Nine Lives

No, Im not referring to our feline friends. I'm talking about cyclists who seem to think they possess multiple lives like in computer games. You know, as in "Oops, made a mistake in this one which led to my demise, but that's ok because I have more"

Well I hate to break it to you, because even though the jury is still out on the reincarnation theory, there are no do-overs. You don't get to redo today all over again (although so many of us would love that option) so try and get it right the first time.

My reason for the griping is this. I came so close to knocking down a cyclist this morning, and it would have been deemed my fault. I was at a filter lane to cross the opposite carriageway and because of delays for oncoming traffic, two considerate motorists, one in each lane opted to let me across. The motorist further from me (but nearest to my exit) was a large box van, and I couldn't see past him to the filter lane. As a result, though I pulled across the carriageway, I was a lot slower than I could have been.

Luckily for the cyclist that this was the case. He went flying down the filter lane and down the side road, without stopping and definitely without even checking to see if it was safe. I couldn't seen him until I pulled past the box van, which if I had been doing a normal speed for that junction, could have proved too late.

Now, I'm not saying that he didn't have every right to do this, as technically, being his filter and right of way, he had every right to do so. What I'm cross at is this: he didn't look, he had no awareness of his surroundings, and being a vulnerable road user, I would have thought that his safety would be his paramount concern. To top it all off, he had no hi-vis or helmet either.

It's one thing to expect motorists to be aware of cyclists and motorbikes, but it does work both ways. Cyclists and motorbikes Please Take Note; you can not expect car drivers to do it all, you must exercise caution.

There is a sign on the back of some lorries and it is so true "If you can't see my mirrors, then I can't see you". I may be a car driver, but I do not have x-ray vision, and I sure as hell can't see through a large box van.

Here endeth the lesson :-)


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