Cyclist at traffic lights

[Soapboxqueen]

Just saw this and wondered on thoughts. Just for context there are no cycle lanes on this bit of road.

At a set of traffic lights. Lights turn green, cars start slowly moving forward. First car is turning left, a cyclist comes very quickly up the inside, car doesn't see him (in fairness with the speed the cyclist was moving it would have been difficult and because of the curvature of the road) so car continues to turn left, cyclist has to come to an abrupt stop. Cyclist makes it clear he isn't happy. I doubt the car saw him to know he was miffed .

So, I know with the new rules we are supposed to treat cyclist as if they are in their own lane and wait for them to pass but if they are coming very quickly/the road is obscured, is the driver still in the wrong or should the cyclist have taken more care?

The driver went around the corner quite slowly relatively speaking, so going slower wouldn't have helped.

I was in my car at 90 degrees to this so could see how fast the cyclist was going.

For all I know, the car's rear blinker might have been faulty so while indicating from the front, not the back. 🤷🏻

I think that, although the cyclist was utterly stupid, the legal responsibility should an accident have occurred would probably not have been clear cut The driver should have been checking their mirrors immediately before turning. So it would really depend on whether the road layout and speed of the cyclist rendered it impossible for the driver to have seen them, even if they were checking their mirrors appropriately.

I think you're probably right.

At least my dash cam would have come in useful 🤣

Cyclist here too. Cyclist was in the wrong and as mentioned already....this type of cyclist gives us a bad name.
However...the car driver should also be looking out for cyclists coming up on the inside...because some do and there could be an awful incident.
When I did a defensive driving course a few years ago, the instructor told me to look out for BOB...boys on bikes...they come from all sides

Although the way you describe it sounds like this guy was behaving stupidly, I absolutely do not accept that this is 'giving cyclists a bad name'. Utter nonsense. Nobody ever says this shit about pedestrians or motorists. This man's behaviour has absolutely no bearing on the reputation of everyone else who rides bikes and it makes fuck all difference to the level of respect and consideration I deserve when I'm cycling down the road.

I thought the Highway Code had changed recently to allow cyclists and motorcycles to go on either side of bigger vehicles, and that as they are smaller they have right of way.
I think it's as daft a rule change as the one where pedestrians can just cross a side road and the car drivers have to be aware that they might do that and are at fault if they hit them.

All the Highway Code does now is codify what should have been fairly obvious, that as a driver, you are responsible for checking at all times that you are not turning into the path of another road user, particularly those who are more vulnerable.

I don’t think it needs to be written in the Highway Code to be completely obvious that you shouldn’t turn left or right without checking your mirrors to ensure you aren’t crossing into the path of a cyclist or motorcyclist.

That said in this case it was clearly idiotic for a cyclist to be flying through a junction in those circumstances- whether they technically have “right of way” is of little comfort if your are under the wheels of a car.

Equally the fact pedestrians have priority to cross at junctions doesn’t mean that pedestrians should throw themselves into the path of oncoming vehicles, nor that the car driver will always be at fault if they are to hit a pedestrian - they have to have been reasonably able to anticipate and avoid a collision.

So... I've just taken a moment to check what the Highway Code does currently tell cyclists what they should do at junctions

74
Turning. When approaching a junction on the left, watch out for vehicles turning in front of you, out of or into the side road. If you intend to turn left, check first for other cyclists or motorcyclists before signalling. Do not ride on the inside of vehicles signalling or slowing down to turn left.
If you are turning right, check the traffic to ensure it is safe, then signal and move to the centre of the road. Wait until there is a safe gap in the oncoming traffic and give a final look before completing the turn. It may be safer to wait on the left until there is a safe gap or to dismount and push your cycle across the road.
When turning into or out of a side road, you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross (see Rule H2).

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-cyclists-road-junctions.html

Obviously drivers need to check behind and to the left to the best of their ability but the cyclist described by the OP was clearly not behaving according to the Highway Code.

@ErrolTheDragon - none of this is black and white. I agree the cyclist was an idiot but if the driver had hit the cyclist they might have been culpable.

Take this example - a cyclist knocked off their bike by a delivery van turning left. Technically you could say the cyclist is riding on the inside of a driver signalling to turn left but in this case it is quite obviously the driver’s fault:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/road.cc/content/news/271023-dramatic-footage-shows-tesco-delivery-driver-knocking-cyclist-bike-london%3famp

I'm a cyclist. If I know I have time I'll get in the cycle box at the front. If I'm unsure I'll sit in the queue of traffic. You never ever creep up the left side of traffic.
I have actually been sideswiped whilst in the actual lane by an old man turning left who didn't look. He didn't even notice he'd hit me.

The driver might also have been culpable if the configuration of the road was such that despite what the OP thinks, he should have been able to see the cyclist. But it's perfectly clear that the cyclist should not have tried to pass a car that was already turning left.

Trouble is, everyone sitting in traffic will say that a cyclist passing at 10mph, "is going so quickly!" but think nothing of passing a 10mph cyclist at 30mph or higher, without giving the legal 1.5m.

You can't have it all ways.

10mph should easily be visible on a mirror check so really depends on how far back the cyclist was. Anything under 10m and I'd give way in my car. Anything over and I'd make the turn. It's difficult to say in this instance but given the cyclist was cross, I'd say the driver should've been paying attention but wasn't.

If cycling I'd approach with caution, especially if a left hand indicator is on. There's no point escalating an incident, even if you're right and having an accident on purpose.