Jeremy Vine may need a new Brompton after his was squished by a truck:
twitter.com/i/status/1701912943611306142
That's near enough to my old London stomping ground to be pretty familiar.
Wondering if I' could have been caught the same way. I don't think he was being foolish or broke any laws. Not sure if anything defensive riding wise might have avoided the denouement.
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His initial risk assessment was well off kilter, more concerned about riding into trouble and making something of it (which escalated beyond his control) than avoiding it. A quick zip to the right of the keep left bollard would have seen him clear
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>> A quick zip to the right of the keep left bollard would have seen him clear
POssibly, that's the sort of thing I was thinking about
That said, it may be a bit better in post Covid traffic but Byng Place isn't somewhere to trifle with oncoming motor vehicles.
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This is an awkward one. While watching it I could tell what was about to happen long before it did, but on the other hand it did happen extremely quickly. Will be interesting to see if the police prosecute the driver.
I've just ordered a camera for myself after being overtaken by a Volvo XC90 on a blind bend, at a junction, into oncoming traffic where the Volvo passed less than a metre away and swerved back in to avoid a van. I shook my head in disbelief and the guy then did a full on emergency stop in an attempt to collect my bike in the back of his car while screaming "WHY ARE YOU SHAKING YOUR HEAD?" out of the window.
While he now has a small hole in his 23-reg bumper, I didn't argue any more because he had a small child in the car. What an example to set to your kid.
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I have a GoPro on my handle bars and a VW Caravelle driver got prosecuted for doing the exact same thing as you saw, apart from the stopping to argue bit.
Phoned the police, sent the video in to them, they paid me a visit and took a statement and prosecuted the driver. I had actually been wanting a rap on his knuckles cos I am a car driver and I know sometimes we make mistakes, but police were adamant it was bad enough for prosecution.
Possibly due to their high profile campaign of giving cyclists 1.5m space so I guess somewhere there will be a KPI on a spreadsheet with a target for prosecutions!
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Bobby...interesting they paid you a visit and took a statement.
I was under the impression you filed a report online, sent photos or video, and heard no more, never knowing whether or not prosecution followed.
Must admit to being curious as a few months ago, whilst slightly under the influence walking home, I had words with a driver parked on a Pelican crossing, asking why they couldn’t use the car park literally 10 metres across the road. A volley of foul mouthed abuse followed so I took photos, front and rear showing the zig zags at both ends of the car, submitted it to NYorks police and heard no more.
If the harridan had apologised I’d have happily swayed home, but by then my buttons had been well and truly pushed.
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I keep off the road now on my bike. I fold it up and take it somewhere safe...ish. Recent encounters have been mostly as a pedestrian.
I was only sat at the front bedroom window a few minutes before I logged on, watching the herds pf Wildebeeste when a young lady rode quite quickly past on a nice bike...but on the pavement. A few weeks ago, one nearly took me out as I stepped out of my gate. I saw him coming and did a deliberate confused dither. He didn't know which way to avoid me and was forced to slap the brakes on with a loud squealing. I told him to 'e***** well get in the road' , which he did !
Another one, a couple of years ago, nearly got me as I stepped from the drive, then came back and threatened me but soon backed off....All mouth and Lycra !
My late MiL, same circumstances, was knocked down by a postman coming back unladen after his round. I saw it happen and he was riding as though he was in the Tour de France to get back to the depot. She was quite badly hurt, being nearly 90, and sued the Royal Mail, with success.
I put all this down to our new, smooth footpaths against our not so smooth, speed bump infested roadway.
Ted
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Back in 1997 I was involved in quite a bad accident with a cyclist crossing a fast road on foot. There was a big investigation by the Police the conclusion of which I was cleared of any blame (there's a massive bridge for cyclists at the scene now - I hope my crash contributed to its erection). It traumatized me, especially when my car was returned with a head shaped deformation on the windscreen) - I give cyclists a wide berth these days. I hope that cyclists will give me an equally wide berth when the 20mph limitis kick in here !
Seriously I don't think that cyclists ahould have to share space with motorised transport - they are so exposed to risk.
The cyclist in my bump wasn't badly hurt, no broken limbs (swollen ankle) and the blood coming from his ear was caused by tiny shrads of windscreen glass (not a serious head injury)
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I try to avoid situations / things when they could go wrong.
There are people, including Jeremy Vine, who seem to relish being involved in a situation that he might, with a bit of forethought, avoided.
If you look for trouble you are quite likely to find it!
Local paper last week.
A man was due to appear in court on charges of assaulting 2 people.
He did not turn up in court. His solicitor stated that he was in hospital as, on the night before last, he had been beaten up in the street and required hospital treatment. He had been kept in for observation.
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>> There are people, including Jeremy Vine, who seem to relish being involved in a situation
>> that he might, with a bit of forethought, avoided.
Are you seriously suggesting that either here, or the previous incident where the motorist's verbals etc saw her convicted, he was looking for trouble?
His mistake here, having looked several times was to not wait and see what the van did before passing behind; a Luton like that has zero rearward vision unless fitted with a camera. Not done with malice aforethought though - he just moved on.
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Are you seriously suggesting that either here, or the previous incident where the motorist's verbals
>> etc saw her convicted, he was looking for trouble?
>>
>
I don't think many aim to end up under a van but do enjoy the drama afterwards.
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>> I don't think many aim to end up under a van but do enjoy the
>> drama afterwards.
There's a small margin and one of, as much as anything, perception/viewpoint between enjoying the drama and trying to educate or highlight risks.
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I'm glad we have people who are so public spirited in their efforts to educate us all.
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>> Are you seriously suggesting that either here, or the previous incident where the motorist's
>> verbals
>> >> etc saw her convicted, he was looking for trouble?
The internet is flooded with warrior type cyclists who do just that, look for trouble and develop it, quite a few with little regard for personal risk
>> I don't think many aim to end up under a van but do enjoy the
>> drama afterwards.
Yup. Alas with their causal drive they make it harder for the rest of the cycling world.
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>> The internet is flooded with warrior type cyclists who do just that, look for trouble
>> and develop it, quite a few with little regard for personal risk
Some probably do that by their riding, others like the guy at Regent's Park, are certainly inviting a flat nose.
Vine however is a regular cyclist who, as happens, has the occasional scrap with drivers who are, as previously, looking for trouble or here just screw up.
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Exactly Zero. I’ve been a regular cyclist, pedestrian and driver all my life. Never once come into contact or conflict with anyone doing any of it. No need to do so as long as you continue to remember that a lot of people, however they are propelling themselves, are pretty stupid and can be aggressive while being so. Mitigate for that, however annoying or unreasonable they are being, and you can just get on with your journey without stress in the main.
I’m not very keen on people generally speaking, although some of them are ok!
;-)
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Jeremy Vine Incident (Another One) - Zero
