The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

[foo on patrol]

You just have to be careful on how you write it. But I also call a spade a spade and if I think you're a clown, then you will know it.

I got a PM from one of the blokes on that thread about things, saying every time he went to make a reply about things he thought of me.

Now you outed me about being one of those nasty 4wd mongrels.

Foo

[il padrone]

You just have to be careful on how you right it.

Mmm... How do I right it carefully?

[foo on patrol]

Smart arse!

Foo

[PB12IN]

Thats why I have a winch.

[Axle]

No one riding around Australia seems crazy after you see how people ride around in South East Asia

Families of four on one bike, no helmet and weaving between traffic. That's just how things are...normal

[g-boaf]

BUT it was DISC too.

Sigh.
Oh ok yesterdays effort> Im going down Koornang Creek to DISC. Bloke in front on right. standing beside path. Pram parked on path. small kid in front of pram.

I think "everyone here looks stupid" and slow down to walking. I am 1 metre from the pram when kid steps in front of me. Father says something to child.. does not grab him.. although he is easily in reach. I stop. Say to father.. "You idiot" Ride off around child on grass. Father yells something when I am just about out of earshot. It does not sound like a polite apology for his complete lack of either control or training of his child. It does sound like quickness of reflex or mind are not amongst his gifts.

I think about going back and discussing the matter in a physical and forthright manner but meh.. so many idiots.. so little time.

Sorry - but cyclists have to share the path. All will repeat after me please!

Yeah I've seen that too, only it was a young mother with her picnic blanket set up on the path and little baby crawling on the grass. I have to say that this was possibly the most insanely stupid thing I've ever seen, not to mention dangerous. Anyhow, you've all heard that story before. I wish I had a camera, because the whole thing was so unusual.

[Aushiker]

This cyclist was observed riding the Recreational Shared Path along side West Coast Drive between Scarborough Beach and Hillary's Boat Harbour. This is a popular shared path with cyclists, pedestrians, dog walkers, children, beach goers and so on ... you get the picture.

Not the smartest place to be riding at a reasonable pace at the best of times, but differently not when you are riding reading and/or texting on your mobile phone. The cyclist was luckily that this day the weather had reduced the numbers of users. I just hope he is smart enough to not do this on busier days.

Regulation 265 of the Road Traffic Code makes it clear that the use of mobile phone in this manner is an offence.

Andrew

[citywomble]

Maybe that's why he chose the section not covered by the road regs. That section is in the coastal reserve covered by CoJ local laws. Just a stupid and dangerous though.

[Percrime]

TOdays effort. I,m in northcote.. turning left from a minor suburban st into another minor st. Mr cyclist turning right from the street I am turning into into the street I am turning from.. He is so close to my left hand gutter that I swerve right to dodge him and he passes on my left (and I am still within a metre of the left curb) .

He aint wearing a helmet. On the plus side he did say "sorry" as I swerved... which means he slightly more deserves to live than the father from yesterday.

Iater on I dropped phone.. fell from pocket when I jumped a speed hump. Instead of hitting it the driver behind propped.. waved me to pick it up.

[Howzat]

...after you see how people ride around in South East Asia
Families of four on one bike, no helmet and weaving between traffic.

...with some middle-aged red-in-the-face guy in a bullbarred Landcruiser furiously foghorning them all the way down the roadl...

[Howzat]

Regulation 265 of the Road Traffic Code makes it clear that the use of mobile phone in this manner is an offence.

Regulation 265, sir? But sir surely that's impossible without at least one live chicken and a rabbi?

[il padrone]

A rabbi? Hey, what you want to do wit a live rabbi? Meshugge! This cannot be!

[find_bruce]

Regulation 265 of the Road Traffic Code makes it clear that the use of mobile phone in this manner is an offence.

Regulation 265, sir? But sir surely that's impossible without at least one live chicken and a rabbi?

Wow a quote from a 1990's episode of Red Dwarf. Either you have a scarily good memory or you have been watching late night repeats on ABC 2. Perhaps we should start referring to you as Kryten - sure you have a head like you took your car to the crusher's and forgot to get out, but at least you're not Rimmer

[wellington_street]

Kudos to the lass in the BHPBiliton jersey who was riding down William St (Perth) this morning, behaving as traffic. I saw her obey 3 different red lights, even when three other (lycra-clad, not hipster) cyclists came flying past her on the wrong side of the road and through the red light amongst the mass of pedestrians trying to cross. She's a shining example of how all road users should behave.

