ChrisF Posted December 9, 2018 Posted December 9, 2018 First some background :70's - my nephew is killed on a bicycle when a truck driver skips a stop sign80's and 90's - buried a number family and friends that were involved in motorcycle accidents. Causes ranged from vehicles making illegal U-turns, to rider error .... The end result remains the same, irrespective of who is at fault !!00's - my sister's son ends in hospital after altercation between his bicycle and a car ... never got the full story, and dont know who was at fault, nor what could have been done to reduce his risk .... Fair to say that cyclist safety is a matter close to my hart !! It is good to see updates to road rules .... it is even nice to see the driver change for the better. But we all KNOW there is a long way to go before our roads are safe - from the perspective of vehicle driver behaviour ..... Frankly enough threads about this. On Saturday morning (8 December 2018, shortly after 7:00) I once again realized that a small percentage of cyclists are our worst enemies !! Wish I had a dashcam to record this scene .... I was heading North along the Contermanskloof road, just passed the quarry, heading up the short steep hill. Three cyclists comes from the front, heading down the hill, just after the blind rise - so cars coming from behind has ZERO chance of seeing them in time. NOTE - the yellow lane is wide enough for two cyclists next to each other. Nope, these three rocket-scientists ride one on the yellow lane, and the other two next to him blocking the oncoming lane !! Had a car come up behind them at that moment, crossing over a blind rise and finding the road blocked with three SLOW cyclists, the driver had three choices:- turn off the road, and crash his car ....- turn into the oncoming lane and have a head-on collision with our vehicle- heaven forbid he rammed into the three cyclists .... To be clear - I saw MANY cyclists out enjoying the perfect weather. Each and every other cyclist rode in a safe manner.
LeoKnight Posted December 9, 2018 Posted December 9, 2018 Even when you correct there will be a bunch here that will say you are victim blaming, cars need to take responsibility for their action first, the shoulder was probably full of glass, it is safer to ride in a bunch than single file, or whatever excuse.
Tomik Posted December 9, 2018 Posted December 9, 2018 I don't understand this. If the cyclists were coming down the hill, they would be going close to 50kph. The speed limit there is 80kph AFAIK (maybe even 60) so the cars should simply slow down slightly. That shoulder is in terrible condition so I can't blame them for riding in the road on a downhill where the speed differential should not be huge. Drivers driver too fast there, period. I had a car caress my handlebar when I was on my vespa going down there in the yellow lane, trying to be nice. I was doing 70kph. So I can actually relate to why the cyclists were not in the yellow line. When I'm descending close to the speed limit, I will also ride in the road as it is far safer in most cases. If it's a slight inconvenience to motorists, so be it.
Tomik Posted December 9, 2018 Posted December 9, 2018 P.S. If they were indeed riding very slowly on the blind rise, I would agree with the OPs thoughts. But there are often extenuating circumstances.
ChrisF Posted December 10, 2018 Author Posted December 10, 2018 I don't understand this. If the cyclists were coming down the hill, they would be going close to 50kph. The speed limit there is 80kph AFAIK (maybe even 60) so the cars should simply slow down slightly. That shoulder is in terrible condition so I can't blame them for riding in the road on a downhill where the speed differential should not be huge. Drivers driver too fast there, period. I had a car caress my handlebar when I was on my vespa going down there in the yellow lane, trying to be nice. I was doing 70kph. So I can actually relate to why the cyclists were not in the yellow line. When I'm descending close to the speed limit, I will also ride in the road as it is far safer in most cases. If it's a slight inconvenience to motorists, so be it. GUESS AGAIN !! They were sitting upright, idling along at maybe 20km/h .... having a sip of water, recovering after the last climb ... NOPE ... just plain blocking the road ! Might as well have painted targets on their own backs ....
ChrisF Posted December 10, 2018 Author Posted December 10, 2018 P.S. If they were indeed riding very slowly on the blind rise, I would agree with the OPs thoughts. But there are often extenuating circumstances. The only extenuating circumstances I could see was rubble on the side of the road - trucks and quarry ... so riding on the yellow line made sense. Just no "reason" for the other two to idling along in the middle of the road ...
