Or was the cyclist with a death wish

[warthogworrier]

So I'm an experienced driver but fairly new to London driving. I'm always very conscious of cyclists and until today likes to think I was extra courteous to them...

I travel a route regularly where I turn right into a road and then about 60m later turn hard left. As I turned right I noticed there was a cyclist coming up behind me. I was worried she hadn't seen that I was turning left, so I went extra slow and checked in my mirrors for a sign that she had seen (ie either that she was going round me on the other side or had slotted in behind me if she was also turning left). Instead she didn't slow at all and completely undertook me, signalling only that she was turning left literally as she passed me. If I hadn't slammed on the breaks (albeit I was going very slow) I would have hit her, as the road we were turning into is quite narrow and has cars parked on it (so there isn't room for both to turn at the same time).

Being honest I was pretty furious but did I misjudge this ?

Did you indicate left? She shouldn’t have undertook you and it’s lucky for her you have your wits about you and think about cyclists.

No. Cyclists are self-absorbed entitled self-righteous arseholes. I once got knocked over by a cyclist who expected me to step onto a London road so that he could continue his journey on the pavement. Naturally I didn’t move out of his way and BAM. Did he stop? Did he f*.

Oh, we’re saving the planet, they say, as they ride through red lights and mow down pedestrians on zebra crossings.

This is why I sympathise with bus drivers in London - (some) cyclists seem to ride everywhere at full speed without any apparent awareness of anything or anyone else. I'd be terrified of driving a bus or a truck in London.

No. Cyclists are self-absorbed entitled self-righteous arseholes

Oh, do fuck off. All of them? Every cyclist? Riiiight.

I know it's crazy and unworkable - but everyone should have to drive/ride the "other" things. Actually there is a Vlogger who is a bus driver and cyclist. If some of the Kamikaze cyclists could see just how difficult they are to see/avoid maybe they would be responsible.

Yes I'm sure she did it on purpose, as being hit by a car would have really made her day...

Why is MN so anti-cyclist. They are literally just trying to survive. London is horrific for cyclist deaths.

OP, not sure in your case, did you indicate?
And did you indicate in enough time, if she had already passed your back lights then she may not have seen the signal?
If she saw your indication, and was also turning left then she should have waited, and gone behind you.
But if you hadn't indicated and she though you were going straight on, then she was in her right to go past you on the left.

Well done on being so aware though!

I can’t srand cyclists- as a PP said, it seems they are a law unto themselves and most of them that I see have no awareness of cars, pedestrians or traffic lights!
They expect you to see them and work around them but heaven forbid they actually have to read the road themselves!

As it happens I saw an accident this morning on the school run, cyclist on the ground, shoe off, blood everywhere, had been hit by a truck. I didn’t see what had happened though so no idea who was at fault but it reiterated how vulnerable cyclists are.

Is that a cyclist I see before me? Its helmetcam pointing towards my hand?

Did you indicate as soon as you made the first turn. To be honest it's a bad road layout so whilst she was at fault it's a case of you not being able to indicate 100m before the turn too

I typed that before your post nosauce so it wasn’t in reference to what you said. I’m sorry to hear about the cyclist.

GoFiguire it’s fine, I didn’t think it was. I think while there are some selfish cyclists out there we should remember they’re not all like that. I see far more arsehole drivers on the road than I do cyclists tbf.

YWNBU but don't let it ruin your day. A lot of cyclists (not all) don't use good safety practices. I stopped on the road a few months ago to warn a cyclist they were not visible on the road because they were cycling in the dark with no lights, no reflectors and wearing black clothing. They weren't wearing a helmet or a reflective jacket either.
Recently, I have seen:
A cyclist cycle at speed off a side road footpath across a busy road out infront of oncoming traffic.
A cyclist who cycled through a red light as a car on the opposite side of the road had a green light to turn right.

Some drivers are equally as bad: Not allowing enough space to overtake and being aggressive due to their annoyance at being delayed. At the end of the day, it's always the driver who gets prosecuted and not the cyclist.

No. Cyclists are self-absorbed entitled self-righteous arseholes.

