Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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24 comments
In the style of the Daily Heil comments section.
Bloody whinging cyclists wanting all the road.
Don't know what you're complaining about. The separation between car and cyclist is at least one fag paper and the cyclist was clearly blocking the road.
Cyclists need to learn to share the road.
________
Just out of interest, how many fag papers or coats of paint was the separation. I don't think it was many.
Ridden this road a fair few times, passes like this one are completely inexcusable and due to lazy driving as there is a 25% ramp and drivers don't want to have to do a hill start so decide to gamble. I only take this route when I'm feeling fresh so I can try and maintain a decent speed up it. Hope this driver gets reprimanded in some way and glad you stayed upright.
My Mrs was almost knocked down when crossing at one of those by a car going the wrong side. They then shouted abuse for not looking before crossing (even though she was looking at the legal traffic side and the road stated "look left"). The stupid thing was there was not even a reason for them to be on the wrong side (apart from being arseholes) as there was real traffic on the correct route.
Going past a traffic island/traffic refuge on the wrong side is a traffic offence.
Unfortunately, only if anyone can be @rsed to enforce it!
We are both aware of that and I suspect the driver was as well, however twats are twats all the time.
She has also been beeped because she was walking on the pavement and a car driving up it to a "parking space" was being held up. As seen below, essentially it seems the council deemed the footpath a parking area instead and removed the bollard by the gulley to allow everyone to drive on or off from there. However drivers decide they have right of way over peds there so don't like being held up.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5359934,-1.8892733,3a,75y,321.92h,88.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdRVPpnWqxWrgge0IalxdBg!2e0!5s20150501T000000!7i13312!8i6656
(The streetview was taken with some of the businesses closed so at least 7 cars are missing off the usual scenario there.)
I've just been trying to find that to no avail. Do you have a link?
I suspect it would be classed as not following road signs if they have a blue arrow indicating the route past it that is ignored. Not specifically a ruling on the actual refuge itself.
Ummm - I can post a copy of a Fixed Penalty Notice my son got? Caught on camera ignoring the "Keep Left" sign? Silly pillock
More specifically, it's an offence to pass the wrong side of the "keep left" arrow, which is normally placed on a lit bollard on the island / refuge. The reference is Traffic Signs Regulations & General Directions 2016, Schedule 3 Part 2 item 3 (diagram 610); plus Sch 3 Part 4 paras 1 - 4, but in particular para 3: "...vehicular traffic passing the sign must keep to the left of the sign where the arrow is pointed downwards to the left, or to the right of the sign where the arrow is pointed downwards to the right."
Thankyou, a comprehensive answer.
(wonders if bicycles count as vehicles in that para !)
A less comprehensive answer this time - 'vehicle' doesn't appear to be defined, either in the regs, or by cross reference to other legislation. Nor is it defined in e.g. the RTA1988; it appears to be given its natural meaning. Other wording in the regs suggest that bikes are vehicles though - e.g. elsewhere they provide that a cycle lane may not be used by a vehicle other than a pedal cycle. I used very occasionally to ride / scoot carefully the other side of islands in City traffic, but have now stopped in case the police consider this 'invalidates' any footage I might have cause to send them.
Personally I don't mind a solid barrier being between me and a muppet but to give out to a person they could have killed with their impatience, good grief
I assume it's an old video as the mot expired in April...
What an absolute bellend, you can usually hear them coming, no change in engine tone, clearly not slowing, gonna squeeze through no matter what. Just have to put it behind you and try and enjoy the rest of your ride.
I was out riding the other day, approaching an island, like the ones for pedestrians crossing the road. I've taken primary to go through to prevent getting squeezed on the way through. I hear a car approaching, and there's no change in engine note at all, he's definitely not slowing. I'm just wondering whether he's not looking and is about to hit me, when he just sails through on the right hand side of the island. Fucking taxi drivers.
I've had that happen numerous times, and not taxi drivers. Those are the kind of people the cycling safety team should be concentrating on.
I get that frequently on my commute into work (it seems to be worse in the mornings): long straight road with a 30mph speed limit, and with pedestrian refuges (with those hatched sections of paint to stop motorists running into them).
https://goo.gl/maps/duxi2wD9NKb5SR1X6
I'm travelling in the direction shown on the Streetview link above, and I regularly have cars passing the refuge on the wrong side of the road, because their drivers can't bring themselves to wait for a few seconds. I mean - how many microseconds does it take for a cyclist to pass through a six feet long pinch point??
Post it to the police and not on here, dude.
The fuckers will keep doing it.
If you can read the plate, please report it
The only people that drive those things could run you over at 10mph and not even notice and probably think even as you bounced off the bonnet or went under the wheels, that they are safe drivers because they are doing 10mph.
Closes passes I get are the slowest. A bit like shaving. With a Honda Jazz.
I couldn't read the reg, but I hope that has been reported to the police?
Wouldn't have fancied going off into those trees.
Very similar to one of mine where I was told the driver would get a NIP.
Wow, thank goodness for the reactions of the oncoming driver.
The following micra driver showing how it should be done.