traffic.

Never should a car / truck driver be expecting a group of cyclists to string themselves out in a long line hugging the gutter. It puts everyone in more danger, for longer.

All of this, but I'll also add the following exemption, so to speak.

On club rides, especially on quiet country roads that are barely more than single lane, we will call 'Car back!' when a car is behind so we can all 'file up' to let it past, when safe to do so. Sometimes we'll get a friendly toot from the motorist for this too. It's a nice courtesy moment both ways.

The reverse...
When a car is coming the other way, the riders at the front will immediately shout 'Car up!' and we'll file up sharpish for our own safety on narrow roads. This is strictly for our benefit. Nothing more.

 

[portlock seagull]

Team Mickey all the way - even if he caught me!

Some of his uploads are fascinating human psychology. The sense of entitlement and outright denial to accept being in the wrong to the point of further self inflicted pain is incredible.

Fair play to the guy for making our roads safer. Forget the offence made, these people deserved their punishments for being such total cocks once caught.

 

[portlock seagull]

Quite topical, this. I nearly had a spandex goon under my wheels at about 7.30 this morning. He was going like the CLAPPERS along the A259 eastbound through Southwick. I prepared to overtake, going wide and giving him plenty of room, but just as I was about to pass him, absolutely without warning or signal, he veered to the right, straight across the front of me to take that turn at Shoreham Port that leads down to the locks. There was no oncoming traffic, so he clearly thought this was the perfect moment to just swerve out and clatter across the road to make his turn without slowing down, regardless of what was behind him. I was within inches of wiping him out.

I jammed on the brakes and gave him a blast. The pedestrian crossing ahead was red, so I stopped there and had the opportunity of winding the window down to call him an absolute f*cking moron. Predictable finger gestures were returned from the Froome wannabe as he barrelled away full pelt.

Yes there are plenty of shit drivers as well, etc etc. But the staggering ARROGANCE of this prick had to be seen to be believed. I sincerely hope that prat ended up in the canal.

The Froome wannabe is a big part of the problem. Snarling, aggressive, riding like he’s had a litre of 70s orange squash…They make it hard to overtake sometimes and give little consideration as you say to other road users - but are the first to accuse in an incident. Cycling in this country is all pumped up Lycra’s tearing about as if they’re being timed. Far from the Scandi bike riders in cities where everyone seems chilled and will get from A to B whenever.

 

[portlock seagull]

This is my fave video of his!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sii4jDh3WL0

This one is exceptional. The victim hood is classic millennial, she’s so predictable in this respect with her language that you could sit with a bingo card ticking off the buzzwords. If someone gave her a slap, it could never be hard enough!

 

[clapham_gull]

So it took four posts for the "but cyclists are bad too!" to happen.

Personally given the choice I'd be hit by a bike than a car.

Unfortunately in London the behaviour of some cyclists increases the chances of a pedestrian being hit by a car. I know who frightens me more and I don't own a car and I'm very "anti car" in respect of London.

I've lost count of the time where cyclists ignoring red lights (I'm sorry to say most do outside of rush hour) have caused confusion in pedestrians who are legitimately crossing the road, particularly elderly ones.

They either pause their crossing or worse belief they have crossed the road when they shouldn't and try and head back.

On a multi-road junction with cars then approaching before you crossed the road, it can be terrifying and disorientating.

Don't even start me on cycling on the pavement, I see it every time I leave the house. Or cyclists who hog the paths in the commons where they are signs clearly stating that pedestrians have priority.

I have little time for cyclists who moan about the lack of respect from car drivers when they exhibit exactly the same level of respect to pedestrians.

Not sure why two wheels or four turn people into an ******** in London, but they are all as bad as each other.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

Not sure why two wheels or four turn people into an ******** in London, but they are all as bad as each other.

News flash…..

It’s not just London.

 

[clapham_gull]

Safer roads, especially in our towns and cities without a shadow of doubt is one with less motor vehicles. More room for pedestrians, more room for cyclists and dedicated lanes, less congestion etc. etc.

Brighton and Hove could be transformed with some proper long term sustainable transport planning that radically reduces motor vehicle use, and thereby allows us to open up urban spaces, and make being in the city a worthwhile experience, because otherwise our retail centres are just going to die a slow death at the hands of online stores. I still cannot believe that walking up North Street toward Churchill Sq. and getting across the roads where the pavements pinch down to nothing for all those pedestrians at what should be a grand piazza is just embarrassing. Welcome to Brighton from the station is basically a walk down a street where the pavement is barely wide enough for 3 people to pass each other. It's crazy.

