to think that if you cycle up a road on the left hand side of cars, you can't blame the passenger if you get a door in your face

[amispartacus]

It looks like the cyclist was on the inside. No cycle lane but there is one coming up. The cars are queued. Passenger door is open. Cyclist is on the ground.

I cycle a lot. I don't go past cars on the inside. You are vulnerable. If you have to overtake queuing cars, do it on the outside. Then go to the cycle lane.

The person was the transport secretary.

Not really. Such scenarios just reinforce why cyclists stay to the left... where the existing cycle lanes are, where common use, every dayness puts them

Cyclists should overtake on the right - and if they stick to the left, then a car should be able to overtake them.

If the cars suddenly stop, then personally I would cycle extremely carefully past cars on the left.You never know what's going to happen.

If it was a long queue, I would go on the right to get past them.

That's sounding a bit victim blamey Yoarchie. All the cyclists I know are extremely aware of how vulnerable they are and are constantly on the alert. Far more so than when you are driving. But cyclists shouldn't have to assume that drivers are goingto be dangerous around them. How about educating drivers to be more aware of cyclists and how they should drive around them? (Yes I'm thinking of you mr audi 20 minutes ago who decided overtaking me on a tight bend in roadworks was a good idea. Despite the signs saying "narrow lanes, do not overtake cyclists"

My apologies. I had no idea that my hypothetical scenario would be s anathema!

Put the image of a cycle line in your head... then apply the law about space between cyclist and car doors opening.... how does that work in any cycle lane? It can't for the simple reason that most cycle lanes are less than a car door's width. Making ALL cycle lanes redundant!

Oh, out here in NotLondon cycles, taxis and buses use the same lane. So if you were in a taxi and it stopped the bus behind it would too!

This is a nasty one. Out of a bus lane. Taxi pulls in to lane. Cyclist on the inside and driver turns left.

Nasty one? Why?

Low speed, no damage done, a shake of the hands and they went on their merry way.

And it is mainly the taxi driver's fault! He knew there were cyclists he'd had just driven past them!

Taxi driver signalled very late and the cyclist passed his lights just as he turned them on!

Not nasty though!

That one is clearly the cyclists fault as the taxi is indicating left and practically turning before the cyclist comes up the side.

However, a cyclist cannot stop on the main road before every side road just to be sure nobody is turning and in my city bothcyclists and cars travelling at the same speed is very common so whether you are undertaking or they are overtaking changes literally from second to second.

Nasty one? Why

It looked 'nasty' - as in a nasty fall. Not someone being nasty. I just think a cyclist hitting a car and falling into the road is a nasty accident to be in

And it is mainly the taxi driver's fault! He knew there were cyclists he'd had just driven past them

That one is clearly the cyclists fault as the taxi is indicating left and practically turning before the cyclist comes up the side

Re: the Youtube clSurely it's a bit foolish to undertake at a junction?

Not all car drivers indicate before turning - happens a lot around here - so the cyclist should have stayed back until he was past the junction imo.

You can't stop at every junction!

Met Police advice

1. Filtering Fiasco

Filtering can get you ahead of the traffic and save time but can also be potentially hazardous, even fatal.

What went wrong?

1. The traffic is queued, moving at a creeping pace, and you’re filtering through it by zooming down the outside (or inside).
2. A car in the queue has stopped to allow another car to emerge and turn right. It drives directly into your path before you have a chance to react.
3. Your bike has smashed into the car’s wing and you’re flying over the roof.

How to avoid a dangerous situation:

1. Speed: are you filtering at a speed that makes allowances for unexpected events? If not, slow down. Queued traffic can conceal a multitude of potential hazards.

1. Read the road: ask yourself, why is there a gap in the queue of traffic up ahead? Is there a side-road or entrance from which a car is waiting to emerge? If so, be prepared - and don’t presume that the driver will see you.

content.met.police.uk/Article/Seven-Cycle-Tips/1400020859384/1400020859384

1. Cover the brakes: be alert, ready to slow down and if necessary to take evasive action. An emerging car need not spell unavoidable disaster.

