Post by BrianPost by SpikePost by JNugent<https://www.facebook.com/share/r/12FMKAD2WN8/>
Here lies the body of William Jay,
Who died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right, as he sped along,
But now he’s as dead as if he was wrong.
One of the things those driving vehicles like the one in the video need to
be especially aware of is poorer visibility on their near side.
The driver in the video had just over taken the cyclist - who was in the
cycle lane and cycling responsibly. The van over took him so, presumably,
he wasn’t speeding even if he was making good progress.
The driver should not only have been aware of the cyclist but should have
checked his near side mirror. He certainly should not have turned across
the path of the cyclist who was in the cycle lane and had no viable
opportunity to take avoiding action- even bikes require time to stop.
Had I been driving the van- or my motorhome- and seen the cyclist etc
knowing I wanted to turn left, I’d have slowed down, let him clear the
junction, then made my turn. I would not have made the initial overtake -
it was pointless.
Oh, I don’t disagree with that. The cyclist was in error because he didn’t
anticipate what was going to happen, but appeared to carry merrily on his
way on the grounds that he was in the right.
What the cyclist failed to note was that he was passed by the van, which,
with a clear road ahead of him, then slowed down. The question the cyclist
should have asked is ‘why?’. There may have been a pedestrian crossing the
road but hidden by the van, for example, which could have resulted in a
cyclist-pedestrian collision. Or the van could have been preparing to turn
right or left.
Even then, the cyclist had time to swerve left into the side road and avoid
a collision, which to my mind is a far more satisfactory situation than
being injured but ‘right’.
It’s not a case of following the rules, it’s a case of self-preservation
which, to my mind, trumps everything, hence the little rhyme I quoted. I
speak as someone who rode motorcycles for 64 years, and I was never knocked
off by another vehicle because of a keen sense of anticipation, which I
commend to all road users.
--
Spike