queue most of the way along Long Lane near London Bridge this morning so was filtering
always around 12 to 15mph, hovering on back brake, using lots of otherside of road whenever safe, being careful if passing junctions etc…
this mother suddenly darts out with a young kid on her arm, looking otherway :doze: and across my path
was able to slow down ok but tried to allow for her to see me and swerve around them, didnt really work and ended up 2mm from them at the end
close, shook me up a bit :ermm: but have learnt not to try anything clever, will drop anchors fully and not risk anything in future
anyway had just passed a police van just before the incident, they flashed me so i pulled over, they were ok 'n all said they could see she walked out without looking, checked my details let me go etc…
last thing i needed was pressure of a police stop after that though, maybe they thought it would give me a breather? :ermm:
close shave for you there. i had the same thing happen on a wet day on the old cbr. i went down and managed to run over the bike as it was slidding down the road with a cracjed engine cover and oil pi ssing out
The stretch of road between London Bridge and Waterloo is notorious for people just stepping out like lemmings. I’ve had a few close calls down there, usually because they don’t look when they step out onto the pedestrian crossings, but just assume that the traffic has seen them and is going to stop!:w00t:
Close one huh!Glad you managed to avoid them and all parties are OK
I’ve had that loads where people assume that the cars are stopped so they can focus their attention on the far-side of the road before negotioting the immediate lanes… usually within a few metres of a pedestrian crossing too!!!:crazy:
well my left hand mirror was pushed back so although it looked 2mm, she must have put her hand out and made a funny shape when she finally saw me…thankfully her daughter was on her other side :ermm:
she just said sorry and kept on rushing by with the kid
the overriding feeling i now have is anger that she put us all in a dangerous situation like that
oh well, live 'n learn, my reaction to a pedestrian will prob be over the top next time and slam the anchors on too much, doh!
i know, bad thoughts were going through my mind all the way into work, couldnt concentrate properly after that so maybe the cops checking my details was a good thing
Have you tried taking one of the small left turns (as you head towards Ldn Bridge) and cutting onto Gt Dover St? Still chocka with traffic, but at least it’s a wider rd, and it brings you out at the end of Long Lane.
yeah i took that afterwards, a lot better
i try to avoid the A2/bricklayers-arms but i suppose its safer from the point of view of pedestrians that way
I would agree with the above… Long Lane is a nightmare on a bike at rush hour (unless you want to sit in the traffic like a car driver). If you must start going along Long Lane turn left at Wilds Rents, go down Law Street onto Great Dover Street, but really it’s best to avoid it altogether…Even Druid Street/Crucifix Lane/St Thomas Street is a better option in my opinion… and I’ll do almost anything to avoid that junction from hell at the end of Long Lane/Great Dover Street/Borough High Street at rush hour.
had the same yesterday on Stockwell, passing the bus I slowed down to 10 or so and suddenly a young bloke walked into my path from behind the bus :crazy:
Bloke walked out without a scratch and I just earned a headbutt from my missus but could be worse.
Sorry mate, I think that’s not really correct. You were filtering and in case you’d have hit her you would find it hard to convince anybody it was her fault.
Don’t get me wrong, I sympatise, and I often swear when pedestrians don’t look before crossing, but if you are filtering you have to think about the fact people who never have ridden a motorbike would often not think there will be somebody overtaking a static row of cars.
You have to expect somebody will do it and look out for them and in case you can’t see (bus, van …) you have to reduce speed to a level where you know you can stop for anybody pulling out.
We’ve all done it. All you can do is learn from it and hope you never run anybody over.
Not sure about that - the highway code secton for pedestrians is very specific - this person failed to observe all of these -
“Move to a space where drivers and riders can see you clearly”
“Look all around for traffic and listen. Traffic could come from any direction. Listen as well, because you can sometimes hear traffic before you see it.”
“Keep looking and listening for traffic while you cross, in case there is any traffic you did not see, or in case other traffic appears suddenly. Look out for cyclists and motorcyclists travelling between lanes of traffic.”
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! i wonder how many pedestrians read the highway code!?!?! i don’t think anyone abides by those rules in london do they?! fair point though it would obviously be her fault. the rozzers probably pulled you just to see if they could do you for no tax or insurance etc.
let’s remember guys this is real life. not everything plays out exactly like you read it in the books eh?
As there’s no such a thing as a Pedestrian Licence I seriously doubt that anobody bothered looking at the pedestrians section.
And whatever the law, I wouldn’t like to be involved in accident, doesn’t matter if I hurt somebody or get hurt myself.
Be aware folks! Slow down and make sure your brakes work properly!
