Moron Motorists #3

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TailWind
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby TailWind » Fri Jun 21, 2013 10:52 am

I have now:
- Burned the video clip to a CD
- Printed a map of that section showing my ride details from Endomondo
- Printed a screenshot of the rear of the vehicle clearly showing the license plate
- Compiled a covering letter and statement as per Oxford's template.
- Off to my local police station this afternoon, about 1km from where this happened.

Cheers guys.
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jasonc
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby jasonc » Fri Jun 21, 2013 11:14 am

TailWind wrote:I have now:
can you write a transcript of what was said? (excuse my ignorance if already done)

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TailWind
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby TailWind » Fri Jun 21, 2013 11:34 am

jasonc wrote:
TailWind wrote:I have now:
can you write a transcript of what was said? (excuse my ignorance if already done)
I did, all of three sentences, minus the swearing at the end... :mrgreen:
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Aushiker » Fri Jun 21, 2013 11:48 am

TailWind wrote:
jasonc wrote:
TailWind wrote:I have now:
can you write a transcript of what was said? (excuse my ignorance if already done)
I did, all of three sentences, minus the swearing at the end... :mrgreen:
You shouldn't exclude the swearing ... your statement needs to be truthful and you need to take the good with the bad. As soon as you start trying to change the story it all gets brought into question.

Andrew

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Riddley » Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:04 pm

(AT) Tailwind - sounds like you have met up with God's Police. The "stalking" behaviour is always a giveaway nothing good will happen. Like being confronted on the street and asked for a cigarette - sizing you up. Best to come back hard.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby cp123 » Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:26 pm

tailwind - you *have* to keep us in the loop on that one.

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andione1983
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby andione1983 » Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:27 pm

I got egged Wednesday night on my ride.. And thursday night got a pack of hooligan p platers yelling at me... Morons

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TailWind
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby TailWind » Fri Jun 21, 2013 2:19 pm

Aushiker wrote:
TailWind wrote: I did, all of three sentences, minus the swearing at the end... :mrgreen:
You shouldn't exclude the swearing ... your statement needs to be truthful and you need to take the good with the bad. As soon as you start trying to change the story it all gets brought into question.

Andrew
Yep, I hear you, it's all in the clip anyway. This is a preliminary statement of the circumstances, not the final statement, should be ok....I think.

Cheers, TW

Edit: Oops, spelling.
Last edited by TailWind on Fri Jun 21, 2013 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ross
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Ross » Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:31 pm

No excuse for the ute driver to act like that but I can't see any reason for Tailwind to be riding in the middle of the road. There were no parked cars or rubbish or potholes. Just because the law says you can doesn't mean you should ( I thought the law was "stay as far left as practical"?).

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biker jk
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby biker jk » Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:02 pm

Ross wrote:No excuse for the ute driver to act like that but I can't see any reason for Tailwind to be riding in the middle of the road. There were no parked cars or rubbish or potholes. Just because the law says you can doesn't mean you should ( I thought the law was "stay as far left as practical"?).
He was approaching a section of the road which narrowed due to the median strip and common sense says a cyclist should claim the lane to prevent being squeezed by cars in such a situation. Riding in the gutter in these circumstances encourages being squeezed by cars.

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Summernight
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Summernight » Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:04 pm

Ross wrote:No excuse for the ute driver to act like that but I can't see any reason for Tailwind to be riding in the middle of the road. There were no parked cars or rubbish or potholes. Just because the law says you can doesn't mean you should ( I thought the law was "stay as far left as practical"?).
As far as I could see from that footage, TailWind was never 'in the middle of the road'. In the middle of the left lane or in the right wheel track of the left side, yes.

I can't speak for TailWind but I know that if I hear (or see) a car zooming up behind me I will move further out into the lane to try and make sure they don't do an unsafe overtake and that they think carefully before passing me and don't just run on autopilot and cut me off in the overtake. Same entering a roundabout - I don't want a driver behind me to think that they can go through the roundabout at the exact same time as me and cut me off or hook me.

