Peter Sarf
Established Member
Well. Its not totally clear but it does appear that the van has just overtaken the cyclist so the driver should assume the cyclist is there. Indicating left so late is hopeless, the cyclist is unlikely to notice the indicator at that position anyway. The van driver is making a sudden change of direction.See video below showing a Tesco driver hitting a bicycle. Indicator goes on maybe one second before the van starts to turn. If someone did this to a cyclist in the Netherlands they'd be in big trouble. One wonders what would have happened if the cyclist was replaced by a bus in a bus lane. In Cardiff I think the result would have been a very bent van!
Shocking moment Tesco delivery van slams into a cyclist when the driver turns left - YouTube
But this highlights a problem I have with bus and cycle lanes. In the past it was always a bad thing to turn left from a position where you are not in the left most lane. The reason was that you could easily end up colliding with something going straight on. Near me there is a bus lane and several entrances to shops to cut across. I indicate as early as I can but then I am familiar with the route. The traffic there is usually queuing so I have to hope any cycle can see me as THEY approach. I cannot drift over to the left to make it obvious or to get a better view in my mirror as I would then get fined for entering the bus lane. I also have to hope I have remembered any cyclist etc that I have just overtaken in the case where my lane is flowing freely. I expect the van driver was obeying his sat-nav and forgetting about avoiding erratic moves. But for me it is all getting too complicated and too risky. Having a lane of traffic to your left that is freely moving is a recipe for disaster.
I really do think cyclists should have a course and pass a test. I did the cycling proficiency test as a child and it taught me a lot about road sense. It even helped when I learnt to drive. I think the risks some cyclists take are due to ignorance that a course would help teach them the dangers of.There is also the result of tests conducted by Dr Ian Walker, a psychologist at the University of Bath. Walker is a man who has researched attitudes and reactions to cyclists with more thoroughness than most. In 2006 he attached a computer and an electronic distance gauge to his bike and recorded data from 2,500 drivers who overtook him on the roads. Half the time he wore a bike helmet and half the time he was bare-headed. The results showed motorists tended to pass him more closely when he had the helmet on, coming an average of 8.5 cm nearer. Walker said he believed this was likely to be connected to cycling being relatively rare in the UK, and drivers thus forming preconceived ideas about cyclists based on what they wore. “This may lead drivers to believe cyclists with helmets are more serious, experienced and predictable than those without,” he wrote.
In effect, if the observations are representative of drivers' reasons for their behviour, then they may also be why so many drivers would feel comfortable with cyclists being forced to wear helmets as it may reduce their assessment of the risks that they present to cyclists. Maybe that is subconciously in some posters here. Another more cynical view is that it might just put additional responsibilities on cyclists as they get off so lightly (e.g. don't pay road tax, they don't have to pass a test, they don't have speed limits and so on), and it might put them off using roads really provided just for motor vehicles.
I do not believe roads are provided just for motor vehicles but they are paid for by the users of motor vehicles. If we all go to public transport and cycles who will pay for the roads then !. For me I choose to use buses or walk where I can but I do not get a discount on my road tax or on my residents parking (which has risen 6 fold over the last 3 years).
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