Moved to seven sisters last week and in 2 days of commuting (today and yesterday) 3 people have pulled out on me and tried to kill me around the Stamford hill/upper Clapton area. One fine chap looked me right in the eyes and still pulled out at speed from a side road on the right, across the lane on the other side and into mine without hesitation, didn’t even apologise with hazards despite my beeping and vigorous hand gestures. I anticipate people pulling out on me all the time but it seems way more frequent, part of it is possibly because I’m not familiar with the area yet.
Following on from a discussion I had earlier on today I think in general the standard of driving in south east England is horrendous. Especially in London. I think this stems from the fact that drivers spend a lot of time in traffic. They lose all perception of speed and don’t know when it’s safe to pull out. It might also have something to do with the push and shove to get ahead mentality down here.
As the officer on bike safe said to me. If you see a car in a junction cover the brakes and the horn. If you think they are going to pull out bleep the horn. (I prefer to rev the engine.)
also being unfamiliar with the area may make you appear hesitant and slower to other road users. Or you were just unlucky.
Blipping my little 125 won’t do much unfortunately haha
Get a loud horn. I think there’s a thread on it somewhere.
Horn unless they’re in your filter space. Revving just confuses them more.
Helmet cam.
had a nice driver indicate right switch lanes and the decide actually they didn’t want than lane and come straight back over, just as I was side by side with them…luckly I was moving into a gap on the left at the time, so was pretty far over…
you got to love Redbridge round a bout for some fun lol
@ Chang - Funny a mate of mine who lives outside London says the same thing. Driving in London is a world apart from other places… He told me off for driving “London” style around where he lives hahaha
@Wise Oh yes Redbridge roundabout is fun and games every night! Last night especially when a plonker pulled out on the van in front of me and then as I switched lanes he did exactly the same to me. When we got to the lights, I told him “he shouldnt be on the road!” and his response was to put his thumb up and say “Be cool man!”
Redwez
I work on the shut eyes & go for it method @ Redbridge
that way the drivers cant see the whites of my eyes lol
I could handle Redbridge roundabout with no problems, maybe because i’ve lived in the area so long I knew what to do. Riding in “proper” London brings a whole new set of hazards.
neddy
riding in London will make you a better rider as your hazard perception skills will be honed to perfection
You should try the A11 mile end road in the summer months that can break a lesser mortal
@sleeper. Lol. I notice it when I go home on the bike how happy people are sitting in traffic even on the bike when cars move out the way for you. I think it’s the constant sense of urgency that comes with living down here.
the A11 is getting so bad… Worst is that the open sections of the cycle lane are not even being used, I wonder if once everything is finished cyclists not using the available cycle lane will be fined.
Wildboy, Cyclists are entitled to use all the road. The highways make it safe children not allowed ro ride on pavements and those new to or forced into cycling due to cost or time of other modes.
This argument is akin to fining us for filtering.
Totally agree, I see some of the worst drives around Iford, Barking and Dagenham. Dunno if it’s just an East End thing, or just suburbs in general. There certainly was some high profile cases of bribery amongst driving examiners in the area a year or two ago, don’t know how far back that went, but certainly won’t help the cause. I know I’ve had three offs in three years in the Barking/Dagenham area due to shite drivers, yet no off’s in the centre…
I think in the centre, few people live there, so when they enter it, they do so with a mindset that it’s hectic there and they need too watch out for everything. But out in the 'burbs, people are more complacent, nearer home etc, drop their guard and take things for granted. There’s less police presence, more people on phones, people doing frantic school runs, more boy racers cruising/showing off and so on.
Just keep your wits about you at all times, don’t fall into the same trap of becoming complacent near home. Cover the brakes, get the biggest horn you can, use it all the time and just assume everyone will pull out on you.
@brains, time to change the laws I guess.
Redbridge roundabout is my least favourite part of my journey. Check out many people have got collected outside the Esso on westbound carriageway.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zoWR2uDT6ZWk.kaP6SbshPLhE&usp=sharing
The map is a work in progress – I have the data for the whole of the UK and there are additional tables that describe circumstances (right turn violation etc.).
This is so true 
It’s generally pretty bad on A11 most of the time and it’s only getting worse with all these roadworks.
I tried the route we chatted about the other day and it’s just so much nicer. Even though it’s 20mph almost all the way, you’re at least doing them instead of averaging 5mph on A11.
@Neillo - nice map. Material design FTW!