From the footage there, the traffic calming devices would stop the usual I'm-not-thinking-when-overtaking-a-cyclist-and-may-possibly-close-pass-them-in-my-unthinkingness motorist and would have had them sitting behind said cyclist until it was safe to pass (which may have included the cyclist moving left at a safe period to allow the motorist to pass).

It is practical for me to make sure that I mitigate all risks that might eventuate, which means in my head that 'stay left unless not practical' includes moving more right in the lane to stop a possible unsafe overtake.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby zero » Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:18 pm

Ross wrote:No excuse for the ute driver to act like that but I can't see any reason for Tailwind to be riding in the middle of the road. There were no parked cars or rubbish or potholes. Just because the law says you can doesn't mean you should ( I thought the law was "stay as far left as practical"?).
he's riding in the correct spot on the road. The road is insufficiently wide for a motorist to overtake a cyclist whilst another vehicle approaches, therefore the cyclist is sensible to discourage all attempts to do so. The cyclist was not so wide as to prevent a car overtaking him when there was no road furniture and no oncoming traffic, ie he was not blocking the road. Also the road has numerous curves and choke points, a bicycle entering a curve requires lane clearance because vehicles turn in arcs.

You should recognise that we are in fact riding vehicles, and we are in fact allowed to use the road properly, and not dangerously gutter crawl in abeyance to someone too lazy to use his power steering, and too stupid to recognise that he wasn't actually faster than the bike once accounting for the speed hump.

lastly the cyclist is riding very close to the speed limit for that type of road (quite probably 40) - there is no need to overtake, and the time saved by doing so is minimal. ie to the corner that they got to, the car would probably have only been 1 - 2 seconds quicker. Are we seriously trying to drive people off the road for 2 seconds saved ?

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby find_bruce » Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:28 pm

Ross wrote:No excuse for the ute driver to act like that but I can't see any reason for Tailwind to be riding in the middle of the road. There were no parked cars or rubbish or potholes. Just because the law says you can doesn't mean you should ( I thought the law was "stay as far left as practical"?).
Like others have posted above I would probably be claiming the lane there as well. The road is simply not wide enough for a car to overtake while leaving a one or 1.5 metre margin.

This is not just bicyclists speaking - it is recognised in road design publications put out by Austroads, including the useful summary Cycling Aspects of Austroads Guides. A bit easier to follow are the the NSW bicycle guidelines & I have included a couple of extracts below, with index number so you can find them if you so desire.
NSW bicycle guidelines wrote:5.3 Mixed Traffic Streets
Mixed traffic streets are the most common type of facility currently available to bicycle riders, There are three types of mixed traffic profile and not all of these are suitable for bicycle network routes.
Wide cross section roads provide for comfortable sharing by motor vehicles and bicycles with lanes wide enough to permit comfortable passing ... Austroads - Part 14 recommends that lane widths
between 3.7rn and 4.2m are suitable for cyclists to share with vehicles.
Narrow cross section roads usually occur in the older residential areas and are generally low-speed and low traffic volurne roads. Where bicycle network routes use this type of street it is desirable for the lane widths to be designed so that it is not possible for cars to pass bikes. ...
Critical cross section roads lie between a narrow and wide cross section road. On this type of road there is not enough space to safely share road space but just enough space to squeeze past. This type of road profile can produce dangerous overtaking manoeuvres and higher than normal speeds. Critical road cross sections should be avoided. ...
5.3.1 Mixed traffic - tight profile
... Providing lane widths wider than 2.6m should be avoided as excess width increases the possibility of risky overtaking behaviour.
It is not clear to me whether these roads are 2.6 m or if they are in the critical widths. In either case I would be claiming the lane to reduce the possibility of risky overtaking behaviour

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby jules21 » Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:41 pm

you have to keep in mind that some, more aggressive motorists will object merely to cyclists claiming the lane. some drivers have a perception of their status on the roads as a dominant one, demonstrated with their driving prowess - overtaking, speeding up LH slip lanes to jump traffic queues, etc. cyclists claiming the lane are a threat to their self-perception, with the connotation of drivers following behind being forced to submit to the cyclist's control over it. this is where their blood starts boiling and rationality ceases to explain their reaction.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Percrime » Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:38 pm

