Vantage wrote:Well I don't know about you lot and shooting myself in the foot re predictability, but I'd have thought the MTB'er would sit in the cycle lane until past the pinch point. That's what I'd have done and it's what the driver might have thought he'd do because as already mentioned, there was no looking back or signalling from the MTB'er and therefor no indication to anyone else what he might do. No indication = no change in position. That's how I see it and I believe the majority of drivers would see it. Unless he's bloody stupid. Which as we've seen, he obviously is.
The difference in speed between the two cyclists isn't that great really. We only see it as we're viewing it from the tailing cyclists viewpoint. I imagine it would be more difficult to spot from the motorists pov, especially given that the motorist will be concentrating on everything else around him/her.
I personally wouldn't object to any motorist passing me through that pinch point as it isn't stupidly narrow enough for me to warrant taking the lane. YMMV.
I maintain for the above reasons that imv there is no possible way for any motorist to have predicted that that plonker on the MTB would have suddenly bolted to the right to overtake the bloke in front.
why would you (as a cyclist) have not overtaken at the point he actually passed the other cyclist?
Why would the driver ASSUME what was not going to happen - given the pretty obvious & at a clear hazzard (i.e. the pinch point)
So, let's put this into a motorvehicle scenario, you are driving a 40 ton lorry & you see two cars ahead and one is catching the other with clear space for it to overtake, what would be your assumption/reading of what was going to happen?
Would you (in the much bigger vehicle) drive right up to the back of the rearmost vehicle sound your horn and attempt to pass it with not much leaway either side for errors?
Could you see the person in the rearmost car looking in their mirrors before overtaking and would you again bully your way up to the back of that car (in your 40 ton lorry) because he hadn't done so before he then safely overtook the car he was catching?
If not why then would it be ok to apply that situation to the much bigger vehicle following two other smaller vehicles in the situation we have in the video?
The car driver was too impatient and improperly used their horn, holding back a couple of seconds and making a nice safe pass AFTER the hazard (& not sounding their horn illegally) and everyone goes on their way.