Oh charming! EVERY cyclist?! I'm literally just trying to get places. To the shops, to the children's centre, to my baby's swimming lessons. I can't drive and they cut the bus to my village. Without my bike it would be a 50min walk into town with my 1yr old. On my bike it's 10mins. We would never be able to leave the house. Luckily we don't have to cycle much on the road as their is a cycle path on the pavement most of the way but every single day I cycle I have people treat me like dirt and I'm frankly sick of it. I actually got called a very very rude word by a driver the other day in front of my DD. I was so upset I cried for ages afterwards and was afraid to get on my bike for days (anxiety).
It doesn't matter if some cyclists break the rules or have been rude to you because I can guarantee that they have had to put up with FAR FAR worse and it's probably made them angry. I always stick to the rules, am respectful of pedestrians etc but I've even been told to get off the cycle path on the pavement and cycle on a road with heavy trucks.
Attitudes like yours make me sick. I'm learning to drive and I don't care how rude a cyclist is. I'm the one in the heavy metal box that could kill them so I'm always extra careful.

I'm often a cyclist. Not so much of a Lycra class speedy type one, more of a slow, un-lycraed, often with kids in tow kind of a one. I always stop at lights and crossings.

She probably didn't spot you were turning left, maybe she just missed your indicating. Not great on her part but we all make mistakes. Thank God you were taking care.

Roads are well designed for bikes and cats to share. Usually as the more vulnerable party on a bike, I never assume perfect behaviour from cars. For example if I'm going along a main road and a car is turning into the road from my left I don't assume they've spotted me. I decrease my speed and try to catch their eye. There's one particular road where they will quite often pull out without giving me a glance, or see me and decide I can just stop and wait for them. Life's too short to get het up about these things. Really the roads are badly designed and there's little understanding of what is like to be on a bike from most motorists.

Yes I was absolutely signalling but because I wasn't in the road very long (and there's a pedestrian crossing which I had slowed for) I wanted to make sure she had seen. My best interpretation is that she still didn't see but the. Wouldn't you just be cautious if a car had slowed right down near to a left turn even if you hadn't seen the signal.

I know all cyclists aren't the same but I'm increasingly thinking the majority are just not safe on the streets (and that it's therefore best to assume they are all going to behave badly!). I got a finger shoved at my windscreen and a "fuck off" when I later passed her

That should say 'not well designed' oops.

Everything in London is a hazard - cyclists and tourists who step out into traffic and also bloody taxis who don't respect the rules of the road. Unfortunately even though she might have been in the wrong, you are the one with the big machine that can do all the damage and so you have to continue being observant as it sounds like you are.

FWIW I have to jump out of the way of about 6 cyclists a day as they jump lights and generally plough on through everywhere. Usually men who feel the need to ride speed bikes in full lycra.

This is why I sympathise with bus drivers in London - (some) cyclists seem to ride everywhere at full speed without any apparent awareness of anything or anyone else. I'd be terrified of driving a bus or a truck in London

This^^

I know this is an old video but just goes to show the self entitled attitude and lack of awareness by some cyclists.

I don't understand; if you were slowing to wait for an indication that she had seen you were turning left and she didn't give any, how did you nearly hit her?

The way it reads; you saw the cyclist, didn't think she had noticed you were indicating left but continued on your trajectory anyway, even though it was likely to cause harm to the cyclist...which makes no sense. Why would you do that?

Darwinism in action.

"I know all cyclists aren't the same but I'm increasingly thinking the majority are just not safe on the streets (and that it's therefore best to assume they are all going to behave badly!)."

As a cyclist (and a driver and a fellow human being) that's exactly how I feel about motorists - the difference is cyclists are maybe 100 Kg of 'vehicle' and doing maybe 20mph whereas motorists are 1000kg or more of vehicle and frequently doing 35-40mph ...

I think in this case the cyclist was in the wrong. It's never a good idea to undertake cars on the left hand side regardless.

I cycle about 100 miles a week to and from work, for context.

I generally see more motorist transgressions than cycle ones though

The comments on this thread show exactly why more needs to be invested in making roads safer for cyclists & cars to share. More dedicated cycle lanes & efforts to separate traffic/ bikes & pedestrians as much as possible .
I'd love to cycle more & recently started cycling with the kids to school (about 3 miles but on some really busy roads so we have no choice but to use the pavements part of the time) but it simply isn't safe. I think more cyclists should be encouraged to do some kind of cycling proficiency & certainly everyone should wear a helmet.
OP - it sounds like she just hadn't seen you but who knows? Luckily nobody was hurt. Yes there are some arrogant cyclists out there who give them a bad name, but there are just as many who are simply trying to just get to work/ school/ shops etc.

Also, pedestrians can be just as bad. Those who step into the road to avoid something on the pavement that's in their way. Those who walk in cycle lanes. Those who dont look before crossing the road... people sometimes do daft things, no matter their mode of transport.