Wow. Easy conviction or three there for plod.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby zero » Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:59 pm

find_bruce wrote:
5.3.1 Mixed traffic - tight profile
... Providing lane widths wider than 2.6m should be avoided as excess width increases the possibility of risky overtaking behaviour.
It is not clear to me whether these roads are 2.6 m or if they are in the critical widths. In either case I would be claiming the lane to reduce the possibility of risky overtaking behaviour
The effective width of the road is likely to be 4.8, with 2.4m "lanes". Even with the cyclist wheel track at 1.25m (ie cyclist left edge 1m from the kerb), the motorist has about 90cm more space on the other side of the road than he would do if merely attempting to cross an oncoming special snowflake dual cab like his. ie more space than usual. vehicle ahead didn't need to brake for the speed pad, easier to see round that vehicle if there is an opportunity to pass in the future, yet here he is driving around right angle corners on the wrong side of the road...

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Kraeg » Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:04 pm

Yesterday morning I left home at 6 (still dark). I get to a set of lights and stick to the left lane; the right lane is must turn right, the left a right/straight/left. There are some cars in the right lane, a car in front of me, and a couple more stop behind me.
The lights turn green and suddenly the small car right behind me is on the horn "beep... beep" as I start moving off (turning right) behind the car in front of me; and as I'm going through the intersection it continues... "beep... beep... beep".
I make it through the lights and it's still going, "beep... beep". Right after the intersection there's a service road to the left; I usually go down it, and it eventually re-joins the main road once the left lane merges into the right lane (and a bicycle "lane" begins).
I drifted off to the service road and watch the drongo zoom off down the ending left lane to push in between some cars in the right lane. For a moment I had considered sticking to the left lane (going into the bike "lane" when the left ended) just to annoy it and put it in its place, but with the attitude of the horn happy halfwit, and knowing I was the more vulnerable road user, I didn't (even though it would have been totally within my rights).

I'm guessing the impatient idiot doesn't consider bicycles legitimate road vehicles... or maybe it actually doesn't realise they are. It's too bad the drivers in the right lane didn't see what that driver was up to and not allow any room for it to merge.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby InTheWoods » Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:25 pm

Had a close shave by a coach tonight on Herston Rd. Wet and dark so no camera running and was too busy not dying to get a plate. Coach was white, and I don't think had any markings but could be wrong. There was a game of some sort at Ballymore tonight.

Was riding 20cm inside the road lane instead of in the BAZ/dooring zone because there were parked cars, but then there was a 50m gap where no cars were parked in the BAZ. With a stream of traffic catching up behind I elected to stay in the lane instead of the BAZ, otherwise it would have meant having to give way to all the traffic once I got to the next parked car 10 seconds down the road. Bus driver obviously decided I should get off the road and use the BAZ. Didn't miss me by much. I was in such a filthy mood the whole way home. So much so that I just rode in front of a car that appeared to be failing to give way to me coming out of a side street. And a car that was seriously considering overtaking me on my right while turning right, indicating right, and from the right of the lane.

I HATE BAZ'S. Suckful BAZ's are one of the major things that are going to be in my submission to the Inquiry into Cycling Issues. http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-o ... es/INQ-CYC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And to the driver of the ute the other night coming out of a sidestreet and did a IDGAF, I'm not the (AT)#$%head. You are. If you'd done that tonight, I would have turned around, chased you down, caught you at the lights I know you would have been stopped at, and then, well, I don't know what would have happened. Nothing good though.

