The above is what it means and there are accompanying illustrations showing a car passing a bicycle with 1.5 metres space between them.

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bnVkYxKPTKM/UHV7RAm02aI/AAAAAAAAAA0/EDAlw8xEgDM/s1600/Overtake.jpg

I know that is what is intended, but it is not stated explicitly which leaves room for interpretation. Why is there no arrow labelled '1.5m' on that image to take away the doubt?

 

Even that caption fails, as many drivers do not give a wide berth to cars either.

Why is there no arrow labelled '1.5m' on that image to take away the doubt?

 

Some do:

 

Some do:

 

Surly if the 'clearance' should be 1.5m, that should be from the right most point (in the picture) of the bike\rider, not the center line or wheels ?

Surly if the 'clearance' should be 1.5m, that should be from the right most point (in the picture) of the bike\rider, not the center line or wheels ?

 

Agreed, but once again showing how interpretations differ, in this case the police. They've even chosen a narrow drop handlebar bike.

 

My straight handlebar bike with handlebar end mirror on the right was a full metre wide, so plus 0.75 metres from the kerb and 1.5 metres passing room on the right of the mirror adds up to well over the width of many single lane roads.

 

So overtaking in that correct way on the other side of the road would scare the life out a cyclist coming from the other direction !

.

I got sick of vehicles overtaking at night with millimeters to spare, but fitting these really does work (so far, so good). But what I really want are hubs with motorised extending tyre shredding blades...

 

 

[ATTACH=full]45598[/ATTACH]

 

You need 007's Living Daylights wheel lasers as on the AMV8 and not the old 007 DB5 wheel shredders.

You need 007's Living Daylights wheel lasers.

Or Boudicca 1.5m celtic sword wheels. Guaranteed to repel all (space) invaders, and look pretty damn cool.

But what I really want are hubs with motorised extending tyre shredding blades...

 

Have you seem them for sale anywhere ?

Drivers might allow us more room, if we had worrying looking wheels like these?

 

 

 

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a35535607/circular-saw-blade-tires/

 

https://www.designboom.com/design/the-q-icycycle-bike-with-saw-blades-02-15-2021/

^^ Thats not what you want to 'Floss the crack' with

 

I got J hooked by a cop car once. Overtook, then immediately turned left.

Only really had about 1/2 dozen or so of those incidents, Also known as the JESUS CHRIST !!!, death grip on the brake levers school of cycle riding.

Thankfully and since the mid 90's I've used disc brakes of the high power type, but they're certainly put to use when you get cut up like that.

I got J hooked by a cop car once. Overtook, then immediately turned left.

Only really had about 1/2 dozen or so of those incidents, Also known as the JESUS CHRIST !!!, death grip on the brake levers school of cycle riding.

 

I use to suffer those a lot, but since always using a bar end mirror, no more. I've since found it easy to detect when they are going to do that. Seeing the fast approach in the mirror but slower as they appear alongside gives the clue what they are about to do.

.

Most light bezels unscrew so one should be able to place a Blue disc with in the bezel so it retains it.

 

You're right, now that the Police blue heat resistant acetate sheet has arrived, uncrewing the housing to install it, is a legally hazardous hi-viz option... Idiots in vans get away with it. Could they really charge me with impersonating a copper, if it was a very bright steady blue front light?

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/05/filming-cyclingmikey-dangerous-drivers-mike-van-erp-motorists-britain-roads-safer

Instead of getting motorists to stop for pedestrians crossing the road at corners, why not install a pedestrian crossing with lights there?

 

 

it's not much more stupid than the new law

 

Edited February 4, 20224 yr by passionate off roader

 

every uk road should have a speed limit set at 250mph

Following this with interest and wondered how this impacts pedestrians/cyclists at roundabouts. On part of my commute I need to navigate junct 31 of the M1, and I use the pavement here: https://goo.gl/maps/QZbH5bxQw5zSF7uk7 It is not a pleasant crossing as cars often do not indicate and can leap from one lane to the other when leaving the roundabout to join the M1. I find it hard to believe they should stop and give way to a pedestrian standing on the raised paving waiting to cross there! Have I understood that is right and expected under the new code?

Try it and see. If you're still alive, let us know how it went.*

 

 

 

 

 

*Disclaimer: this is a joke

Following this with interest and wondered how this impacts pedestrians/cyclists at roundabouts. On part of my commute I need to navigate junct 31 of the M1, and I use the pavement here: https://goo.gl/maps/QZbH5bxQw5zSF7uk7 It is not a pleasant crossing as cars often do not indicate and can leap from one lane to the other when leaving the roundabout to join the M1. I find it hard to believe they should stop and give way to a pedestrian standing on the raised paving waiting to cross there! Have I understood that is right and expected under the new code?

