I wrote last week about the cyclist that was knocked down on Lilyfield Rd by an idiot driver who overtook and then turned left in front of him, leaving the cyclist with a broken arm and a wrecked bike.
I was queued up with about 8 other cyclists at the lights at the top of Lilyfield Rd this morning, waiting for a green. There are two lanes each way at the lights, but it turns into one lane as soon as you cross the intersection. Cars take the right lane, bikes the left lane. It turns into one lane because there is a large section of bus parking just down the hill, and they occupy the entire lane, plus there is a bike lane running down the length of the road. So long as cars stay right and bikes left, everyone is happy.
The lights went green, and I was halfway across the intersection when I heard a loud, anguished yell behind me. I couldn't work out exactly what was said, but whoever was yelling was clearly very unhappy with what was going on.
When we stopped at another set of lights in town, I asked the bloke next to me what the yelling was about - he had been a few spots behind me in the pack, and had seen the event.
He said that there was a car turning right at the lights, so the woman in the car behind him barged left into our lane to go around the car, cutting off a number of cyclists who were already in the lane. Yes, failing to look and give way is alive and well; or perhaps she looked and thought, "I am in a car, they are on bikes - therefore they can go to hell because I am bigger".
It's astounding how impatient some people can be. Apparently she didn't indicate - she just suddenly roared into the left lane.
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