[DavidS]

Sigh.
Oh ok yesterdays effort> Im going down Koornang Creek to DISC. Bloke in front on right. standing beside path. Pram parked on path. small kid in front of pram.

I remember many years ago driving a tram through Bourke St Mall. I'm dinging the bell at this lady with a pram. She just keeps looking at me and does nothing. She wasn't blocking the tram tracks, but the pram with her baby was. Sometimes you really do wonder.

DS

[Percrime]

Yeah well the converse to "won't someone think of the children' is that you don't have to be smart to get pregnant or get someone else pregnant. Stupid people and every mammal of the planet and most other forms of complex life manage it all the time

[herzog]

[il padrone]

Lessons to be learned on both sides there

In particular, for the camera-operator:
1. Overtake on the right-hand side. It's the law, certainly in Australia,
2. Be very wary of passing to the left of stationary vehicles - in the case of that van, I would not have gone there. Safer to pass on his right then merge in ahead.

The guy carrying the sleeping bag? Well he was just "asleep at the wheel" - a silly tosser with a limited life expectancy.

[find_bruce]

To the cyclist coming up to the Anzac Bridge, sure you proved could overtake the pedestrian squeezing between her & me with millimeters to spare, but was it really necessary for the 1/2 a second you saved ?

[il padrone]

I reckon riding in runners is the dead give-away, find_bruce Newbie who thinks he's too important to slow for anyone else.

[VRE]

While I was heading west along Cotham Rd about 5:30am, a bunch of 4 cyclists turned right onto the road from Ridgeway Ave, completely ignoring me and cutting me off at close range (2 of them were actually right next to me after the turn, and the other 2 immediately in front of me), then just after this turned left into Glenferrie Rd, cutting me off again. This just proves that you can have a nice road bike and ride in a bunch, and still be an idiot with no conception of how to follow the road rules.

[Summernight]

To the cyclist coming up to the Anzac Bridge, sure you proved could overtake the pedestrian squeezing between her & me with millimeters to spare, but was it really necessary for the 1/2 a second you saved ?

I reckon riding in runners is the dead give-away, find_bruce Newbie who thinks he's too important to slow for anyone else.

And he's wearing earphones AND... *le gasp*... Is that a bare chest? Oo la la.

[find_bruce]

Il padrone, he was way to confident to be a newbie, but yes way too important to slow down, cause pedestrians never stray off their line at all. I thought the combination of bib shorts, team kit & runners was a bit odd. Summernight, doesn't do it for me, but I'll take your word for it.

I normally don't have much to complain about, but it has been a bit of a week. This monring was a meanderthal - apparently the signs every 300 m & painted symbols every 100m, including the one she is about to step on, wasn't enough to indicate that this was a bike path. A loud whistle had no effect. The unmistakable squeal of brakes being applied hard however did elicit the response of "sorry, sorry, <rude word>" coupled with movement.

One of the things I like about this camera angle on this bike is that you can see the brakes being applied

[AKO]

Gotta put my hand up as the dumb cyclist yesterday. While approaching a round about to go straight, I moved off the shoulder into the lane behind a silver SUV. As we approached, another silver SUV travelling the opposite direction turned right in front of us without indicating. The car in front of me had to brake suddenly which forced me to grab two fists full of brake, but being that it was raining and I was following closer than I should for the conditions, I had to manoeuvre up the left of the car in front to avoid rear ending it. If that wasn't bad enough the car in front of me turns left without indicating nearly taking me out in the process, at least that's what I thought till I got home and viewed the GoPro footage clearly showing the left hand indicator being on for a good 10 metres before the round about. Still don't know how I missed it.

[twizzle]

Slowed down behind a casual commuter on the on-road lane this morning, it unsafe to overtake as the traffic was stationary and there just wasn't room. The traffic started to move, the commuter I was following started to slow and move into a driveway to exit the on-road lane, I started to move right so I could accelerate... when suddenly a bike went down the outside of me at speed squeezing between myself and the car I was next to. Within 20 seconds I had overtaken him, given him a piece of my mind, and another 200m up the road got stopped by a red traffic light and had the opportunity to give him a real serve.

His excuse? "I would have crashed into the back of you if I hadn't overtaken". Maybe, just maybe, given how angry I was, he might give it a second thought next time.