MPS guidance:
The road environment is full of clues. Read them, and they will alert you to impending hazards. Just as a stationary bus means pedestrians might be about to emerge, a break in the traffic means there could be a hidden vehicle about to pull out. Junctions and side roads are usually obvious, but entrances and driveways far less so. Consider the entire landscape, not just the roads.

That was both their fault. If either one was riding / cycling defensively, it wouldn't have happened.

Oh, one of those threads.

OP: AIBU?
Everyone: Yes.
OP: No, I'm not.

I didn't even know Chrus Grayling was on Mumnet.

How are passengers supposed to know any 'rules'. We don't get any training in being a passenger.

OP: AIBU?Everyone: Yes.OP: No, I'm not

Except it isn't. Plenty of people have said the cyclist shouldn't have been undertaking

Some people have said both are to blame - and I agree with that.

My 9 year old son knows to check before opening the passenger door.

You should always check before opening your car door. Driver or passenger side.

I have a friend who worked as a nurse who used to cycle home. A stationary car opened the door without even looking and sent them flying. Said friend had to give up work and is now severely disabled as a result.

School run cars in the mornings scare me, everyone is in a rush and very few parents or children look before swinging that door open to unsuspecting people coming the other way.

The thing is, the cyclist can't know that somebody is anout to open the door. A cyclist does not see that when driving.

So, the only person that does know they're about to open the door is the one doing the opening... which is why they are the only ones that can efficiently prevent a collision like this.
It's not just about cyclists. Depending on the position of a car they could also hit somebody walking on the pavement, a pram etc.

I cycle that route often. There are a lot of cyclists that use that stretch and I've never seen a single one go down the right hand side. The lane in the opposite direction is very narrow in parts because of the security barrier and it would be suicidal. Pretty much all the drivers along that stretch leave plenty of room for the bikes up the left because it is where they expect them to be. I bet Grayling's driver knows that, but as a passenger The minister has obviously never taken that much notice.

Oh and contrary to what Elf said, I have never seen anyone cycle on the pavement around parliament square. It would be bonkers. You'd never get anywhere. It's hard enough to walk around there with all the tourists dawdling and generally getting under foot.

I've got little sympathy for Grayling. He has been hoist by his own petard

Graylings views on cyclists in London

Haven't rtft but on the cycling on the inside rules - I cycled in central London for a few years and it's hard to avoid filtering on the left when the roads are busy. Traffic in London generally moves quite slowly but it also stops and starts a lot so you might be cycling on the left with the traffic then find yourself filtering on the left once the traffic becomes stationary, with no easy or safe way to filter through that traffic so you're cycling on the right. With motorcycles often barrelling along at high speed down the middle of roads (correctly filtering on the right) it's often hazardous to try to filter on the right - not to mention when faced with other oncoming cyclists and large vehicles like buses.

Cycle lanes on roads are never on the right hand side of traffic are they

As you come off Magdalen Bridge in Oxford, heading toward the High Street, there is, or was when I was last there, a cycle lane BETWEEN two car lanes!

Also, having inched my way through the first part of the video several times, I can't see any sign of the door opening before the cyclist fell. It's a bit blurred, though.

No OP - it's entirely Graylings fault. He is a wanker of the first water in any position and here it's plain he is at fault. He didn't look which is a bit of a hallmark of his tenure as a minister. He is truly a total cunt.

Yup, he really is. I dislike that... 'man' very much.

The Highway Code is pretty clear on this: drivers are warned to look for cyclists passing on the inside, and the driver is responsible for not causing a collision by allowing the doors to be opened into their path, including by a passenger. The driver has committed an offence by failing to do so, as has Grayling by failing to exchange details/report the collision. Filtering (not undertaking) on the inside is not prohibited.

But it seems the Highway Code doesn't really matter if the victim's on a bike.