The cycling presenter opened the program by saying that the vast majority of drivers are decent and reasonable people. That being the case, how can 25% be not concerned about injuring cyclist? It's obviously a lie.

 

A majority is over 50%. 25% is also defined. "Vast" is undefined, but 75% can be considered "Vast".

A majority is over 50%. 25% is also defined. "Vast" is undefined, but 75% can be considered "Vast".

 

Omitting 'vast' and just saying 'the majority' might have been more balanced.

Omitting 'vast' and just saying 'the majority' might have been more balanced.

 

What is balanced is realising that we don't have 25% unconcerned about injuring a cyclist.

 

Believing that we do is unbalanced, warped, a loss of reason.

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Through my whole life I've always avoided cycling after dark whenever possible. Our roads, their lighting, cycle lighting and even motor vehicle lighting have usually fallen far short of the task of truly safe passage for a cyclist.

 

And as we age, the muscles controlling iris closure slow. That means intermittent brief pools of darkness after each instance of being dazzled, a potential real danger for a small object like a pedestrian or cyclist who could be hit unseen by an elderly driver in those moments.

 

For that reason and as previously reported in here, I now will not drive after dark under any circumstance.

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I'm obviously not part of the majority as I prefer to cycle at night.

I only cycle to go to the shops, so no need to look at the views.

During the evening there is less road traffic and I have found that overtaking vehicles allow more room, presumably because it's more difficult to judge distances at night.

But I have modified my bike so that I do not only have a single central light, but rather also have flashing leds at handlebar width at both edges front & back.

That way other vehicles can see I have a width & not just a moving vertical pole, which is what the eye & brain see when looking at most bikes.

I also have to amend my setup when travelling on unlit country roads, where I attach a motorbike headlight, so I can use full beam to see properly & dip it for oncoming vehicles. The advantage is that the main beam is the same brightness as other cars & when you dip so do they.

Panorama's Internet survey; a sampling of a population more likely to be composed of nasty lonely unhappy people looking for someone to blame. They shouldn't be allowd anywhere near a keyboard or mouse, let alone the internet.

 

"Yonder surveyed a total of 12,545 drivers aged 18+ between 13th September and 20th September 2022 in the UK."

 

https://yonderconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Final-AA-Sept-Data-Tables.pdf

"Panorama's Internet survey; a sampling of a population more likely to be composed of nasty lonely unhappy people looking for someone to blame. They shouldn't be allowd anywhere near a keyboard or mouse, let alone the internet."

 

Where did the basis of that take come from?

Little wonder that we've lost so many of our most valuable members, leaving in disgust at the posts of the increasing number of wilfully offensive members.

 

And why this forum is dying on its feet with hardly any input. Given the immense increase in e-biking over the two years of the pandemic, we should be flooded with input traffic and new members and the forum should be thriving.

 

Sadly all forums are dying. I have participated in many for years & years but few new users are joining as everyone uses Facebook groups nowadays even though they are vastly inferior.

Edited November 5, 20223 yr by nigelbb

Sadly all forums are dying. I participated in many for years but few new users are joining as everyone uses Facebook groups nowadays even though they are vastly inferior.

 

Indeed Nigel, as Soundwave commented earlier and I see in another site I use regularly. But I see this one as particularly hit. Given the huge growth of e-biking and cycling in general in 2020, '21 and '22, the lack of input traffic is extraordinary.

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Edited November 5, 20223 yr by flecc

Sadly all forums are dying. I have participated in many for years & years but few new users are joining as everyone uses Facebook groups nowadays even though they are vastly inferior.

 

Don't be lulled into thinking you're not involved with Facebook. That's true even if you don't to your knowledge have a Facebook account, as it's built into many devices at a hardware or firmware level, and you trigger being assigned a notional identity the moment it accesses the internet. There are 28 trackers before you log into this forum and 131 after you do. Rest asssured, it all contributes to a mosaic to be data mined later, no matter how anonymous it seems. You data will never be deleted, even when this forum and Facebook are long dead.

"Panorama's Internet survey; a sampling of a population more likely to be composed of nasty lonely unhappy people looking for someone to blame. They shouldn't be allowd anywhere near a keyboard or mouse, let alone the internet."

 

Where did the basis of that take come from?

 

We all know timid people, who surprise by driving like demons. It's the same when people with unresolved issues are allowed a mask to access the internet. Responses to other people on social media in all it's forms, which of course includes forums and some surveys, tends toward the extreme. There are unnecessary and unwarranted insults, for example. I expect such will continue.