Aaaaagh.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby maestro » Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:38 pm

Driving home in the car yesterday, I got to a bad set of intersections where you normally sit with a green light waiting for the next intersection to turn green. I just made it across into a gap, while the red P-plater behind me did the right thing and waited before crossing so as not to block the intersection. We were in the right lane, and another car in the left lane changes into the right and pulls up behind me. I thought this was a bit of a bastard act until I saw the old lady behind the P-plater pull into the left lane, pass the P-plater, then change back into the right lane and completely block the intersection. All the poor P-plater could do was flash their lights. The lights then went red and the P-plater was stuck for another cycle while the two bastards got through.

All I can say is kudos to the P-plater on your patience and in sticking to doing the correct thing. P-platers are certainly not known for these positive traits ( maybe the P-plate was defective in some way :D )

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Mulger bill » Fri Jun 21, 2013 9:47 pm

What did you do Tailwind? Seriously?
You emasculated that dill by beating him through that first right turn On A Pushbike. No way on earth that kind can take such a challenge to their ego without going a little nuts trying to reassert their so called dominance.

Shaun
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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby herzog » Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:53 am

How did it go with the Fuzz?

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby jasonc » Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:18 pm

another day. another problem with a BCC bus

he was abusing the two bikes in front of me along sylvan rd 9:30 this morning bus rego 227JPA - they were riding 2 abreast. there were cars parked in the "bike lane"
I was behind these two bikes. When he heard me yell I'd report him, he swore at me and took off like a bat our of hell.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby biker jk » Sat Jun 22, 2013 3:40 pm

jasonc wrote:another day. another problem with a BCC bus

he was abusing the two bikes in front of me along sylvan rd 9:30 this morning bus rego 227JPA - they were riding 2 abreast. there were cars parked in the "bike lane"
I was behind these two bikes. When he heard me yell I'd report him, he swore at me and took off like a bat our of hell.
Call the company and report his behaviour. Keep a record of what you reported.

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby jasonc » Sat Jun 22, 2013 4:17 pm

biker jk wrote:
jasonc wrote:another day. another problem with a BCC bus

he was abusing the two bikes in front of me along sylvan rd 9:30 this morning bus rego 227JPA - they were riding 2 abreast. there were cars parked in the "bike lane"
I was behind these two bikes. When he heard me yell I'd report him, he swore at me and took off like a bat our of hell.
Call the company and report his behaviour. Keep a record of what you reported.
I've got 2 to report (had one wednesday. have the rego for that one too). will look up a number on monday

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Re: Moron Motorists #3

Postby Marto » Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:12 pm

jasonc wrote:
biker jk wrote:
jasonc wrote:another day. another problem with a BCC bus

he was abusing the two bikes in front of me along sylvan rd 9:30 this morning bus rego 227JPA - they were riding 2 abreast. there were cars parked in the "bike lane"
I was behind these two bikes. When he heard me yell I'd report him, he swore at me and took off like a bat our of hell.
Call the company and report his behaviour. Keep a record of what you reported.
I've got 2 to report (had one wednesday. have the rego for that one too). will look up a number on monday
I reported my last BCC bus incident via the Translink feedback form: http://translink.com.au/site-informatio ... p/feedback" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is the reply you will get, oh sorry, I mean the reply I got (caution: reading this may turn you into a zombie, or make you spit whatever you are drinking over the screen):
Thank you for contacting TransLink regarding the dangerous driving of the bus driver from the 101 service.

We understand that our bus drivers play a key role as representatives of TransLink. As such, we require our drivers to demonstrate professional driving skills, comply with all road rules and to be courteous and careful drivers to fulfil the responsibility as a bus driver and to ensure the safety of customers, other road users, cyclists and pedestrians. Every driver participates in driver training and assessment during their induction with regular refresher training as required.

I apologise that on this occasion your experience has not met your expectations and for any distress and concern this may have caused. We have raised your concerns with our delivery partner, Brisbane Transport, so they may identify and interview the driver and deal with them appropriately.

We value your feedback in our endeavour to maintain a safe environment for our customers and all other road users. I thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.

Should you require further information regarding this issue, or any other matter, please visit the TransLink website at http://www.translink.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Alternatively, the TransLink Contact Centre is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 13 12 30.
That regular refresher training must not be regular or effective enough!
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