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This-is-not-Guy-MartinVideo: tailgating a tipper truck at 40mph
Anyone who's seen Guy Martin attempting to break the bicycle speed record will know there's a lot of aerodynamic advantage to be gained by sitting right behind a big, fast moving vehicle that's punching a big hole in the air for you.
However, while that's okay on a special bike in a controlled environment in full motorbike leathers – and even then it's really not okay for most of us, is it? – it's certainly not something we'd recommend you try behind a tipper truck on a fast three-lane dual carriageway in Manchester.
We were sent this footage by a reader of one brave (?) soul doing exactly that. "I noticed him a mile before this was shot, he continued drafting for a good 5-10 minutes", he told us. "The truck driver had no idea he was there, averaging 40 as we went through the speedcam."
It's certainly one way to gain an advantage on the commute home, although not one we're keen to have a go at ourselves. Anyone?
Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.
Latest Comments
- chrisonabike 33 min 10 sec ago
It's apparently all moot because "that's just how things are" and HC rules cited here - while possibly feeding in to potential careless driving...
- kinderje 41 min 12 sec ago
Thank you, someone else who thinks it's yellow and not green And I agree that it doesn't look particularlt exciting either.
- essexian 1 hour 43 min ago
I don't know if it was just on my computer but I got a virus warning when opening the comments on this piece. My machine is tied down harder then a...
- grasen 2 hours 17 min ago
Have lost all faith in active cyclists. What a bullshit comment by Jonas. And Tadej saying they forgot the second part of the test - ha ha ha. The...
- LookAhead 10 hours 18 min ago
Spot on, Kask's chin strap is faux leather (contra the review's claim that it's real leather) and excellent, by far the best I've used. It's snug...
- David9694 11 hours 36 min ago
Live: Audi crashes on to its roof in Honiton town centre https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/live-audi-crashes-roof-honiton...
- wtjs 11 hours 51 min ago
There is now a development of uncertain veracity on this Nissan, with a photo somebody has sent me suggesting it's stolen....
- belugabob 12 hours 25 min ago
Yes, it does seem reasonable - but not in the motonormativity world, where people just don't want to admit where the problem lies.
- brooksby 14 hours 49 min ago
But at least they're halfway there...
- hawkinspeter 16 hours 31 min ago
I definitely agree that we could do with better crossings and junctions....
Add new comment
93 comments
Whats a pan-galactic gargleblaster ? they sound cool and can you get one fitted to your bike for numpty car drivers ????
Yeah, 90kg of cyclist bearing down on 10 tons of tipper truck is EXACTLY the same as 10 tons of tipper truck bearing down on 90kgs of cyclist.
Christ almighty.
This.
Potholes, ruts in the tarmac, exposed/sunken ironwork... they all ruin drafting. Even on roads where you know the pothole "layout" like the back of your hand, it can be difficult to judge exactly where you are in relation to the next one and you only get so many successful flicks/bunnyhops before you get caught.
Its this: http://youtu.be/Boo9llCz4CM
Yes because the laws of the roads only apply to certain vehicles dependent on their size and the damage they can cause....
good grief do all us cyclists a favour and stay off the roads if you dont know how to abide by the laws all of them.
Erm, yes actually. Hence speed limits don't apply to pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders amongst other things...
I'm really not sure why you are and the other posters are so dumb as to think that a ten ton tipper truck being deliberately driven behind a cyclist is the same as a cyclist drafting behind a truck. I'm genuinely baffled by it.
they dont apply to pedestrians and skateboarders because they are not vehicles on the road... and despite the fact that speed limits do not apply to bicycles, you can be prosecuted simply for cycling too fast - under the charge of 'cycling furiously', so nothing whatsoever to do with damage they cause nor size etc...
The only dumb thing about this discussion is thinking that the laws of the road dont apply to cyclists in the same manner they do other vehicles, but its that sort of attitude that leads to drivers thinking cyclists are self centred and ignorant, so well done for fostering such thoughts in other road users and generally making me and any other cyclist a little less safe because of your crap attitude towards the laws.
There are young men out there who have never heard of a pan-galactic gargleblaster? Man, that makes me feel old.
Sadly, they need not necessarily be that young either.
I have to agree
Not read every post on here, but a quick look through, seems that most think this is ok, admit to having done it at some point.
I can't think of anyhting more idiotic TBH!
If that truck slams it brakes on for any reason, there is no way that rider could react quick enough. Or what if he was to suddenly swerve, or there was an object in the road that the lorry cleared..?