The Dutch and others figured it out in the 1970s – growing car ownership...growing population...growing cities...going to be a problem. Wasn't rocket science, just sensible planning that too many cars was going to be bad news for cities and towns. So they slowly but surely changed infra-structure, changed attitudes, now have cities that are not congested with cars, that 50% of journeys or more can be made by bike, with more by walking and public transport. Cars, yes cars, can actually get around because there is less congestion due to less car use. Brilliant for those that need a car as a necessity. Don't talk to me about hills and weather, the same is true of the Danes, and Norwegians.

Just watching these threads unfold and our ingrained attitudes, we are so far behind, so far. We just don't get it. We still think it's fine for cars to dominate, still happy to add more of them, make this junction a bit wider, expand this lane. Ridiculous really. A bike on the pavement is 1 dickhead. It really does miss where we should be on our transport.

I visit Amsterdam regularly, until the pandemic every year for 15 years. 99% of cyclists aren't dressed in lycra on high speed bikes trying to beat the lights. They are pootling around on Mary Poppins type machines with a basket on the front.

They co-exist happily with pedestrians because they are doing the same as pedestrians travelling short distances but quicker. They are mainly not using a bike as an alternative to a long tube journey or an extension of the gym.

In London, cycling is seen as an alternative to using public transport. The vast majority of the cyclists wouldn't do the journey in a car anyway.

The material effect, cyclists and road users fighting for the same road space.

 

[Stat Brother]

The Froome wannabe is a big part of the problem. Snarling, aggressive, riding like he’s had a litre of 70s orange squash…They make it hard to overtake sometimes and give little consideration as you say to other road users - but are the first to accuse in an incident. Cycling in this country is all pumped up Lycra’s tearing about as if they’re being timed. Far from the Scandi bike riders in cities where everyone seems chilled and will get from A to B whenever.

Because they are the cyclists you have conditioned yourself to see and be angry about.
I don't see a snarling aggressive rider I see, me.
I think 'what would I want this car driver to do?' and act accordingly.

The fact that us car drivers don't notice the Scandi Pootlers is part of the problem.


Why do you think someone you've already labelled as snarling and aggressive the very second you've seen them, is also the road user you find hard to overtake?

Perhaps the snarling aggression isn't one way traffic (pun intended).

 

[BadFish]

I'm not buying this crap that cyclists are generally safer and not really a danger on the roads. I'm a driver, a cyclist and a motorcyclist but predominantly a motorcyclist. Every single day on a short 15 minute commute into Brighton City centre I see numerous cyclists jumping red lights like they are give way signs, not wearing protective clothing or helmets, weaving onto pavements to avoid traffic lights etc. I only have two wheels and could do exactly the same at the same speed but that would be stupid and irresponsible, cyclists seem to think it's OK though. They don't like being challenged on it either, usually met with foul mouthed abuse. Don't even get me started on scooter riders or food delivery mopeds!!

Which post are you responding to, I have read the thread so far and haven't seen this suggestion made at all.

Most people seem to agree that their are both 4 wheel and 2 wheel offenders in their road use. A distinction is made that cars cause more damage than bikes, but you can't be disagreeing with that can you? Apparently it is now in the highway code that the larger (and therefore more dangerous your vehicle) the more responsibility you have for its safe use.

Seems fairly logical to me.

 

[Stat Brother]

Quite topical, this. I nearly had a spandex goon under my wheels at about 7.30 this morning. He was going like the CLAPPERS along the A259 eastbound through Southwick. I prepared to overtake, going wide and giving him plenty of room, but just as I was about to pass him, absolutely without warning or signal, he veered to the right, straight across the front of me to take that turn at Shoreham Port that leads down to the locks. There was no oncoming traffic, so he clearly thought this was the perfect moment to just swerve out and clatter across the road to make his turn without slowing down, regardless of what was behind him. I was within inches of wiping him out.

I jammed on the brakes and gave him a blast. The pedestrian crossing ahead was red, so I stopped there and had the opportunity of winding the window down to call him an absolute f*cking moron. Predictable finger gestures were returned from the Froome wannabe as he barrelled away full pelt.

Yes there are plenty of shit drivers as well, etc etc. But the staggering ARROGANCE of this prick had to be seen to be believed. I sincerely hope that prat ended up in the canal.

You should feel honoured.

