Okay - my mornings are rather … well uneventful (thankfully) but I’m convinced that last night UFOs came down and extracted a large proportion of the population’s brains. And here’s why:
A120. I’m central in the right hand lane at the National Speed Limit (NSL). Just as I get level with a slightly slower car to my left, the female driver who’s sat 1" from the steering wheel, indicates and immediately moves right on collision course. Saved by horn and some rather nimble maneuvers if I do say so myself.
M11. Almost identical to (1) but this time with a white van man. I even got two fingers as my apology !!!
M11. Right hand lane again at NSL, sat suitable distance from the car in-front. Car comes screaming up from my rear and only slows when he’s some 2m from my rear wheel. I flash my brakes to show my displeasure. He stays at 2m. Another motorcyclist comes up the centre lane and slots in next to me in the right hand lane. Centre lane clears and together we make a brake for it to get away from Mr ‘I don’t have a brain cell’. The car then also makes a brake for it up the centre lane and now sits 2m behind the other motorcyclist who’s now in the left hand land, while I’m in the centre lane. Motorcyclist moves to the centre lane and car undertakes him - only to have to slam his brakes on for the queing traffic in front. Car driver (with family inside car) then winds window down as both myself and the other bike filters past him - exclaiming as we go how appreciative we are of his “Knowledge of National Observational Betterment” skills (KNOB)
A12. Coming under the tunnels with double white lines. Left hand lane. Car pulls across double white line from right to left just in front of me. I flashed and signaled he also has great KNOB skills. Immediately followed by approx. 10 motorcyclists and scooter’ists wizzing past me over the white lines. I then have two scooters pass me on my left, cut me up as they cross the white lines and cause a car to break heavily.
Just prior to Elephant and Castle. Police car - no blues or twos - crawling along inside the Bus Lane preventing me from making progress. Mr. Officer … without blues and twos you’re to accord with the laws of this land. Get out of the bus lane !!!
Waterloo. Coming into Waterloo - pull up at temporary lights. To the left of me a Police motorcyclist pulls up. I nod - he ignores. Lights go amber/green and I accelerate away leaving the Police officer slightly behind me. I’m now at the 30 mph speed limit. He accelerates past me on my left cutting across my front and then applies his brakes. At the next set of lights, again we’re both next to each other. I lifted my visor and suggested that he ought to be more careful as he wasn’t far from clipping my front tyre. His reply … “oh shut up” (!!!)
I got into work, parked the bike and started the walk up the stairs from the basement. My feet went from under me and cracked my knee on the concrete … MY GOD, THEY’VE TAKEN MY BRAIN TOOOOOOO !!!
Sounds like a bad day - my ride was pretty uneventful by that standard… All I saw was a dump truck hitting a bus (seem to just knock his wing mirror) and drive off (I don’t think he notice tbh), and nearly saw a car t-bone another car because he went on the wrong lights on the Mall.
With so many “uneventful” mornings, the odds were stacking up against you for some events due. If I were commuting on my toy, I’d have a camera on my helmet and one facing backward on the bike too. Evidence of those idiots on the road may be necessary one day, for your own protection.
I used to be a DR (despatch rider) in central London from '84 to '88. Now, with thirty years more experience, and IAM Advanced on both bike and car, I feel more at risk today, than I was back then, either though I was naive and had far less road skills. It appears to me that the skills and care of the average driver has regressed a lot, plus there is much more traffic on the road.
I still think that today, for anyone under 35 that wants to take driving lessons, that there shold be a prerequisite for them to have to spend at least 60, ideally 100 hours on a small motorcycle, scooter or moped. Only then will people learn how vulnerable they are, and after a few scares, be so much more vigilente to motorcyclists.
Martin, black cab drivers spend years on scooters doing the knowledge and yet at soon as they pass they give no quarter so that idea probably wouldn’t work as much as I agree with it.
I had a couple of near misses yesterday on A40 westbound. I am almost convinced that heavy traffic and a line of motorcycles filtering makes for worse driving decisions.
Slightly off topic, but when would you say it’s acceptable for me to smash some car rear-view mirrors (as a result of them being arseholes or making dangerous maneuvers)
Why vent and cause criminal damage? Just be sensible and ride away. It sounds like a “normal” day of riding into/out of London. Just keep your eyes peeled and keep your “bubble of safety”.
I’m commuting in on the A40 car park these days. What is it with drivers who won’t move over and let bikes filter by? It’s not like seeing a bike is a surprise to them, it’s not like they are going anywhere soon; they just brainlessly sit there blocking the filtering opportunity.
Add the current miserably wet weather and I’m a grumpy git at the mo.
I took and passed my ROSPA Advanced some months back - however try as you might the “rules” whatever they may be, are simply torn up when you drive/ride within the M25. The only thing you can do is expect the unexpected.
Okay I have my moments when my right hand disconnects from my sensible head and cranks the throttle open to get a thrill, but 9 times out of 10 this tends to be on an A Road with diddly squate in front. In London I try and be absolutely Mr Sensible. And yet sometimes I consider this too dangerous; you’re forced to do things you shouldn’t.
I ride with a HD camera on my helmet and an inflation jacket ready to …well inflate. But I’m just counting the days down to when the inevitable happens. Oh joy …
“However its not helped by bikers that ‘push’ their way through aggressively”
I’ve seen bikers on the Boulevard Périphérique in Paris kicking cars who dared to stray a few centimetres into the “filtering” space - Parisian bikers are on a different planet, you should see the speeds they filter at.
I’m not suggesting we behave like that but maybe we do need to ask cars to move over - a quick beep of the horn; after all, car drivers are not afraid to assert their rights this way when needs be.
Michael - ‘we’ have the legal ability to filter BUT we do not have the legal right … its a suttle different but a difference none the less. We can only do so if space permits and its safe to do so. SOME bikers seems to think that everything should move out of the f*cking way.
Bikers complain when cars roll over double white lines and interfere with themselves hurtling down between, over and across said lines.
Bikers complain when cars are up their arse, but sit 2" off the car in front’s rear bumper …
We complain that cars do not use their side mirrors when maneuvering - but I don’t see many bikers/scooterists that check when they leave their lane to filter …
Feel for you but have now taken the “Don’t give a Fcuk” attitude as last time, I gave someone the finger then realised I was about to rear-end the car in front that I wasn’t watching.
I think we need to produce a contraption that we bolt to the rear seat. You get in-front of the offending vehicle, hit a button and hey presto, a 12" finger ‘rises up’ expressing your feelings - all without taking your eyes off the road !!!
Completely agree with you Ian. I think it’s this righteous behaviour that some bikers have that makes some car drivers hate us. At the end of the day we will arrive at our destination far quicker than any car driver with a big smile on our face. If someone wants to block me chances are they’ll leave a big gap on the other side and I’ll just go around them in that. That’s more likely to piss them off.
