Moron Motorists #3

[jasonc]

Something I've learnt from painful experience is that the closer you ride to the gutter then the less chance that drivers coming from side streets (like in this case) will see you. And it's not because you aren't visible, it's because they're just not looking there.

Big time. This is the problem with riding in the gutter. A whole car doesn't fit in the gutter. Drivers aren't looking there for road users. Motorbikes don't ride in the gutter. Most ride in the right wheel track. Riding any further left than that increases your risk of not being looked for/seen

[Anrai]

That youtube clip supports my opinion that most motorists are unable to detect a cyclist on the road (even if the cyclist is wearing yellow fluro), until they're sliding across their bonnet.

I don't have a lot of on-road experience yet (gave it a quick spin on a moderately busy arterial road and found drivers were giving me a decent passing distance, but at my skill level I wasn't comfortable with the immediately following hook across in front of me to slot into the turning lane) but my bike shop recommended flashing lights over simply running hi-vis, on the same logic that hi-vis just isn't attention-grabbing enough for areas of the road people aren't looking to begin with.

[Mr Purple]

Report or not?



Absolute moron. I was doing 55km/hr in a 60 zone at the time, my lane was closing and I was making moves to claim the lane. I had to bail out halfway through because that d-head would have literally run me over to prove a point.

I swear Kia Carnival drivers are the worst on the planet.

[jasonc]

Report or not?



Absolute moron. I was doing 55km/hr in a 60 zone at the time, my lane was closing and I was making moves to claim the lane. I had to bail out halfway through because that d-head would have literally run me over to prove a point.

I swear Kia Carnival drivers are the worst on the planet.

Uber driver... did your indicate? If you did, yes, report

[find_bruce]

Report or not?



Absolute moron. I was doing 55km/hr in a 60 zone at the time, my lane was closing and I was making moves to claim the lane. I had to bail out halfway through because that d-head would have literally run me over to prove a point.

I swear Kia Carnival drivers are the worst on the planet.

I wouldn't - as you were in the terminating lane, crossing a broken line, legally you were required to give way & you didn't.

Yes the driver is an a$$ who could have and should have eased off to allow you in, but being a considerate person is not the legal requirement.

[Mr Purple]

I agree it’s 50/50, I indicated, he didn’t let me in, I essentially was forced to compromise by staying close to the door zone.

The worst part is at the end when he moves even further left before finishing the passing manoeuvre. He’s a dangerous moron but I agree the police will do bugger all. My wheel never leaves the shoulder if you look at it though - that’s not failure to give way.

[mikesbytes]

I think some drivers don't look more than 20m in front of them so cannot adjust for traffic. And a good percentage of them are just stupid!

Then you get drivers that look beyond 20m and discount anything in that distance.

Case in point. Dash cam driver appears to be turning left, vehicle in front passes side street, "oh, must be clear".
Skip to 0:55 or so. Consider any viewer warned, but guy must have been OK.


The truck at 7:00 is just nuts. I hope he loses his license, if he even has one.

Wow there was almost no chance of the cyclist predicting the motorist would of done that

[biker jk]

I think some drivers don't look more than 20m in front of them so cannot adjust for traffic. And a good percentage of them are just stupid!

Then you get drivers that look beyond 20m and discount anything in that distance.

Case in point. Dash cam driver appears to be turning left, vehicle in front passes side street, "oh, must be clear".
Skip to 0:55 or so. Consider any viewer warned, but guy must have been OK.


The truck at 7:00 is just nuts. I hope he loses his license, if he even has one.

Wow there was almost no chance of the cyclist predicting the motorist would of done that

The only warning was that the driver never looked right as the cyclist approached. At least the car didn't have an illegal tinted window like half of cars do these days.

[Andy01]

That youtube clip supports my opinion that most motorists are unable to detect a cyclist on the road (even if the cyclist is wearing yellow fluro), until they're sliding across their bonnet.

I don't have a lot of on-road experience yet (gave it a quick spin on a moderately busy arterial road and found drivers were giving me a decent passing distance, but at my skill level I wasn't comfortable with the immediately following hook across in front of me to slot into the turning lane) but my bike shop recommended flashing lights over simply running hi-vis, on the same logic that hi-vis just isn't attention-grabbing enough for areas of the road people aren't looking to begin with.

