I won't be bullied on the road

[Footie]

Lost my rag with a local tanker company this week and made an official complaint (in writing) about the bad driving of one of their drivers who brushed me with his tanker and trailer.
It's a good job he didn't stop (I was boarder line psychotic with rage at the time) - if he had I would have probably beat the crap out of him.
I doubt it I will get a response.
However, I will keep the letter of complaint and if I hear about any of this company’s tankers being involved in an accident with a cyclist a copy of the letter will go straight to the local paper.

I will not be bullied on the road.
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[tillson]

Since I have been riding an ebike, I have found that, in general, vehicle drivers tend to move out into the centre of the road and give me a safe gap, but an alarming number then pull back in before they have cleared me. I can only think that this happens because I am travelling faster than they realise and it takes longer to clear an ebike than a conventional cycle. Maybe some people are conditioned to a set manoeuvre for overtaking a bike and sometimes that manoeuvre isn’t appropriate when overtaking a faster moving ebike.

This doesn’t excuse your tanker driver though. Duff him up if you catch him!

I have fitted a high intensity red LED to the rear of my bike. It puts out about 350 lumens of red light on the maximum setting. It has been really useful a fog light these last few days and really cuts through the murk. I also find that drivers tend to slow down and give me an extra wide gap when passing!

 

[flecc]

Absolutely right Footie, we have to stand up for our rights on the road and refuse to be bullied by larger vehicle drivers.

I agree with Tillson's point on drivers misjudging e-bike speed, it's something I've long noticed and the annoyance of someone pulling in too quickly is directly related to the bike speed. On my old Lafree it didn't happen too often, but on my fastest, the T bike, it happens frequently.
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[Footie]

I spoke to a Traffic Policemen at Tesco’s (such was my concern) and he suggested I contact the Manager in charge of Transport, which is where the letter went.
The bike speed may be a valid point - as I was going up hill at about 10mph when the tanker passed. I was very visible and had my LED flashing lights working.
The tanker was so close it was like being in a tunnel and I defiantly felt something brush my jacket because I heard it and it made my jump. The scary thing was I then had to fight with the bike to stop the vacuum pulling me into the trailer. It was an extremely frightening experience and one that made me very angry, as I could so easily have been killed had I lost control.
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[Alex728]

I've noticed this (thankfully not with larger vehicles) can happen even on a normal push bike if you are going a bit fast, although I experienced it far more when I lived in SE England than my present home in East Anglia, where the road layouts push most of this large traffic to the A12/A14.

Thankfully no mishaps so far but even with the modestly powered Salisbury I have noticed a sort of bemusement amongst some drivers who think "how on earth is he getting to the front of this traffic queue so quickly?"

Also depending on the tankers contents, especially if you own a motor car or you / friends live in areas where oil heating is still common, or cesspools are still in frequent use you can spread the word and encourage them not to do business with a company employing bad drivers!

 

[flecc]

I will not be bullied on the road.

As it's the pantomime season, time for the Wicked Truck Driver's response:

"Oh yes you will!"


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[WALKERMAN]

I have also noticed that some vehicle drivers have mis-judged where I am when they have passed me, and I came to the conclusion that they had assummed that I was a conventional cyclist going at a slower speed. The Pro Connect is very fast and I feel that I need to have bright flashing lights front and rear so that I can be seen.

I use a Cateye Opticube flashing rear light angled slightly towards the driver so that they can't fail to see me and I think it does make them give me more clearance when they pass. I use it day or night as it is clearly visible even in bright sunshine. The batteries last ages so there is little cost involved.

The front light is also a bright flashing cateye which gives the vehicle drivers an idea of where I am when they overtake me.

 

[Footie]

"Oh yes you will!"


.

Oh no I won't!
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[flecc]

........................

 

[burncycle]

Hi & Happy new year.
I must say that since I got the Airzound for the bike, ive moved a little up the foodchain, but only slightly.
It may be overkill with the horn punching out at 114db, but drivers ears and eyes certainly do come to attention when you press it.
Ive only really used it a few times but it does work very effectively.
You can spot those types of drivers quickly on the road and tell them your there with great ease.
Most drivers though have shocked me with how bike friendly they are, and they do there best to share the road with me.

Regards Bob.

 

[wotwozere]

Hi

I like all drivers except bad ones, i have only been knocked off once but it was totally my fault and nobody was hurt, do not ride with one hand carrying shopping.

Thx

Bob