The Poplar High St collision

[Paulatic]

Here's another case just come to light of driver failing to nominate.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cBm93E7HU ... e=youtu.be

[reohn2]

Here's another case just come to light of driver failing to nominate.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cBm93E7HU ... e=youtu.be

It's all just too easy isn't it?

[661-Pete]

Here's another case just come to light of driver failing to nominate.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cBm93E7HU ... e=youtu.be

Don't like to play devil's advocate but a highly dubious bit of filtering there, before the accident. I think if the driver had stopped and cooperated, it would have been 'knock for knock' at best.

[Vantage]

The driver should have stopped regardless of who hit who but that clearly is entirely the cyclists own fault.

[Postboxer]

The cyclist could have slowed down a bit more and been a bit more cautious at the junction but from an insurance liability point of view I would think it would be entirely the drivers fault, they should have been going a lot slower, pausing before entering the cycle lane.

[kwackers]

The driver should have stopped regardless of who hit who but that clearly is entirely the cyclists own fault.

How do you work that out?

Imagine you want to turn right across a dual carriageway, the right hand lane of that carriageway is full of stationary traffic but there's a gap. You drive through the gap and are then hit by a vehicle travelling in the left hand lane.
Who's fault is that? You're the one turning, the other poor sap is simply travelling along his empty lane and can reasonably expect that nobody will suddenly drive in front of him.

Making one of those lanes a cycle lane doesn't really change anything - although I do have some sympathy for a driver in those circumstances since I'm not a fan of cycle lanes...

[Vantage]

I can see your point, but that isn't a dual carriageway, it's a single lane. The traffic had indeed stopped. Even the big white van at 0.08sec in had stopped before the left sideroad and that in itself should be enough of a giveaway that he/she is letting someone through.
It's one thing to take the view that filtering up the inside is entirely legal but bloody stupid to assume its ok to go blazing up the inside or between vehicles like a eejit and across every junction without a care in the world.
Right of way is of no use in a wooden box.

[karlt]

I can see your point, but that isn't a dual carriageway, it's a single lane.

No. At the point the collision occurred there was a separate cycle lane. Having said that, I agree there were gaps there I'd not dream of filtering through, and I'd have been very wary of that gap at the side road. Contributory negligence, possibly.

[kwackers]

I can see your point, but that isn't a dual carriageway, it's a single lane. The traffic had indeed stopped. Even the big white van at 0.08sec in had stopped before the left sideroad and that in itself should be enough of a giveaway that he/she is letting someone through.
It's one thing to take the view that filtering up the inside is entirely legal but bloody stupid to assume its ok to go blazing up the inside or between vehicles like a eejit and across every junction without a care in the world.
Right of way is of no use in a wooden box.

No, it's two lanes. As I said I have sympathy for the driver because it's not a dual carriageway in any traditional sense that they may recognise but the man has seen fit to squeeze a narrow lane in and therefore there are now two lanes and crossing them requires care and attention from the driver.
(The white van is a red herring. I always stop short so as not to block junctions whether or not there was anything coming).

As for the rest, I agree that a bit more care wouldn't go amiss. Right but dead etc etc.

[661-Pete]

Perhaps the discussion about the Poplar High Street video ought to be separated off into a different thread? The two cases have very little in common.

[foxyrider]

The driver should have stopped regardless of who hit who but that clearly is entirely the cyclists own fault.

Agreed - obviously not looking at traffic behaviour and relying on others to do the watching. Couldn't see that it was the drivers fault at all, the bike hit the rear of the car so the 'in collision with a car' that the media like to use would, in this instance, be correct!

[kwackers]

Agreed - obviously not looking at traffic behaviour and relying on others to do the watching.
Couldn't see that it was the drivers fault at all, the bike hit the rear of the car so the 'in collision with a car' that the media like to use would, in this instance, be correct!

So you'd be happy to swing across two lanes of traffic without making sure there was no traffic coming and if you happened to hit something whilst turning right you'd claim it was their fault?
Good luck with that.

[Vorpal]

The driver should have stopped regardless of who hit who but that clearly is entirely the cyclists own fault.

Agreed - obviously not looking at traffic behaviour and relying on others to do the watching. Couldn't see that it was the drivers fault at all, the bike hit the rear of the car so the 'in collision with a car' that the media like to use would, in this instance, be correct!

The car driver was crossing a marked (blue!) cycle lane. As described above, that is no different than crossing any other traffic lane. The driver is obligated to ensure it is clear.

I have to admit that it was not wise of the cyclist to cross the junction so quickly without good visibility, but IMO, the junction design is really poor.

[Flinders]

Similar thing happened to me many years ago in London. Driver didn't stop. Other drivers did, however, get out of their cars to make sure I was okay, for which I'm still grateful.

[iviehoff]

If you wish to remain alive as an urban cyclist, you have to be aware of the risk of this happening. You have to be prepared to stop, especially if you are unsighted. Yes, you have priority, but the reality is that a sufficiently large minority of vehicles won't give it to you, so you have to take precautions, whatever the law is. I'd like to see a successful prosecution for a strike in such a case, then maybe drivers will begin to learn it is true. But ultimately until we have roads populated by saints, then caveat cyclista in such circumstances.