I am not sure that most flashing lights work very well either. I have a front light that is set to 200 lumen constant and 400 lumen flash, and a rear light that is 200 lumen flashing - which is reasonably bright without getting excessive (this is daylight only) - and I still have drivers (and pedestrians) that simply don't see me (even at close range when I am right in front of them while they are entering a traffic circle that I am already going around). And I also ride with a bright orange helmet & shirt.

I think that we would need a set of emergency vehicle lights (preferably with the accompanying sirens) to be seen.

I think that decent lights and bright colours all help (so they are worthwhile), but there are still people who will just not see (or register) that you are in front of them.

[Andy01]

Mr P, as FB mentioned above, don't report - because your lane ended you were legally obliged to give way to anything in the lane next to you.

Many years ago I had a d**khead in a Falcon XR6 try to zoom past me up the left (I was driving an Outback diesel then) on a similar lane to yours in my suburb and refused to back off and actually bumped my rear left door with his driver's door mirror (by that time his lane had ended and he was driving in the "parking/bicycle" lane on my left before backing off.

I slowed and indicated for us to pull over, and he passed me across a double solid white line and took off. Moron turned down into the area I live which is full of traffic calming island and small traffic circles, so I chased him down. Eventually he stopped and got out and was abusing the hell out of me. I simply told him that I had noted his personalised plate and would be reporting him.

The cops agreed that he was 100% in the wrong (on several counts), and mentioned that "he had form" and they knew of him and would make contact with him. I was insured with AAMI at the time, and when I reported the accident, they said that he was also insured with them, and just repaired my car, no questions asked.

But yes, I do agree that the Kia could certainly have let you in.

[vbplease]

I wouldn't - as you were in the terminating lane, crossing a broken line, legally you were required to give way & you didn't.

Yes the driver is an a$$ who could have and should have eased off to allow you in, but being a considerate person is not the legal requirement.

Agree with this..
I think encounters with these kind of drivers are a lose-lose situation.. had you claimed the lane earlier, this would have upset them. They would have thought, "why is he moving over so early, I'm faster than him.. now I'm going to tailgate him and close pass as soon as I can, because bikes shouldn't be on the road.. I'm far more important and have a very fragile ego"..
Not much you can do about these people that have no respect for others..

[Mr Purple]

Mr P, as FB mentioned above, don't report - because your lane ended you were legally obliged to give way to anything in the lane next to you.

I agree, though I do maintain I 'did' give way to him - by not actually moving into his lane at significant danger to myself. He then chose to close pass me after causing the problem in the first place. I do agree the police would bend over backwards to get him off the close pass though, so it's not worth it.

From the same ride:



This is the only shared path for off road access between the V1 veloway and Bulimba Bikeway. It's a 60 zone with four traffic lanes. If a steel fence can't keep the motorists off the shared path what hope do we have?

[antigee]

Mr P, as FB mentioned above, don't report - because your lane ended you were legally obliged to give way to anything in the lane next to you.

I agree, though I do maintain I 'did' give way to him - by not actually moving into his lane at significant danger to myself. He then chose to close pass me after causing the problem in the first place. I do agree the police would bend over backwards to get him off the close pass though, so it's not worth it.

From the same ride:



This is the only shared path for off road access between the V1 veloway and Bulimba Bikeway. It's a 60 zone with four traffic lanes. If a steel fence can't keep the motorists off the shared path what hope do we have?

every time I see infrastructure damage like that I know that its a cyclist that did that couldn't possibly be a car driver

local council in SE Melbourne is removing the short "keep left" signs from speed restriction central humps and chicanes because of cost of replacing as they get bent flat too often

Includes recently on my street and last week had my first large SUV pass me at speed by driving straight over the speed chicane without damaging vehicle

[Mr Purple]

The worst part about that bit is that it's a completely substandard bit of cycling infrastructure in the first place - poorly maintained, plenty of bumps, and the procedure to get through that section has no fewer than five road crossings, all with poorly prioritised 'beg buttons'.

I have occasionally taken the road through there when travelling south, and despite being able to do 40-50km/hr due to the hill leading into it, you will inevitably be tailgated by some moron unhappy with this.

So they've supplied substandard cycling infrastructure which is then damaged. My next bet is it will somehow take 7-10 working decades to actually fix.