Clearly the cyclist knew he was in front of the world's greatest driver.
A driver who has never made a mistake, never been inconsiderate, always attentive and never broken the law.

Clearly the Froome wannabe wasnt gesticulating at you after you have screamed foul abuse at him because an accident didn't happen, which he might have been completely unaware of.
He was waving in shock that he'd finally met the world's greatest driver.


Or in that moment he could have just been an inconsiderate arse-biscuit, which is more likely?

 

[BadFish]

I'm not buying this crap that cyclists are generally safer and not really a danger on the roads. I'm a driver, a cyclist and a motorcyclist but predominantly a motorcyclist. Every single day on a short 15 minute commute into Brighton City centre I see numerous cyclists jumping red lights like they are give way signs, not wearing protective clothing or helmets, weaving onto pavements to avoid traffic lights etc. I only have two wheels and could do exactly the same at the same speed but that would be stupid and irresponsible, cyclists seem to think it's OK though. They don't like being challenged on it either, usually met with foul mouthed abuse. Don't even get me started on scooter riders or food delivery mopeds!!

Which post are you responding to, I have read the thread so far and haven't seen this suggestion made at all.

Most people seem to agree that their are both 4 wheel and 2 wheel offenders in their road use. A distinction is made that cars cause more damage than bikes, but you can't be disagreeing with that can you? Apparently it is now in the highway code that the larger (and therefore more dangerous your vehicle) the more responsibility you have for its safe use.

Seems fairly logical to me.

 

[wellquickwoody]

You should feel honoured.

Clearly the cyclist knew he was in front of the world's greatest driver.
A driver who has never made a mistake, never been inconsiderate, always attentive and never broken the law.

Clearly the Froome wannabe wasnt gesticulating at you after you have screamed foul abuse at him because an accident didn't happen, which he might have been completely unaware of.
He was waving in shock that he'd finally met the world's greatest driver.


Or in that moment he could have just been an inconsiderate arse-biscuit, which is more likely?

See no evil, hear no evil etc etc

 

[johanngull]

This is my fave video of his!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sii4jDh3WL0

Loads going on in this video, something for everyone

2:55 in cyclist appears into shot also going the wrong way on that side of the road, completely oblivious to the argument taking place

 

[portlock seagull]

Because they are the cyclists you have conditioned yourself to see and be angry about.
I don't see a snarling aggressive rider I see, me.
I think 'what would I want this car driver to do?' and act accordingly.

The fact that us car drivers don't notice the Scandi Pootlers is part of the problem.


Why do you think someone you've already labelled as snarling and aggressive the very second you've seen them, is also the road user you find hard to overtake?

Perhaps the snarling aggression isn't one way traffic (pun intended).

Because they’re approximately 9:10 around my way? Nothing conditional about that, Mrs Poppins rarely seen.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Because they’re approximately 9:10 around my way? Nothing conditional about that, Mrs Poppins rarely seen.

Most recreational cyclists on a road bike in lycra went to get out onto as quiet roads as they can find and look to do 15 to 60 miles generally. I say this from experience with a cycling club. Go out early as you can on a weekend morning and look to avoid any busy routes.

Trouble is car drivers looking to take a back route, looking to get somewhere fast take crazy risks. The pumped aggression you see is actually fear, knowing that getting clipped by a car who just couldn’t wait 30 more seconds for an appropriate gap to pass could be a trip to hospital or worse.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Quite topical, this. I nearly had a spandex goon under my wheels at about 7.30 this morning. He was going like the CLAPPERS along the A259 eastbound through Southwick. I prepared to overtake, going wide and giving him plenty of room, but just as I was about to pass him, absolutely without warning or signal, he veered to the right, straight across the front of me to take that turn at Shoreham Port that leads down to the locks. There was no oncoming traffic, so he clearly thought this was the perfect moment to just swerve out and clatter across the road to make his turn without slowing down, regardless of what was behind him. I was within inches of wiping him out.

I jammed on the brakes and gave him a blast. The pedestrian crossing ahead was red, so I stopped there and had the opportunity of winding the window down to call him an absolute f*cking moron. Predictable finger gestures were returned from the Froome wannabe as he barrelled away full pelt.

Yes there are plenty of shit drivers as well, etc etc. But the staggering ARROGANCE of this prick had to be seen to be believed. I sincerely hope that prat ended up in the canal.

Slammed on the brakes - it’s 30 through there isn’t it? You’d have been approaching a pedestrian crossing and a traffic light junction just another 100 yards on. Thou doth protest too much perhaps…