facepalm moment

If she'd done a proper job she could have tweeted it and become famous.

We notice poor cycling particularly because we ourselves are cyclists. I always find myself watching every cyclist around me in traffic, thinking about how they are riding. When I am riding it is the cars I watch. Earlier tonight I was taking a bend that led to a cycle path crossing. I noticed a biker hammering down towards the crossing. I had right of way, but conscious as ever that the cyclist might not have observed me I was trying to prepare to come to a full stop for him to cross, a task made difficult by the driver behind me hammering up my arse.

Rider clocked me and came to a halt, allowing me to escape a rear ender.

Thankyou for being an aware and considerate cyclist mate.

I'm also against drivers being automatically at fault. I was driving behind a cyclist in the dark, no street lights and he had no illumination and was dressed in black, I only just spotted him, I'm assuming a him, and he kept weaving in and out of the middle of the road, it was so difficult getting passed him. Had I not spotted him I would not have liked being automatically at fault had I hit him.

Alison

I was following a young lad (looked to be about 15) and he was riding exactly on the white line at the side of the road. At a bus stop he swerved into the middle of the road to ride on the white line that delineated the stop ! I missed him but only because I thought his riding had been weird as I came up behind him and was ready for something.

I popped into the recycling at Tescos on my way home from my workshop earlier, and a lady was biking into the face of oncoming traffic on the one way blind corner that leads into the car park. It is clearly signed no entry.

I stopped and got out to talk to her, but she ignored me.

She will be lucky to ignore a van or car that hits her head on.

I feel for the driver that has such an unfortunate encounter.

At the same time, I was noticing idiots driving up the road straddling the cycle lane as I left town.

That is a habit that will kill cyclists.

highlandsflyer":29bsonc9 said:

Another reason I am completely against the idea of automatic blame on drivers who are involved in accidents with bicycles.

Click to expand...

Good job no-one's suggesting that, then. Presumed liability is not the same as automatic blame.

http://www.happycyclist.org/?p=429

Depends if 'presumed liability' is written into civil law, criminal/road traffic law, or both. Until it happens, its all speculation.

MikeD":10buvspm said:

highlandsflyer":10buvspm said:

Another reason I am completely against the idea of automatic blame on drivers who are involved in accidents with bicycles.

Click to expand...

Good job no-one's suggesting that, then. Presumed liability is not the same as automatic blame.

http://www.happycyclist.org/?p=429

Click to expand...

If we move to a situation where a cyclist can hammer into the side of a car, stationary in a lay by for example, at speed causing themselves injury and the car damage, and it is up to the driver to prove the cyclist was to blame in order to recoup the expense of repair and avoid paying out huge sums towards the cyclist to pay for their rehabilitation and loss of earnings, etc., it is indeed automatic blame. If one is not to 'blame' why should one be liable for all this expense?

Forcing drivers to put up or shut up will be the result for the majority. Few will want to risk the expense of taking legal action, and the authorities will advise this is their only recourse.

Forcing cyclists to take out insurance is another way of approaching this, or we could stay with the current situation and let the police and courts sort things out with no presumption to the outcome.