Is it me or the cyclist?

[bettyfreddy]

I've just had an incident with a cyclist who was very angry and is going with his footage to the police. I'm quite shaken by it and it was honestly an accident. I was driving.

So I overtook the cyclist along with maybe 2 other cars in front of me. Carried on driving for around 300 yards and slowed down for the queue at the roundabout ahead.

As I began to move forward slowly - it wasn't my turn to leave the round about, there was a car in front of me - the cyclist shot by me on the left hand side of the car. I honestly didn't see him. He was absolutely cycling at quite a speed. I stopped as soon as I saw him (car in front had gone) and he went in front of my car and started swearing at me.

I didn't move the car, let him go round the roundabout.

I was dropping my son off at pre school which is just round the roundabout so he clearly saw where I was going so came to 'speak' to me. He called me a dangerous driver and he was going to show his footage from his cycling helmet to the police and to expect them to call round.

I apologised and said I genuinely didn't see him. I moved my car forwards at about 3mph probably, he just shot by me. Granted I should of checked my wing mirrors but it wasn't my turn to leave the round about so I was just slowing cruising along.

I can take it if I'm at fault and I really did apologise to him.

"The cyclist got to the junction first." No, they didn't. Try reading it through again. The OP overtook the cyclist then had an (estimated) 300 more yards to drive before the queue at the roundabout. There's no genuine indication that there was anything risky about the initial overtake. Not sure why people are obsessing about that. It's not even what the cyclist in the story was ranting about.

It's fine at an appropriate distance and speed.

They said they were waiting in the queue when the cyclist passed. Therefore cyclist got there first.

I'm not obsessing about anything, I'm saying that an unnecessary overtake is unnecessary. Moving past a cyclist is more dangerous than not moving past a cyclist. Moving ahead of them to sit stationary in traffic is just stupid as it gains you nothing other than being in front of them for a few seconds.

The OP has said themselves they could have done better

The way ahead was not sufficiently clear to warrant an overtake and this is obvious because the cyclist entered the roundabout first despite the OP nearly cutting them off after failing to look for the cyclist they had just overtaken

Agree, undertaking like this has startled horses and their riders , a really dangerous practice

If you're 300 yards off from a junction you've got no idea if your overtake is "unnecessary" as by the time you reach it the other cars in front may have moved away. I cycle and drive in one of the busiest cycling cities in the country, and nobody ever sits behind a cyclist that they can safely overtake, 300 yard before a queue ahead, just on the basis that it might eventually prove to have not been necessary.

Bad overtaking behaviour most definitely exists, but that isn't it.

300 yards is more than ample to overtake a cyclist. The cyclist eventually reached the roundabout first because they filtered at high speed. But there would have been no way to know that before the OP overtook. The cyclist then verbally abused the OP. There's more evidence of bad cycling than bad driving.

OP said nothing about having to accelerate to overtake, and there's no reason to have done any more braking than would have been necessary without a cyclist even being there. You're making things up. You're also fictionalising this as a much more compressed event. If this had happened over the space of nearer 50 odd yards, yes i'd agree, unnecessary. But you're dreaming if you think cards aren't going to safely overtake cyclists with 300 yards of clear road ahead of them on the basis that they might eventually get overtaken again by the cyclist. That happens all the time in built up areas and it's perfectly legal and reasonable.

I don't think you did anything wrong OP, sounds like he cut you up at roundabout by undertaking and not slowing down.
I'm not surprised you are shaken but doubt he will actually report it.
Try and put it from your mind.

The OP was not riding a horse.

Oddly cyclists in my area have more consideration and manners than some drivers, who I have had to block in my own car from trying to over take horses.

He's allowed to undertake as he's on a bike.

He like the OP should be aware of other moving vehicles regardless of whether they are cars or bikes.

@ChickinBell should add unsafely overtaken horses.

Riders do signal when you can safely overtake them whether you are on a bike, car or van. Buses and HGVs just have to wait.

The OP has said they were unaware of what was around then when they started to move but please keep defending their driving

But alot don't wait to be signalled @RedWingBoots , I know @bettyfreddy wasn't riding a horse , Jesus, my point was it's a very dangerous practice

If the OP had bothered looking in their mirror this might not even have happened. It could just be an angry cyclist kicking off over nothing, or the fault could lie with the person who said they didn't have any idea of what was around them when they were driving their car.

I know what seems more likely, on balance

Reported

Okaay.

... which is literally what I said.

oooh you're hard.

I'm actually a cyclist myself. Just not one of the bellend ones.

That old chestnut

I'm a cyclist and I can't see what you did wrong, by your account. Either there's a big element of the story you're leaving out, or he's a nutter. I've had cars move off whilst I've been filtering through stationary traffic. It's more of a problem if I'm on the outside because then I have to safely move back to primary position with cars behind me. He was on the inside and by the sound of it he was going too fast so don't worry, even if he does hand his footage in (again assuming you've described the situation accurately) he'll get nowhere.

He was the one behaving dangerously, sounds like an entitled idiot. Let him post his footage so everyone can laugh at him, you did nothing wrong.

Sounds like a right arrogant twat. What a shame you apologized.