Near Misses Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

Ah will you stop, slap on the wrist for drunk driving, hit and run, and those injuries....no chance just a slap on the wrist whatever the details of the victim.

Thanks all for comments, a lot sorer today, leg and arm a bit strained too. Vhi clinic had a good look at the back and it seems just badly sprained. Had to get a tetanus for the road rash. I'm OK tho, really just feel like I've been rugby tackled, by a car. Gardai took a full statement from me and progressing it onwards with driver and the witness. I'll wash the bike soon enough and look at it, it was a wet dirty day and its covered in road muck. Guess I'll just wait for investigation to be done and proceed then with the garda reports.

Re the accident itself, I have no idea how he could have missed me, his passenger saw me, who drives onto a large roundabout like that and doesn't look. He was day dreaming. He was more shocked than I was, he made no excuses.

Yea will see how it goes, I'm just incredibly grateful for no broken bones or head injury. I don't doubt the sincerity in the mans apology but it astonishes me that it even happened. Its a car he's driving, not a shopping trolley, he has to be looking at the road.

If it's carbon get the bike replaced, you'll never be happy cycling downhill at 50 / 60kmh on the frame. Friend and myself got sideswipped on the N2 about 2 years ago, driver ran the stop sign, didnt see us. Felt I was OK, and he paid for the bike replacement within a week so we didnt follow up. Not sure that was the right thing to do, shoulder still gives me a bit of bother when swimming

Victim blaming has nothing to do with fault. The opposite in fact - it's where fault is implied even though none exists. Even going beyond that, fault and causation are two completely different concepts.

The fault here is with the dangerous road user - that's not the cyclist, it's the motorist who decided to overtake with a close pass into a junction. Mention of no helmet, no hi viz, no lights, no bell, no reflectors etc. etc. etc. is irrelevant to the actual incident. It's like saying you should have signalled 10 metres earlier. No, 15 metres earlier. No, 25 metres earlier. No, you should have kept your arm out indicating as soon as you approached the junction, the entire time you were waiting at the junction and until you had completed the turn. And you should have been constantly looking around. And ringing your bell.

In other words, what he could have done is purely subjective and referring to it, where he actually did nothing wrong, is the perfect example of victim blaming.

He was the front-most road user at the junction. All traffic behind him should have waited until it was safe to pass him. The onus is on them - as it would have been if he was a car or motorbike - to judge the situation in front of them and act accordingly... not chance their arm and plough past through a small gap.

As for the cat point... that's just nanny state mentality - something bad could happen therefore it should be banned. In this case, the cat demonstrated more self control and discipline than the motorist. If we demanded that road users actually take more personal responsibility for their behaviour instead of relying on the lack of enforcement and the constant need to try and shift blame, the roads would be a much safer place. I know I'd prefer to share it with people like that cyclist, who has the ability to train an animal to behave that well in traffic, rather than people like that motorist who clearly have so little regard for anyone else's safety because they're in such a rush.

Yep always ready to drop anchor in those situations until I make eye contact with the driver, people get used to just glancing to the right on approach and if there isn't a vehicle then they're clear to go, you could just happen to be behind the a pillar at the time too.

On the plus side it's a lesson learned for them to look properly next time.

I had some amount of close passes this evening I think they were punishment passes as I was well out due to leaves and crap on the road, most were on unlit roads so the camera doesn't show them well. I'd the usual crap moving right at this junction it doesn't matter how long I hold my arm out traffic just pushes past here in an attempt to beat the lights and as can be seen in the video it's often pointless!

I had similar, though thankfully did see him in time so his living sh1t stayed in place. It made me aware of what an impediment to vision the pillars on modern cars are, and has been a lesson taken on board ever since.

^^ Is it just me or is that unsafe cycling? Yes, the lorry should have waited but...