[Anrai]

local council in SE Melbourne is removing the short "keep left" signs from speed restriction central humps and chicanes because of cost of replacing as they get bent flat too often

I think I've mentioned before that Hobart's solution was to just put them on springs.
Perhaps a similar kind of thing, someone snapped off my local Woolies' height clearance warning bar again.

[g-boaf]

Mr P, as FB mentioned above, don't report - because your lane ended you were legally obliged to give way to anything in the lane next to you.

I agree, though I do maintain I 'did' give way to him - by not actually moving into his lane at significant danger to myself. He then chose to close pass me after causing the problem in the first place. I do agree the police would bend over backwards to get him off the close pass though, so it's not worth it.

From the same ride:



This is the only shared path for off road access between the V1 veloway and Bulimba Bikeway. It's a 60 zone with four traffic lanes. If a steel fence can't keep the motorists off the shared path what hope do we have?

every time I see infrastructure damage like that I know that its a cyclist that did that couldn't possibly be a car driver

local council in SE Melbourne is removing the short "keep left" signs from speed restriction central humps and chicanes because of cost of replacing as they get bent flat too often

Includes recently on my street and last week had my first large SUV pass me at speed by driving straight over the speed chicane without damaging vehicle

That’s it, reporting it to the media! Maybe even the right wing radio shock jocks who will of course believe that a cyclist would do that sort of damage.

[Mr Purple]

Funnily enough I posted it on the 'Why don't they ride in the bike lane' group and many commented that motorists would probably blame us.

Had an incident today - riding down a straight road in broad daylight and a driver pulled out from a side street. Slowed down and avoided her to hear a honk and brakes locking up from behind me. Turned out as well as failing to give way to the cyclist, she'd simultaneously failed to give way to a car going the other direction.

It'll be interesting to see the footage. Seen a fair few of those 'pulling out from side streets without even looking' events lately. I blame ABS, these people would have been swiftly killed in the 80's.

[elantra]

Mr P, as FB mentioned above, don't report - because your lane ended you were legally obliged to give way to anything in the lane next to you.

I agree, though I do maintain I 'did' give way to him - by not actually moving into his lane at significant danger to myself. He then chose to close pass me after causing the problem in the first place. I do agree the police would bend over backwards to get him off the close pass though, so it's not worth it.

From the same ride:



This is the only shared path for off road access between the V1 veloway and Bulimba Bikeway. It's a 60 zone with four traffic lanes. If a steel fence can't keep the motorists off the shared path what hope do we have?

The Concrete and Steel jungle - not really an enticing cycling environment.
To be honest, not really a enticing anything environment.

We do what we have to do to get from A to B.
Decades ago I used to bicycle commute from Coorparoo to Redlands Hospital workplace.
It wasn’t too bad really but that was 30 + years ago.
And when I felt tired or whatever, I could catch the suburban train for much of the way.
I think that distracted driving is a bigger problem now than it was in those days.
There was a pretty good shoulder along most of the main road, except at Alexandra Hills, where things got a bit more scary.

Now to digress (slightly) just announced is a very radical move that the Qld Gov is embarking upon - you can travel ANY distances on the TransLink Public Transport services in Qld for 50 Cents, yes that’s 50 Cents say from Nambour/Sunshine Coast to Robina/Varsity/Gold Coast

That’s an extraordinary distance, which by private motor car would take on average about 3 hours AT LEAST and put you at risk of thousands of dollars traffic infringement fines if you touch a mobile phone that is not in a “cradle”. Etc

I don’t think that the Qld Gov is doing this because it’s incredibly rich or generous or socially progressive.
I guess that it is because it is a strategy to overcome the chronic congestion in SE Qld which is only going to get worse.

But I can guess that it will cause chaos on certain routes.
The Gold Coast train is usually rather full and the Carpark at the stations are usually full.
I can only imagine that it will be chaos on this service when the “almost free” public transport system starts soon.
I believe that it is a 6 month trial.

[Mr Purple]

We do what we have to do to get from A to B.
Decades ago I used to bicycle commute from Coorparoo to Redlands Hospital workplace.
It wasn’t too bad really but that was 30 + years ago.
And when I felt tired or whatever, I could catch the suburban train for much of the way.
I think that distracted driving is a bigger problem now than it was in those days.
There was a pretty good shoulder along most of the main road, except at Alexandra Hills, where things got a bit more scary.

