saudidave wrote:So a goon attempts to undertake me at traffic lights as I attempt to turn left after indicating well in advance and I post a report of the incident here.
Well, my sympathy is naturally limited by the fact that you don't check your mirrors before manoeuvring. Something which, on the face of it, I would expect from someone who has cycled 100 miles a week and driven 25,000 miles a year for half a century across so much of the world (and as a trained Police motorcyclist, to boot).
It seems to me like you are trying to transfer the embarrasment of turning onto another vehicle (whether it should have been there or not) onto the cyclist - i.e. victim blaming - by suggesting that it was his fault you didn't see him because he was "invisible in black". This is what gets my back up.
Much of the debate since has essentially been about whether large black objects in the road are invisible, or whether they are quite easy to see. Comparing them to an arbitrary standard as you do is meaningless (although many people do wear high-viz, the overwhelming majority of cyclists and pedestrians do not, and they don't get run over).
To use an analogy, nobody would dispute that high-viz police cars are "more visible" than black cars. However that doesn't make black cars (or black cyclists, or black pedestrians) hard to see. Would you either argue that black car owners are irresponsible, or reckless, or should paint their cars in high-viz? Why not? Do you believe that if you crashed into a black car it is basically the fault of the other guy, as you do with cyclists? Don't you think that painting your car in high-viz would make it more conspicuous?
So I'm left worrying that, if you can't see people in ordinary clothes because they are invisible, how reliable is the rest of your story?
Did you actually overtake the cyclist and cut in, rather than him undertaking you? If black is invisible surely you can't tell either way? In fact, at least you overtaking and cutting in would explain why you didn't see the rider in your mirror check (or, are police motorcyclists no longer trained to use their mirrors? It's a serious question, I'm not one so I don't know.)
What colour is your car? If it's black, maybe the cyclist simply didn't see you because you were blending into the tarmac?
Just to put your mind at ease, I drive a *lot* more miles than I cycle, although if you want to be childish about things, I also cycle a *lot* more than you do