Sepia Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 I once again realized that a small percentage of cyclists are our worst enemies !! Wish I had a dashcam to record this scene .... This. See it often
Chingy182 Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 The only extenuating circumstances I could see was rubble on the side of the road - trucks and quarry ... so riding on the yellow line made sense. Just no "reason" for the other two to idling along in the middle of the road ...I agree, you as a cyclist also need to act in a way as to not get yourself into trouble or killed. Be mindful of traffic and recognize that drivers are on their phones - doesn't make it right, but that's how you get killed. Whenever I veer into the middle of a road, I will try to indicate this to traffic and if possible make eye contact with the driver. Coming down Vissershok Road at 80kmph I ride smack bang in the middle of the road and tuffies for any car behind me as I am not moving over.
sawystertrance Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 "a small percentage of cyclists are our worst enemies" I totally disagree. From what I see on the road, it's a fairly large percentage.
Dadbod Racing Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 I once avoided a confrontation with a group of cyclists... I was on my own heading home after a really good ride, the lights up ahead turned red and I cruised up and stopped. This group came up and pushed between myself and the car first at the lights. The light turned green and we all pushed ahead (me safely on the road giving myself enough room away from the gutter but not blocking cars), another rider pushed through between myself and the car and joined the group who now decided to ride infront of the car blocking the road and not allowing the aunty to pass. What happened next was very obvious, the aunty got the moer in HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEDDDDD and the group turned around and shouted abuse at her.... And it was at that very moment I decided to shut the *&^$ up, I knew that should I get involved they were going to piss me off, they weren't going to upset my awesome start to the morning... I had a nice ride, I got to watch the sunrise over False bay, I got to witness the quietness of a weekend morning (ok sometimes you see 1 or 3 people walking home with the look of regret on their faces and can't make eye contact but that's a different matter) I just had a really good ride and was heading home looking forward to a nice brekkie too and then this.... So I just shut the hell up and minded my own businesss.... Dumb folk live and breath among us people take care!
Dadbod Racing Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 I'll be following this topic too as I've also been taken out my a motorist who decided he didn't need to stop at a stop street. I was about 13 years old, the deal was I'd wait after soccer practice at my moms friends house she'd come past hoot and then I'd cycle home in front of her (was only a few blocks away). Two blocks from home some guy just goes straight through a stop street, I saw him coming and instinctively swerved right, fortunately there was no on coming traffic but he still got me. I must have bailed somehow cause my bike ended up under the car I flew up and landed on the bonnet. A couple of hours in the ER and a few days off school and I was back in business. The school announced that I'd be knocked off my bike and it did wonders for my street credit at school, I had lots of the older girls at school who never spoke to me now all of a sudden come and check how I was.... yes I was balling!!!
DieselnDust Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 Mountain bikers seem to like playing chicken,Even on the green belt, right of way is determined by who blinks first
Headshot Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 That is very dof behaviour by those three riders. I wonder if they drive their cars like that too? Every day I commute 60km or so in my car ( wish I could cycle but I'd probably be dead by now if I did). The utterly dismal driving I see every day is mind blowing. I am sure I am guilty at times, but always strive to drive better by aiding the free flow of traffic and monitoring my traffic surroundings closely and generally doing as I would like other drivers to treat me. Its quite clear to me that most drivers don't follow this approach at all. Quite the opposite in fact. One thing to bear in mind is that on a bike you do have a sensory advantage over a driver, unless you have earphones in. Perhaps these doffies could hear whether a car was approaching and could/ would have moved over if one had arrived on the scene?
Headshot Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 Mountain bikers seem to like playing chicken,Even on the green belt, right of way is determined by who blinks firstWell the trails are tame so maybe think of other riders as moving trail features?
Puncture Kid Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 Quite honestly, as a cyclist, your 'duty' to you and your family is to get back home safely. So arguing about whether cars should stay clear of you or complaining about your right to use the road is pointless. If you cannot ride a route that is safe (attacks / crappy shoulder, etc), then just don't take that route. Or accept that we live where we do and deal with the increased risk in getting hurt.
Eddy Gordo Posted December 10, 2018 Posted December 10, 2018 This morning on my commute, another cyclist was way too important to make use of the cycle lane. Instead he played chicken with peak time traffic and even got upset when some one hooted. This is the lanes from kromboom road thru rondebosch. Passing the river, I see another 2 guys in the road and the one makes some comment about bikes with flashing lights.Aah well, I had an awesome commute, can't wit for 5pm!
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