Strangely enough this is almost my exact commute to work - Coorparoo to Cleveland.

The situation is the same. It is mainly a wide and safe-ish shoulder. However there are a couple of points (Gateway Merge for one) and about three small areas in Alexandra Hills still where the shoulder abruptly ends, forcing you to claim the lane out in traffic. These wouldn't total more than about 500m on the 20km route, but they make it so dangerous that doing it daily really isn't a viable option.

This is for exactly the reason in the video above. Your lane ends, you have nowhere to go and about 1% of drivers will be a vindictive moron that won't let you merge and then close passes you after they haven't let you merge. 'Claim the lane' is not an option when drivers are prepared to speed up to over the speed limit to deliberately give you no room. The occasional driver will literally run you over to prove a point.

I think the public transport trial is excellent - public transport is not exactly a money making venture anyway.

[mikesbytes]

Last night driving home a motorist pulled out of a side street in front of me, I braked hard and had to partially cross to the other side of the road to avoid hitting him. If there had been a motorist coming the other way I would have had no choice but to T-bone him. If he couldn’t see an SUV how would he see a bicycle?

[foo on patrol]

Last night driving home a motorist pulled out of a side street in front of me, I braked hard and had to partially cross to the other side of the road to avoid hitting him. If there had been a motorist coming the other way I would have had no choice but to T-bone him. If he couldn’t see an SUV how would he see a bicycle?

Even when they see they still do it. I T-boned a car that turned across in front of me and I hit him at about 50kmh. His response was..........Didn't you see my flicker? Say What!

Foo

[warthog1]

Lucky the fool was still alive to pose that stupid question.
Side impact is very dangerous, no crumple zone tò absorb energy and the body is very close to the side of the car. Wouldn't let my kids have cars without side airbags for that reason.

[vbplease]

Now to digress (slightly) just announced is a very radical move that the Qld Gov is embarking upon - you can travel ANY distances on the TransLink Public Transport services in Qld for 50 Cents, yes that’s 50 Cents say from Nambour/Sunshine Coast to Robina/Varsity/Gold Coast

That’s an extraordinary distance, which by private motor car would take on average about 3 hours AT LEAST and put you at risk of thousands of dollars traffic infringement fines if you touch a mobile phone that is not in a “cradle”. Etc

I don’t think that the Qld Gov is doing this because it’s incredibly rich or generous or socially progressive.
I guess that it is because it is a strategy to overcome the chronic congestion in SE Qld which is only going to get worse.

But I can guess that it will cause chaos on certain routes.
The Gold Coast train is usually rather full and the Carpark at the stations are usually full.
I can only imagine that it will be chaos on this service when the “almost free” public transport system starts soon.
I believe that it is a 6 month trial.

I think it's a fantastic idea.. I'd actually prefer to see it completely free.

It won't stop the precious mothers driving their kids to their private schools, who contribute a great deal to congestion.. nothing will get their precious kids onto PT.. for this, there should be a congestion charge, which funds PT and bike lanes

Hopefully they run more frequent train lines between the GC and Bne.

[jasonc]

It won't stop the precious mothers driving their kids to their private schools, who contribute a great deal to congestion.. nothing will get their precious kids onto PT.. for this, there should be a congestion charge, which funds PT and bike lanes

the fix for private school, and all school kids for that matter is free PT for student cards

And I'm all for a congestion tax. make it multi-level:
single occupant vehicles = $10/day
2 occupants = $7.50/day
3 or more = $6/day

[g-boaf]

Last night driving home a motorist pulled out of a side street in front of me, I braked hard and had to partially cross to the other side of the road to avoid hitting him. If there had been a motorist coming the other way I would have had no choice but to T-bone him. If he couldn’t see an SUV how would he see a bicycle?

Even when they see they still do it. I T-boned a car that turned across in front of me and I hit him at about 50kmh. His response was..........Didn't you see my flicker? Say What!

Foo

Oh yes, they do that. I put my indicator on, you should have given way to me! Happened once to me in a different way and the clown also said the same in front of Police. Gotcha! Not even all of her family support crew that turned up could help.