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 ?

It's pretty stupid to undertake any larger vehicle that is turning ahead of you, whatever the vehicle types are involved. The driver may not be observant, may have checked but not have clear visibility despite their efforts, may take a wider swing than necessary or be aware of a hazard ahead that you may not have noticed.

Idiots can be found using every type of transport.

(Although to my immeasurable joy, the knobhead who recently overtook me as I was doing 30 in a 30, and just about to adjust my driving to a bend, parked car and bike ahead got a unpleasant surprise when the oncoming police car witnessed it, and did a very quick u-turn and nailed him )

OP it may help you in the future to position yourself closer to the curb (assuming no cycle path) to help prevent any confusion in the future, if it is safe to move over a bit. It sounds like you left a bit of space which is a nice courtesy however lane positioning is important too, particularly if you are in front.

MrPan thanks. I just don’t see making the point that I Was Indicating ACTUALLY by causing injury or death or getting stroppy as worth it. My morning commute involves a lot of cyclists, many of them doing silly things (the school children mainly, although the adults have their moments). I’d rather we all get where we’re going without unpleasantness

Ultimately everyone just needs to:
a - slow the fuck down. Leave 5 mins earlier if you are in such a hurry.

b - display a bit of courtesy to other road users, regardless of your opinion on that particular group of people - cyclists / horse riders / walkers / motorbikers / lorries / buses / taxis / 4x4s / tractors / cars.

Nobody has more "rights" than another group. We are all entitled to be on the roads.

No "vulnerable" road user wants to get run down or hurt, sometimes they have no option but to use a busy road.

Yes, occasionally you get an arsehole biker / rider / driver - don't tar everyone with the same brush.

Cyclists should not go up the inside of cars near junctions. It is so dangerous. It has happened to me when I've been indicating left too.

I see it happen a lot in London when I am walking around and it makes me wince. I really don't know why they do it.

Ok, so if I am to come across this again, it seems the beet thing to do would be to indicate as I had done and just keep going. She would have hit me I think, but it would have been her fault, as she was behind me, I was indicating etc.

Yes teach that cyclist a lesson!! You were in the right (you weren’t), why should you have to avoid killing stupid people?? She deserved it!! Just drive your car over anything in your path!!!! /s

You realize you are talking about intentionally injuring another human, don’t you?

Ok, so if I am to come across this again, it seems the beet thing to do would be to indicate as I had done and just keep going. She would have hit me I think, but it would have been her fault

so you think it is ok to hit and injure a cyclist because you assume in your endless stupidity it's the cyclists fault if they kept going (wrong). people like you really shouldn't be allowed to drive.

Simple question OP: Would you just pull through to the left if a but would be coming on the inside bus lane? After all, it's the bud drivers fault so it's ok.

bus, not but/bud

Pretty sure this woman didn't have a death wish this morning, just out getting on with her day.

Cyclist dies after lorry crash in Glasgow
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-48364973

Personally if a cyclist was that close behind me, I would have stopped to let them past before turning left. Safest option in case they don't see what I am doing/my signal.

it seems the beet thing to do would be to indicate as I had done and just keep going. She would have hit me I think, but it would have been her fault, as she was behind me, I was indicating etc.

What. The. Fuck.

Why would someone post something like this on a public forum? Aren't dark thoughts the kind of thing you're supposed to note in a private encrypted diary, so that hstorians can muse on what you were really like, after you're safely dead?

In case I'm being too oblique, no, deliberately causing a traffic accident in order to teach someone a lesson is never "the best thing" to do.

Please start taking the bus in future.

Having already got my knickers in a knot about this thread; on reflection, I think OP must be on a wind up

Rule 72 for cyclists, from the Highway Code.

When approaching a junction on the left ... Do not ride on the inside of vehicles signalling or slowing down to turn left.

So it's definitive, the cyclist was in the wrong. (Unless there was a cycle lane, as the rules for cars require them to give way to buses or cyclists in dedicated lanes.)

Aye, run 'em over then if they make a mistake. Seems fair

So it's definitive, the cyclist was in the wrong.

So does that make it ok for OP to kill the cyclist? Does that absolve OP from any guilt if the cyclist winds up dead? Is that what you would say to her grieving family, “well, she was in the wrong so she deserved it.”

NB: I don’t think the cyclist was in the wrong, from OPs description it sounds like her actions weren’t clear.

My OH is an avid cyclist, so as a driver, I became especially self aware of cyclists. I then decided to take on cycling. What an eye-opener it is! It's not so much that drivers are being arses, it's just that they seem clueless at the hazards faced by cyclists, hence putting them dangerous situations.

I have felt much more anoyed at dangerous drivers in my short time cycling than I have felt annoyed at cyclists in all my time driving. Yes, some are idiots, but they have a lot more to lose being so.

The cyclist undertook you whilst you were indicating left. They were at fault (and bloody stupid).

from OPs description it sounds like her actions weren’t clear.

What is unclear about indicating left before a left hand turn?

Cyclist should not have undertaken on the inside.

The cyclist undertook you whilst you were indicating left. They were at fault (and bloody stupid).

That’s under discussion and STILL DOES NOT MEAN IT IS OK TO KILL THE CYCLIST. Show some human decency for crying out loud.

What do people think the OP should have done here? Indicated and turned left? Waited for the cyclist to either turn left or carry on? Or something else?

What do people think the OP should have done here? Indicated and turned left? Waited for the cyclist to either turn left or carry on? Or something else?

Waited for the cyclist. Sometimes you have to lose 5 seconds of your day in order not to kill someone.

Threads like this remind me of what my driving instructor said when we discussed what do to do when someone else makes a mistake.

“What are you going to do? Carry on and crash into them and maybe kill them?”

I think the cyclist was in the wrong, but the OP should have been aware of the risk and stopped before turning.

Every time I read a thread like this I'm reminded of a very hard-hitting film I saw at secondary school in the 70s where it showed various motorbikes and bikes and what had happened to them and their riders because they went inside particularly lorries turning left. It definitely made a lasting impression on me.

I don't think they show anything as hard hitting any more in schools.

Tbf to the OP she was careful in that she saw the cyclist, slowed right down and checked her mirrors before the cyclist undertook her. Some drivers wouldn’t have noticed or cared.

It’s for everyone on the road to be careful, to think about cyclists and cyclists to not dice with death because they believe that the driver had seen them and can move out of the way in time or stop.