Aware drivers.

Finally managed to get back oout on the bike this week for the past couple
of days after hassles with the brakes and the driving of some car drivers
has surprised me.

As I make my daily dawdle up and down the speed camera infested A77 I have
had rather lot of car drivers see me come up behind them as they saunter
along at 60mph and just move out of the way to let me pass. They have also
moved over on narrower roads where the traffic is trickling along and one
saw me this morning as they made their move to overtake and smartly pulled
back in. I was ready for it, but it was nice just the same. So I gave them
a wave of thanks as I passed.

Is anyone else seeing this strange phenomenon? Throughout the near twenty
years I've ridden bikes I've seen this kind of driving come and go in waves.
People seem aware for a while then it all goes to hell in a handcart again
and everyone seems out to kill you. Maybe it's just that the schools are
off?

Then again, it all went back to normality on my way home last night when a
prat tried to undertake me with no room for his car as I had the audacity to
be riding at 30mph and then try at knock me off at a roundabout. Some
things never change eh?

 

I was thinking of something along the same lines this morning, on my
way to work. I've figured out that the French are lucky that road-rage
only extends to latin gestures such as hand waving and shouting inside
their cages. Otherwise the roads would be littered with dead drivers.

 

They store the anger up for the riots.

 

<G>

 

I always move over for bikes, but then I rode bikes for lots of years and I
think that helps. Perhaps you were lucky enough to encounter caged bikers?

Si

 

It's a possibility that crossed my mind, but there just seems to be too many
of them at the moment!

 

Maybe the "Think Bike" ads are working...

 

That would be a nice thought, but over on uk.rec.driving a thread ran and
ran about how the advert had been "doctored" as the bike so obviously
doesn't appear in the first scene and was therefore a waste of time.

 

Well I drove through Central London for the first time early last summer
(albeit not in the rush hour) and was prepared for potential carnage,
but I was really surprised at the courtesy of some drivers. The
Limehouse Link was closed at the time and there was traffic chaos, but
people were going out of their way to clear space to let bikes through
the queues. Fair warmed me cockles, it did.

But I have a theory that, as the summer goes on and more car drivers are
cut-up and generally pissed-off by less considerate bikers, the less
courtious the cagers will become. It's only a theory, mind.

 

My thoughts too.

The 'now you see him' one was tame compared to the current one.

Maybe it'll wake the cagers up to the fact that being rammed by 300 Kg
of bike plus rider at speed could be detrimental to their health ...

P.

 

That argument misses the whole point - the first scene shows the driver NOT
seeing the bike. We see the scene from the driver's point of view. He
looks down the street and there is no bike. For the driver it doesn't
exist - until it slams into him. I think the idea is to tell drivers that
they need to actively include "bike" in their visual search "pattern
recognition" strategy .

 

Was it just me that thought that the biker was probably at fault in
that ad ?

The guy's clearly overtaking a line of traffic near a junction, the car
indicates and he can't stop. Yes the car could have stopped but ffs
that's not a bright thing to do is it ?

The message I'd have got was 'look out for bikers - they're not paying
any attention'.

The new ad is a lot better IMHO.

Bryan

 

Url?

 

As an experienced rider of one month and 2,000 miles, having just
escaped from the car to the bike, my contributions here are limited.
However, I have today, gone into central London on the bike for the
first time.

My first impression of London drivers from the bikers point of view, is
exactly the same as when I did it in the car, they are far too
selfish... Is that extra 6 inches so important?


Riding round Herts and Beds, mostly on my commute to work, in the rush
hour, so its a reasonable comparison of this time critical travel
period, I just don't see this level of behavior. Admittedly, there are
the few 'boy racers' who's sole purpose in life is to be the fastest
thing on the road, even though their in a Punto, and those grumpy farts
in people carriers who really wanted a sports car, but they are under
the thumb and aren't allowed one, so there annoyed by anything passing
them or anyone who looks like their happy, so the site of a biker
whizzing along, happy in the sunshine.... arrr... seem to gone off on a
rant here.. help, nurse.... Is it me, or do 'all' (1) 'young' male
drivers of 'People Carriers' seem to resent everyone else? (Had this
theory before I got the bike.)


Any way.. London drivers...

Looking behind for bikes would be wonderful, but I think we should start
by getting them to look in front.. Is it possible that they will ever
realize, if the cars in front aren't moving, they ain't going to get
passed them! .. and squeezing into the bike along side them, also isn't
going to make them move, only stop the bike. Do you suppose this makes
them feel powerful?



--

Max.
Suzuki DL1000.


(1) I know its not fair to clump all drivers together, and I do have a
very close friend who has a bike and a people carrier, so I don't mean
it.... Well may be a bit!
p.s. He also has an Audi A8 - V8 Turo mega big 450bhp thing..
......so I hate him also.

 

VBG. Good point.

Oi, JP, aren't you vetting these think bike ads ?

P.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Figment

Almost all of those drivers have far more experience in cars than you do
on a bike. Have a wild guess at where the problem lies.

Everyone goes through this. Assuming you don't crash and die horribly,
it will all get gradually better, until suddenly everyone becomes a
better driver...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of
the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.

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