14 thoughts on “Silly Cyclists – Episode 23

  1. Love these vids. One point though on the PCSOs. Admittedly their technique is poor (eg stopping with left foot on the ground), if you check out Cyclecraft by John Franklin, signalling isn’t thought necessary in all situations. On that left turn, had they looked behind (they didn’t) and made some sort of eye contact or communication that they were turning left that was short of left arm out, that would have been fine.

    It still staggers me that people will squeeze up the inside of trucks, lorries and vans. Try driving on in London for a day and you’d soon stop!!

    Keep up the good work.

    1. I think in a situation where you are not in a left/right turn only lane, it is best to signal your intentions whilst you are stopped. Espcially so for these two as they are cycling whilst on the job, it’s important that they show the rest of us how it is done!

      Where abouts in cycle craft does it mention stopping with your left foot on the ground? *is intregead*

      I can’t see the issue with passing large vehicles on the inside stopping any time soon, I also expect as more cyclists take to the road as the weather improves, it will get worse πŸ™

      1. The indicating on a left turn requires a judgement-call each time; I will signal left if I need to (when, say, there are cyclists behind me who may not expect my change of speed and direction).
        However, in some situations a left signal may encourage cars into maneuvers that they wouldn’t normally do, such as (and these have happened to me) a car behind you turning left deciding to overtake through the junction rather than waiting for both of you to complete the turn, and a car from the other direction turning right across you as you turn.
        So saying that, neither of the PCSOs checked behind before turning, so they weren’t really in a position to decide whether to signal or not.

      2. I remember whilst cycling to the Freewheel (before Sky & Boris rebranded it) with another forum member they commented on me using hand signals. I’ll always try and use them as I feel it’s just polite to indicate my intentions to other road users. Having said that I still get peds who just wonder across minor roads that sit alongside majors without a “proper” shoulder check. Easily spotted and I then make a point of going round the front πŸ™‚

  2. I really hate those cyclists who ride off the pavement without looking. It only happens to me rarely, and the last time I was in a quiet, empty road in the suburbs, so I wasn’t really switched-on, unlike if there was traffic about, I barely saw it coming. He must have been only inches from my front wheel. Lucky I wasn’t cycling fast and we didn’t collide. But it was pure luck.

  3. Gaz, the good news is that as cycling increases you’re going to see more of these idiots, just on a statistical basis.

    The bad news is, they’re still idiots. Tbh, the one who riled me most was number 6 or 7 who rushed up, parked right in front of the pedestrian, and ignored him. What a selfish prick.

    (I also confess to almost never signalling – like those PCSOs, I try to make sure my road position is clear in situations like that …)

  4. May have a submission for next weeks when I review my footage this evening. Left indicating car stopped at a red light yet still riders where going up the left AND waiting alongside as they couldn’t get into the ASL ahead of the car.

    It beggars belief…..

    1. To much of the ‘safety’ campaigns are aimed at HGV’s. How about just not passing / stopping on the inside of a left turning vehicle?

  5. Just found your videos and watched the entire series. It’s almost comforting to see that there are silly cyclists everywhere doing the same stupid (read: uneducated) things. One thing different in my little city is that we don’t have any ASLs. The concept seems sensible, but the filtering makes me nervous. I see many riders in your vids riding between stopped vehicles (splitting the lanes). Probably a fine thing to do in this context, but certainly not expected here.

    Regardless, I wish you well, and look forward to more episodes. Happy riding!

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