 

Wild badger behaviour won't change much either

 

Edited November 6, 20223 yr by I893469365902345609348566

We all know timid people, who surprise by driving like demons. It's the same when people with unresolved issues are allowed a mask to access the internet. Responses to other people on social media in all it's forms, which of course includes forums and some surveys, tends toward the extreme. There are unnecessary and unwarranted insults, for example. I expect such will continue.

 

Wild badger behaviour won't change much either

 

Perhaps, like badgers, they would be best humanely culled. Until they develop a vaccine of course. I'm not that heartless.

if motorists and cyclists cross or enter a bike lane, the motorist should give way or yield to the biker by default. It also applies in situations when both parties need to turn right. In this case, the motorist must exercise caution, especially when the cyclist is directly going straight through the intersection or at roundabouts.

(Spam link removed by admin)in a bike lane is cyclists’ official lane without competing with other motorists. Motorists are expected to yield to the biker when passing through a bike lane.

Edited February 6, 20233 yr by HelenJ

(Spam link removed by admin”in a bike lane is cyclists’ official lane without competing with other motorists. Motorists are expected to yield to the biker when passing through a bike lane.

 

Please be aware that the linked site in Gary's post is of US origin and is incorrect for Britain in some details. For example the following extracts are incorrect:

 

Motorists and bikers are expected to yield to pedestrians at a pedestrian crossing at all times. On the other hand, if the pedestrian is passing in a crosswalk or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, the person should give way to the cyclist or motorist.

 

Pedestrians only have the right of way when crosswalks or pedestrian crossings exist.

 

Pedestrians here have far greater rights over traffic, detailed in the latest Highway Code.

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Just came across this thread and I sent an email to the Researcher at Bournemouth University (100 yards down the road from me) about something that has been troubling me for some time.

 

 

I had a nasty fright yesterday when exiting the Talbot roundabout from Fern Barrow. I drive a Nissan Leaf which has an extremely large "A" pillar, as have many newer vehicles.

 

A cyclist approached unseen by me from Wallisdown Road travelling West and my sightline of this cyclist was completely obscured by the "A" pillar, as I moved onto the roundabout my vehicle's movement kept the cyclist from my view hidden completely by the pillar as they moved so did my pillar in complete syncronisation. Something made me hesitate, I just had a feeling there was something there, and stopped at the roundabout. As I stopped the cyclist appeared as if from nowhere and I realized I had just avoided a nasty accident by the skin of my teeth.

 

 

I have been motorcycling and driving since the 1970's and have recently taken up cycling after my wife insisted I sell my motorbike, saying I was too old to be getting about on one now it is too dangerous. I am constantly aware of cyclists and motorbikes when I drive and I worry about other drivers who also have these large "A" pillars on their vehicles. In the Nissan Leaf's case I believe it is inherently dangerous, more so than other newer vehicles. I understand a wider pillar is used to house the airbag systems, but it is wrong to put the driver's safety ahead of other road users.

I worry about other drivers who also have these large "A" pillars on their vehicles. In the Nissan Leaf's case I believe it is inherently dangerous, more so than other newer vehicles.

 

I agree. I dont know what model Leaf you have, but my one with the current body style has the same restriction on visibility. I've developed the habit of doing double takes at danger points such a entering roundabouts, also physically leaning back and forward to change the view.

 

Judging from your photo, I have an even worse problem. I'm much shorter and the seat elevation at maximum still leaves the door mirror obstructing my view, so I have to use an addition seat cushion to raise me more.

 

Nissan should have corrected these problems, reducing the A pillar size and providing more seat adjustment. Too late now, the Leaf is being discontinued next year. currently replaced only by the Ariya model, which being SUV style doesn't look much more promising.

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I drove small vans for years before my ebike came along, Transit Connect then Fiat Doblo, and routinely found it necessary to be altering head position even just in bends to have an adequate view of the road.

I drove small vans for years before my ebike came along, Transit Connect then Fiat Doblo, and routinely found it necessary to be altering head position even just in bends to have an adequate view of the road.

 

This problem was largely solved many years ago in the USA and to an extent here, with wraparound screens. Unfortunately the change from toughened glass to laminated made wraparound impossible, contributing to the current problem.

 

I never had this problem with my phase 2 Vauxhall Victor back in the early 1960s, thanks to its wraparound screen:

 

 

Take a peep at this shutterstock image to see the driver's wide range of view.

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Edited November 12, 20223 yr by flecc