 

I do my utmost to avoid potentially nasty trouble spots like that! Even if it means taking a longer route.

Roundabout exits are slightly different to normal junctions as the exits don't have broken white lines, only the roundabout's entrances have them, so maybe they count as an intrinsic part of the roundabout and not a junction as such. However, that subtlety is not going to be at the forefront of the person crossing.

 

Other junctions also have the same problem of a rear-end shunt (I'm assuming the first vehicle bothers to give way), but on exiting a roundabout vehicles expect to accelerate out of it, not give way, so it's probably the worst case.

I find it hard to believe they should stop and give way to a pedestrian standing on the raised paving waiting to cross there! Have I understood that is right and expected under the new code?

 

Yes you have got it right, driver should give way to pedestrians on the kerb and obviously wanting to cross. But as ever with the highway code advice which is just that, only when it is safe to do so.

 

It's a typical British bodge. They are imitating the Netherlands where motorists commonly do have to give way by law and the roads are marked accordingly and often with light signals too.

 

We get the cheap version, our authorities doing nothing other than putting all the onus on road users to mimic without any safety measures.

.

Re: the Netherlands - rather than the Dutch Reach technique you're going to need Dutch courage for that junction.

Re: the Netherlands - rather than the Dutch Reach technique you're going to need Dutch courage for that junction.

So that's drink plenty of alcoholic fluids tomorrow morning and then see if that Artic has a. spotted me and b. is up-to-date on the highway code. I'll let you know tomorrow! ;o)

 

avoid potentially nasty trouble spots like that!

-I've got most of my route sorted as quite road, cycle way or bridal way. There isn't a good solution for this spot unfortunately otherwise I would!

 

Yes you have got it right

Wow. Well I wont expect it! I don't know what the council is thinking here as there is a really well built cycle way on the A57 towards Worksop but it only leads to this spot at one end and a similar nasty spot at the other:

https://goo.gl/maps/MCmrDVV6PUmEiVnx8 -road to nowhere.

Edited February 4, 20224 yr by DBye

I don't know what the council is thinking here as there is a really well built cycle way on the A57 towards Worksop but it only leads to this spot at one end and a similar nasty spot at the other:

https://goo.gl/maps/MCmrDVV6PUmEiVnx8 -road to nowhere.

 

That's very typical, Britain is famed for it's cyclepaths that start nowhere and end nowhere.

 

This otherwise superb example in my area peters out to an ordinary pavement at one end and a narrow bottleneck between iron railings and an overgrown hedge at the other end:

 

http://www.flecc.uk/t/images/Cyclepath%201.jpg

 

 

I do my utmost to avoid potentially nasty trouble spots like that! Even if it means taking a longer route.

 

-I've got most of my route sorted as quite road, cycle way or bridal way. There isn't a good solution for this spot unfortunately otherwise I would!

 

 

As a cyclist, I find roundabouts terrifying - whether making one's way carrefully around the edge, or changing lanes as a car or motorbike would, either way risks getting squished at speed. Adding miles (0.6, but I don't know your area or route) provides a little peace of mind:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/53.3534879,-1.304057/53.3492356,-1.2212304/@53.3519238,-1.333926,12z/data=!4m3!4m2!3e1!5i2

 

It's dangerous to assume that driver behaviour has changed for the better.

 

I would love to see "Avoid roundabouts (where possible)" options in cycling route planning software.

Edited February 5, 20224 yr by guerney

As a cyclist, I find roundabouts terrifying - whether making on's way carrefully around the edge, or changing lanes as a car or motorbike would, either way risks getting squished at speed. Adding miles (0.6, but I don't know your area or route) provides a little peace of mind:

 

I would concur complety.

 

There was a time as a fit youngster, and on a decent 'racing' bike it was not much of a problem, on most roundabouts I could cycle as fast as the cars and there was less traffic anyway.

 

These days, some 45 years later, the risk (to me) of using the average roundabout is much much greater, I am slower, the cars are faster and there are a more of them. A lot of drivers these days seem to use the lanes of a roundabout as a game of Tetris, to gain points and save the odd half a second off their journey time.

 

There is a major roundabout not far from where I live, its one of those 'Do you feel lucky punk' roundabouts. The speed limit is 20mph, but in this freedom loving UK, very few drivers follow it.