I Got Nudged

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Vantage
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I Got Nudged

Post by Vantage »

3 and a bit years after climbing back in the saddle and after I dunno how many close passes and near misses, I've finally been hit. Nothing serious luckily for me.
The rest of the group had already entered the roundabout https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.72039 ... ,19z?hl=en from the north side but I decided to wait for a safer opportunity as the guy in front of me just about made it. I sat in primary and as usual with any junction, I had my front brake on.
As I waited, I could the engine from the car behind me getting closer and all of a sudden, the bike and I were being shoved forward. I looked around to find the driver not looking forward, but watching the traffic approaching from the right while crawling forward. I shouted "Oi!" and moved forward a bit more to distance myself from the plonker. As I looked right again to check for a safe gap, he hit and pushed me again which resulted in my front wheel being over the white line. This time I leant on the AirZound a couple times while pointing at his bonnet which finally caught his attention and he stopped. Asking him "What the hell are you playing at?" resulted in one of those blank "What's your problem?" faces. Unbelievable.
No damage to me or the bike, so I just got round the roundabout and caught the rest of the group.
I'm thinking it's time to maybe save the pennies for a couple new cameras front and rear.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
pwa
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by pwa »

Glad you survived unscathed. I've "made contact" with 2 motor vehicles in the past, both low speed nudges similar to yours. It's probably down to a dopey driver spending too long glancing right and forgetting to look forward too. Was it a young driver? That sort of basic error is more understandable from someone less fluent with driving.
mercalia
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by mercalia »

many drivers these days get so used to crawling onto the no go zone in front of lights they dont know how to stop in a fixed distance any more?
Bicycler
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Bicycler »

I assume they've still got major road works around that roundabout Vantage? Should make people concentrate more but in some cases it just seems to be another distraction to take their attention from the road
eileithyia
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by eileithyia »

Glad you are ok.... almost a shame you did not sustain some damage to your bike as it might have given more credence to the driver that he had hit you..... sadly it seems he still has no understanding of the severity of what has been done and rather than being cautious in future may go on to do it again...
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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Vantage
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Vantage »

pwa wrote:Was it a young driver? That sort of basic error is more understandable from someone less fluent with driving.


Tbh, he looked older than the dinosaurs. May possibly have had a few loose nuts and a couple missing marbles.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
wirral_cyclist
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by wirral_cyclist »

How will one or even two cameras stop this happening again?
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by [XAP]Bob »

It won't - it will allow for a prosecution though, or for an insurance claim...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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Vantage
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Vantage »

Exactamondo.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
pwa
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by pwa »

One of the two "nudges" I have had was delivered by a very ancient gentleman who only halted when I shouted extremely loudly. He looked dazed and disorientated, and my instinctive reaction was to take pity on him and let it go. I know, he remained a hazard for someone else to encounter, but if I had recorded the incident with a camera I think I would probably have deleted it.
Bicycler
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Bicycler »

Ah, the attitude to elderly drivers no longer able to drive competently. No-one wants to deprive a pensioner of their transport do they? Incidents which should raise everyone's attention to the danger are turned a blind eye. Vision requirements are unenforced but then they aren't going very fast or very far and only in daylight so it's okay. This just seems the right thing to do until....
...someone gets hurt or killed and then the question is "why wasn't he stopped from driving?" I remember my granddad's driving in his later years from when I was a child. My mum insisted I walk home rather than accept a lift. If I get to the point where I don't trust my dad to drive he won't be driving unless a doctor tells me he is fit and I would notify the DVLA if I thought he might be inclined to do so. I don't want innocent people hurt and I don't want his final years scarred by the memory and guilt of causing a horrific incident.

As ever with driver licensing it is a privilege, not a right and it must be dependent upon meeting all the criteria to be able to safely operate the vehicle. A tonne of metal hurts as much when it hits you regardless of the age of the driver. We cannot have lower standards for the elderly.
Last edited by Bicycler on 16 Apr 2015, 10:23am, edited 1 time in total.
Mark1978
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Mark1978 »

That's one of my pet hates. Drivers don't stop at a give way they are constantly edging forward. Like somehow if they don't come to a complete stop that's faster?

Main issue is when I'm cycling past I can see their wheels moving so I don't know if they are just edging or if they haven't seen me and are starting to pull out.
pwa
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by pwa »

Everything Bicycler says about our attitudes to infirm elderly drivers fits with my own thoughts and experiences. As relatives and friends, or as near-victims, we should do what we can to get them off the road when they are no longer able to drive safely. But when I was nudged by a car I reacted immediately with a rush of anger and loud shouting, then I saw the elderly man behind the wheel. He looked confused and afraid, and I regretted that I had shouted quite so angrily. Logically I had behaved well, but when you find the recipient of your outburst is so frail you don't feel good about yourself.
Samuel D
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Samuel D »

Mark1978 wrote:That's one of my pet hates. Drivers don't stop at a give way they are constantly edging forward. Like somehow if they don't come to a complete stop that's faster?

I suppose it’s rather a question of it being easier (for driver and clutch alike) to keep some momentum rather than stop and restart. Of course this is no excuse to drive into cyclists or anyone else.

I have been nudged like this on a Vespa but never on a bicycle. But it is a constant worry at lights and roundabouts.
Phil Fouracre
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Re: I Got Nudged

Post by Phil Fouracre »

Not just elderly drivers. Everyone should consider it a privilege, not, a right. I can never understand the reticence in some cases to just take away a drivers licence for a misdemeanour. Minimal cost, sliding scale? What could be easier and more effective?
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity
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