We get so many cyclist moaning about vehicles being too close to use when we're out, we're the first to moan about poor drivers, hundreds of us now run headcams to try cover ourselves should the worse happen.
Social media is full of drivers slagging off cyclists, moaning that we don't obey the law, pay some mythical thing called 'road tax'
If this was a lorry tailgating the cyclist you'd all be up in arms...so why is OK when the positions are reversed?
Just more fuel for the likes of Keith Peat & his anti-cycling clan to rant about
So
If you seriously give any credence to Keith Peat and his alleged clan of followers, then you should know that you're pretty much one of the only people who does.
The guy is an impotent bellend. Dint make him out to be any other than that.
I don't give any credence to Keith Peat, the man is a complete cockwomble.
My point was that the likes of Keith Peat, and numerous other in the anti-cycling brigade, will use any tiny incident invloving a cyclist to fuel their arguements... and this video is exactly the sort of stuff they will make a meal out of
If you think he is a cockwomble and will use any tiny incident to fuel their arguments, then you must grasp that he is a reactionary fuckwit that is going to do that no matter what, and the best thing you can do is stop giving him any kind of credibility.
He has nothing to contribute to any dialogue that ever has, or may occur, so stop worrying about what his shitty opinion will be about anything.
I don't give any credence to Keith Peat, the man is a complete cockwomble.
My point was that the likes of Keith Peat, and numerous other in the anti-cycling brigade, will use any tiny incident invloving a cyclist to fuel their arguements... and this video is exactly the sort of stuff they will make a meal out of
There is a vast difference to drafting a truck and being tailgated by one and comparing them is being overdramatic, to say the least.
Not in the eyes of the law and idiot drivers who would use such behaviour as an excuse to treat other cyclists badly as its an example of a cyclist breaking the law...
The laws apply to us as equally as they do motorised vehicle drivers.
Depends whether you are arguing about law or morality, really. You can keep emphasising the law, but it doesn't change the previous posters point that there is a significant difference between the two cases from a moral point-of-view.
What occurs to me about this is that its unfortunate that the demographics of UK cycling mean two fundamentally unrelated issues get conflated in the public's mind.
One being cycling as a means of transport, the other being the (seemingly timeless) association between young(ish) men and risky behaviour and doing things to prove their technical skill to themselves and others.
I don't really have a strong opinion on the rights-and-wrongs of the latter (no clue even whether its social or genetic in origin), but its really a separate issue from transport policy.
Not when the two come together as in the example of this idiot, not only is he putting himself at risk but those around him too of emotional harm, its not only a matter of the law but also morality that you are responsible not just for yourself but those around you. This idiot crashes and hits any of the vehicles around him, who suffers emotionally, because he wanted to participate in risky behaviour and prove his skills to others. There are places where you can go to participate in riskier behaviour that doesn't put members of the public at risk as this one does, he is an example of a selfish, irresponsible cyclist and he does a disservice to all responsible law abiding cyclists.
If he's stupid, then what are these guys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7_Fq56g2c
The Highway from Tower Bridge to Canary Wharf in the morning has construction lorries (specifically from a company called Keltbray, which sponsors a cycling team I recall) that go at a steady 30mph. Sticking behind one of those, and staying in the centre of the lane, is actually safer than the punishment passes you get from drivers otherwise. But that is 30mph, not 56mph, and stopping is simple.
Lighten up you naysayers. It's all about perceived risk, and not dying. If you've never, ever done it .... maybe you're a bit dull
Of course it's perfectly safe - he has a helmet and hi-vis and is therefore pretty much immortal, surely?
Of course it's perfectly safe - he has a helmet and hi-vis and is therefore pretty much immortal, surely?
Nothing wrong with that, nothing at all, so long as you can do it without dying.
What a moron.
But yeah, I've done it...
Next time road.cc posts one of its many 'cyclist dies' story, can we make sure that it isn't a complete and total effing nitwit like this imbecile?
If he were injured, it would've been 100% his own fault.
7 miles at 40mph is my best behind a Sainsbury's artic, certainly livened up the commute. 56mph on one section, damn those limiters
He's won that Strava seg.
Just out of interest, how has the conclusion been made that the person filming this was also driving? Unless of course I'm mistaken and in fact it is also illegal for passengers in cars to film with a cameraphone. In which case I sincerely apologise....
To rephrase; he's essentially got his own giant personal shield. No-one would attempt to side-swipe a huge bloody truck. Maybe we should equip all cyclists with trucks. They'd be safe from idiots illegally filming on camera phones.
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