advice needed

sonic85

hey everybody

im looking for some advice if that's ok - I was in town today and had two close ones. the first I entered a roundabout made it halfway round when a woman in a 4x4 pulled out in front of me and almost wiped me out. I was watching her before it happened and knew she didn't look but she just moved out anyway. i was able to dab the brakes and basically stopped - she slammed on hers and i was able to make my way round the front of her vehicle and get away.

the second incident happened on a main road I was behind a van and trailer that put on his indicator to turn right off the main road into a minor road. he slowed down drastically and I went to pass him on the inside. as I was alongside him he changed his mind and continued on. i was able to accelerate away but if was slower or my mind was elsewhere it could've ended up worse. there was a queue to get off the main road which was being held up by a long line of traffic coming from the opposite direction and im guessing he just didn't want to wait.

anyway - is there anything i could've done to avoid either of those two situations? were either of them my fault or down to me not being good/experienced enough on a bike yet?

any advice appreciated lads - i cant be letting stuff like this happen again.

thanks

Vikings

The only way to avoid the stupid, oblivious drivers like that woman on the roundabout is to stay at home. You kept your wits about you and knew she was trying her best to take you out and you got to ride away from it, job done. The next two weeks leading up to christmas there is going to be a lot more of that going on.

From your description of the second incident theres not much different you could have done - when you get in that position you have one of two options, floor it out in front or slow down/stop and pull in behind. Gauge the safest and go with it. If traffic is turning right you are allowed pass on the left, just treat it like filtering: do it slowly, carefully and know where your exit is. I.e don't pass on the left unless you can see where you will slot back in after the overtake.

Roadskill

Get used to it. It won't be the first or last time it happens. Tis the season to be stupid tra la la la la la la la la.
You did all you could in avoiding the hazards and handled them well but next time you undertake maybe slow up and wait until the vehicle starts to turn if possible. As for the roundabout if its as you described try to make eye contact. It sounds like she was in her own little world anyway.
These are typical of daily issues we put up with hence the acronym SMIDSY
Sorry Mate I Didn't See You.

minidazzler

Reminds me of this video I saw on Roadskills site the other day...

Unless the damage will be done to them they won't look quite as much.

two wheels good

Well done for safely escaping possible nasty outcomes - and esp. for taking the time to reflect and learn from it. Some thoughts..

Roundabout:
If you think you've not been seen then take action: sound horn ( a long note, not just a peep), slow down, take evasive action.
But... in your case reaching for the horn would have been a pointless distraction. Seems like you did everything you could.
As already mentioned. Look for eye contact on the approach.

Passing Left.
Position to be seen: Place yourself in the driver's mirror. (Hoping he/she will use them!). Might need to hang back a little.
If there are no left-hand side hazards e.g parked cars, position towards the left when passing the queue. Then you are farther from the hazards.
Observation skills: A front wheel suddenly pointing or a driver looking over shoulder are warning signs. Again, take action - sound horn, slow down, change position, maybe all of them.

Get a louder horn. I bet yours is a weedy peep. Mine was.
Make yourself more visible - the usual... hi-viz, day-riding lights.
Avoiding a hazard in a emergency don't look at the hazard, look at where you want to go i.e the escape route. ( avoiding "target fixation")
Practice emergency braking (on a empty, dry, straight road)

Thinking about riding; the next best thing to riding - on a dreary December day.

sonic85

thanks for the replies lads - much appreciated.

I suppose theres no getting away from distracted drivers the main thing is just to try keep the wits about me and observe as much as possible.

I wasn't sure whether to even start a thread on this - I felt a bit stupid about doing it but ive not been riding for that long and just want to be as good on a bike as I possibly can.

cheers

minidazzler

two wheels good wrote: »

Well done for safely escaping possible nasty outcomes - and esp. for taking the time to reflect and learn from it. Some thoughts..

Roundabout:
If you think you've not been seen then take action: sound horn ( a long note, not just a peep), slow down, take evasive action.
But... in your case reaching for the horn would have been a pointless distraction. Seems like you did everything you could.
As already mentioned. Look for eye contact on the approach.

Passing Left.
Position to be seen: Place yourself in the driver's mirror. (Hoping he/she will use them!). Might need to hang back a little.
If there are no left-hand side hazards e.g parked cars, position towards the left when passing the queue. Then you are farther from the hazards.
Observation skills: A front wheel suddenly pointing or a driver looking over shoulder are warning signs. Again, take action - sound horn, slow down, change position, maybe all of them.

Get a louder horn. I bet yours is a weedy peep. Mine was.
Make yourself more visible - the usual... hi-viz, day-riding lights.
Avoiding a hazard in a emergency don't look at the hazard, look at where you want to go i.e the escape route. ( avoiding "target fixation")
Practice emergency braking (on a empty, dry, straight road)

Thinking about riding; the next best thing to riding - on a dreary December day.

Sorry if this seems a little out of line, especially from a relative newbie... but....

Take action before sounding a horn. The horn isn't action for yourself I find. It's for the benefit of others. Everything else is a right as can be, but Horn should never be first reaction I think.

two wheels good

minidazzler wrote: »

Sorry if this seems a little out of line, especially from a relative newbie... but....

Take action before sounding a horn. The horn isn't action for yourself I find. It's for the benefit of others. Everything else is a right as can be, but Horn should never be first reaction I think.

Agreed. "Sound horn to inform others of your presence." In an emergency forget the horn and concentrate on evasive action.
Suggesting that sounding horn could replace other actions was not my intention.