And purposelessly going about in great big gaggles which are designed to say "look at us".
Yes, funny that, isn't it.
Or lights or mudguards.
Anyone who cycles from A to B *for* *a* *purpose* (such as getting to school or work) can have some respect, unlike these dweebs in their lycra and Paddy Hopkirk racing gloves.
Simply to accommodate a cyclist who is in the wrong place? Nah.
It is bad practise, something to avoid if possible, but not always possible. I have hedges at either side of the drive, a long and too narrow to turn around drive. I also have no choice but to go in forwards, in order to get the car into my garage, its not pratical practical reverse in. I keep the hedges down so far as is pratical practical reverse out at an absolute crawl with both front windows open so I can hear. If anyones available I get someone to watch me out.
What I do find annoying, is car drivers who see the rear of my car emerging, but are not bright enough to give a brief warning on their horns of their approach, but will quite happily pull up outside a friends house and use the horn to summon them.
Yes, but driving out forwards is still better than reversing. And, if you really can't see, you go nice and slow so that you can be seen in good time.
Fanatic cyclists are a very vocal pressure group. They want roads redesigned just for them, HGVs to be fitted with cameras, cycle routes installed etc. They don't want to pay for them of course.
A few years back I saw a cycle track being installed in West Wales. The road badly needed improving but no, the money was spent on an unused cycle track.
"Never reverse out of a driveway" isn't mandatory, just good sensible _advice_ as per the quote below.
"Do not try to reverse into a busy road from a side road or reverse onto a road from a driveway, you should always _try_ to reverse in and drive out."
Our driveway dips into the gutter so much that it's not very practical to reverse in and drive out without grounding the front or the rear end (notably the exhaust tailpipe) so I drive into and reverse out of the driveway with an angled approach that eliminates having both wheels on the front and rear axels drop into the gutter.
I'm _always_ very circumpspect about reversing out of my driveway, taking care to ease the back end a foot or two onto the pavement and pause whilst craning my neck to maximise my view of potential road and pedestrian traffic, slowly inching back to gain a completely unobstructed view of the road. This gives any traffic, pedestrian or road, a longer chance to spot me and take appropriate action.
As was also mentioned in that 'Howto', I make full use of my wing and rearview mirrors as I ease myself off the drive, looking out for any vulnerable pedestrians (it's a residential through road so I'm concerned with the possibility of a toddler getting ahead of its minder (sibling or parent) and running into my path.
If it wasn't for the issue with the roadside gutter, I'd prefer to reverse in and drive out since it makes the most hazardous of those manouvres much easier to perform safely. My pragmatic solution just means that more effort is required to safely exit my driveway.
mcp wrote
A load of bollocks
Dennis@home wrote
Fuck me - WTF did you dream that crap up from?
That even extends to elephants hidden in contour lines on a map as demonstrated on QI a few years back.
It's a phenomena well known and observed by scientists interested in studying human perception. Although the way we interpret how we see the world around us is largely the result of some 500 million years of development of the visual cortex, luckily for us, it's a reponse we can learn to modify to cope with the recent changes that (on this time scale) have taken place "in the blink of an eye" in our everday environment.
Unlike the flying insects who seem determined _NOT_ to make allowances for window glass, we _can_ add to our repetoire of visual interpretation to avoid the same embarrassment.
The important thing is to conciously avoid 'seeing what we expect to see' and learn to expect the unexpected. Thankfully, most of us do manage to become reasonably skilled in this art. It's just a few that develop 'bad habits' and fall into this trap but a few is all it takes to cause notable accidents that otherwise seem avoidable to the majority.
The one time I'm taciturn in regard to conversation is when I'm driving. Other than the odd, curt comment[1] about other road users, I actively avoid conversation. It's not that I'm incapable of such 'multi-tasking' so much as I don't want to compromise my driving behaviour by such an unessential distraction.
I regard driving as a serious responsibility requiring all of my attention to do the the task to the best of my ability. Even when paying full attention to the task, I know all too well how easy it is to still make a serious mistake (I'm only human, after all).
I just hope to eliminate the serious mistakes and do no worse than commit a minor error of judgement involving nothing worse than damage to inanimate victims. Expecting the unexpected is simply part and parcel of the skill set required to drive a vehicle in reasonable safety, especially on today's busy roads.
Drivers who can seemingly hold a conversation whilst 'on the job' worry me somewhat since they're clearly diluting their attention to the primary task in hand.
[1] I'm wise enough to realise that even this driving related comment can be enough to distract me from my primary task, hence my curtness.Tim Streater wrote
That's because they have *friends*. You know what friends are ?
Mudguards now. Any particular reason for mentioning them?
Like you wearing your flat cap when you're driving the car?
Harry Bloomfield wrote
Be honest, if you were that concerned about safety, you'd remove the hedges.
So what?
Charming
Did you actually read that link before posting it?
"He also ruled against an award of ?contributory negligence? against Smith, as claimed by Finch, (which could have led to a reduction in the compensation award to Smith by up to 15%) on the grounds that Smith had not been wearing a cycle helmet acknowledging that a helmet worn by Smith could not have been expected to prevent the particular injuries he suffered."
People I go and visit. And who I don't have to shout at because they are 50 yards down the road.
They're something else that should be compulsory on bikes so that you don't spray shit over pedestrians and yourself.
What flat cap's that, then?
Your point being? (assuming you have one) All right then, wherever I've written "bell" accept I also mean "any other form of polite warning". OK now?
A very good summary which some fatheads here appear to have difficulty comprehending.
See above. Personally I think you might say "any other form of warning that unambiguously indicates that a bicycle is approaching".
Agreed. I don't like the idea of shouting, or even projecting, as easily misunderstood but anything that gives early and polite warning plus responsible speed is what is wanted.
Well, I just did a quick check on my neighbours, all bar 1 of 17 of their cars reverse off their drives!
+1
Tim
Runners have exactly the same problem as cyclists. Shouting "Coming through!" works but many runners don't like shouting out and most pedestrians don't like been shouted at. There solution for runners is the same.
Tim
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