Saturday 24 April 2010

A smattering of cycling risks

To start with, a small risk - dopey pedestrians walking in the bike lane, with their back to the traffic, along the side of a busy road. This is not a shared pedestrian/bike lane - pedestrians aren't supposed to be down this way at all.


Next, we have the classic being overtaken in a roundabout - which is capped off by the car plowing into the bike lane on exit. I'm totally used to this now, so when I hear some pinhead coming up behind me as I approach a roundabout, I slow down and let them through, rather than trying to contest for space with a tonne and a bit of metal. It can only end badly.


This next one actually shows a driver doing the right thing, and me doing the wrong thing. The van overtakes me and indicates he's going to turn left across the front of me. 99 times out of 100, the vehicle just turns left and you have to slam on the anchors or steer hard right and go around the outside of them. I've seen the aftermath of a bloke that failed to do either - his bike frame was snapped, as was his shoulder. However, the driver of this van stopped to give way to me - and I wasn't ready for a driver doing the right thing, and I went around him on the outside. He was probably thinking "idiot cyclist - I give way and he doesn't take me up on the offer". Sorry chum, you were right - but I've been conditioned by too many numbnut drivers to risk it.


I hate people that park across bike lanes - but check out the ute that flies past after a few seconds. This is a 50 zone - I reckon he was doing 80. I heard him coming, turned my head, saw it was a ute and just knew that I had to stop - or die. Tradesmen in utes are just the worst of the worst.


Last one - and the most unexpected. A cyclist going the wrong way in a cycle lane. This gumby really should have known better.

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