Dangerous Driving for Cyclists

Any cyclist will have encountered various dangerous types of motoring. These are some of the worst that I have experienced from time to time.

Overtaking a bike and Coming to a quick Stop.

Last week, I was descending Boars Hill at about 30mph. A white van overtook, and as soon as he had overtook, he came to a complete stop to make a right turn. I had to come to a complete stop in the same distance as the car. However, for bikes it is often difficult to stop as quickly as cars. The Car driver was probably unaware of the danger he had created for cyclist. (I did stop but the braking was so sudden, my back wheel skidded before I could bring the bike to a sudden stop.

The U Turn at the bottom of a Hill.

When cars wish to do a u turn on a small country lane, why do they always choose to do it at the bottom of a 20% gradient hill? I was once descending the hill from Brill (in a race I once clocked 60mph on this descent) fortunately, I was going much slower on this day. But, as I came round the corner a car was horizontal across the road. Fortunately, it had the presence of mind to quickly get out of the way, leaving a narrow gap to squeeze through, just at the last moment. Today I was descending when a car reversed out of his drive on to a hill. When he saw me descending at 30mph, the car driver just froze and the only option was to squeeze in between the car and grass verge. Another close miss!

Driving so close you can almost touch the vehicle.

On the roads of Oxford, I have been overtaken by a bus so close, that my elbow touched the side of a bus. When cars pass within a few cm, I like to give a ‘gentle tap’ on the side of the vehicle. Once an irate van driver pulled came to a stop and started shouting, how dare you touch my car? When I explained he passed within a few cms, he was actually quite repentant.

Driving With Mobile Phones.

I never trust cars where the driver is using a mobile phone.

Excessive Speeding on Country Lanes.

There is a difference between going 10mph over speed limit on a motorway and going 10mph on a windy country lane with Max Speed of 50mph.

What Can a Cyclist do To Protect Himself?

Not much really, but these will help

• Have good brakes that can stop you pretty quick
• ALways expect drivers to make bad decisions, and try and think ahead