Near Miss of the Day 483: Audi driver makes close pass while beeping horn

 It's just about possible the driver of the following Audi wouldn't therefore have seen the cyclist until very late. 

As we know, this excuse gets you off driving over and killing a cyclist near Aberystwyth, if the driver in front of you has just knocked him off. And that driver gets off because the sun was in her eyes. Before someone informs me that 'she didn't get off'- a short suspended sentence and short driving ban is getting off, when the dead cyclist is an old bloke in a reflective jacket out for a ride in the sun

iandusud wrote:

(I think I can see where my argument might fall down. ....r). 

I think it was where you said poor misunderstood Audi driver....

There's a motorway running parallel with that road, why aren't all the drivers on there? 

If you suggest to a driver they should use the motorway instead of speeding on a road, in the inside lane, while other road users are trying to make their way to their destination, you get a look like they think they are entitled to all the roads and priority too!

Nice victim blaming. NCN 5 runs alongside the A34 for a short while, but it's a crap shared path. A couple of years ago, when I was riding fairly regularly from South London to the North West, the A34 near Stone was part of my regular route. I'd have to say that, despite it being a fast dual carriageway, I didn't have any problems with close passes and always felt (surprisingly) safe. Visibility for cars is pretty good and there was always plenty of time and space for them to get in the outside lane to overtake, as the driver here could have done.

@shades. I wish road.cc would enable downvotes just for people like you.

Free speech is more important than you disageeing with someone's words.

NZ Vegan Rider wrote:

Free speech is more important than you disageeing with someone's words.

1. So what's wrong with downvoting?  Surely that's an expression of free speech?

2. Free speech extends only to government (non-)interference and is not universal.  It certainly doesn't mean private entities cannot censor you - just look at FB/Twitter and Trump.

In the UK, there's no such thing as free speech.  There's freedom of expression (and thought), and there are limitations beyond which the state can intervene.

Is this meant to be an example of an oxymoron?

Dual carriageways should be the safest of all roads for cyclists; there's a whole other lane for drivers overtaking. When commuting (now retired), there was no way I could cycle to work without using one.

So much this...

Not many roads can boast the safety advantages of most dual carriageways. They are wide, they offer two lanes to enable safe overtaking. They generally lack any significantly tight or blind bends, hidden brows or indeed any oncoming traffic... visibility is nearly always very good.

Yet, it is deemed inappropriate and unsafe for cyclists to use them. 

And it is unsafe, as too many (more than none) drivers feel entitled to demonstrate their displeasure at your presence on 'their' carriageway by acts of aggression such as shown in the video.

Not forgetting the small, but not to be ignored, number of drivers who, on being provided with a safe carriageway to get swiftly from A to B, see this safe environment as a great opportunity to lower their concentration levels to abysmal levels. 

I've tried discussing this with a number of motorists over the years but they just look at you funny when you try to challenge the whole dual carriageways are dangeroud mantra. 

Trouble is many bike paths are covered in glass and dog shit, and if a road is legal to cycle on then, you should be able to do it without putting your life at risk from tossers with a small penis driving their big boys toys.

yupiteru wrote:

Trouble is many bike paths are covered in glass and dog shit, and if a road is legal to cycle on then, you should be able to do it without putting your life at risk from tossers with a small penis driving their big boys toys.

Has anyone else noticed how big boys toys are so frequently driven by tossers with small penises? 

Shades wrote:

Yep; crap overtaking. Bad driving......but tbh how sh*t is that cycling.  Grinding away (looked a bit uphill) in grey, damp conditions with traffic thundering by at +60mph.  If I want to get close passed, harassed and scared sh*tless by motorists.....

Yeah cos sh1t riding is all about being out on a hill in the wet when every fule know that it is impossible to ride uphill when raining. The temerity...

Would the conditions you have described not suggest that the driver, oh I don't know, slow down? Especially the condition of having a vulnerable road user in front....

There is a cycle path on the other side of the road which runs from the Marston/Salt turn off to just before the roundabout just before Stone. From the hockey club, the NCN5 follows a back road to Stafford Ring Road. A nice (if poorly paved) route IMHO, although slower than the main road. 

I use it frequently and while its okay to use, as there are few peds who also use it, I do with the local council would sweep it now and again as it is covered in grit/rubbish from the road. 

Personally, I would not use the road at that point but that's my choice. I have seen many cyclists using the dual carrageway without issue. 

I went from stafford to tittensor along the A34 and had absolutely no issues, every car that passed me was in the other lane well before nearing me and I was doing my part to maintain the highest sustainable speed to reduce how long I spent on the road. That said dual carriageways really do depend on the when and where in particular. I had decently clear skies until I left and the visibility was great the whole stretch, but I wouldn't dare ride the A50 through meir-fenton as it's a walled deathtrap IMHO, the A500 it connects with not much better, but both have stretches further along that are again great for riding because of the well distanced overtakes from considerate drivers.

paulrattew wrote:

Before anyone comments that riding on the dual carriageway is stupid, it's worth considering that if you want to ride between stafford and stone there aren't that many options that avoid the A34 without having to go many miles out of the way.

Between Stafford and Stone, NCN5 is 8.9 miles vs. 7.8 miles for the A34 - but NCN5 is a flatter route. So as cycling infrastructure goes in the UK, it's actually a reasonable alternative to the busy dual-carriageway.

I suspect it was more likely that the rider was travelling west-east on minor roads and unfortunately had to do a stretch of the A34 to link up their route.

If it is a proper Dual Carriageway the limit will be 70 for cars.

Not that it matters in case of dreadful driving. Zero excuses, just aggression and incompetence in one particularly unappealing package.

It's a signed 60 with several speed cameras along between Stafford and Stone. It was a 70 until five years or so ago.

paulrattew wrote:

The A34 there is pretty horrible. Dual carriageway which means that even though the speed limit is 60 most traffic (when its not snarled up) is going much faster. 

Unless there is a specific restriction on that stretch, the National Speed Limit for dual carriageways is 70mph, not 60mph.  

That's why I find cycling on dual carriageways so scary-  even if a car gives you a good 2m passing distance, something whizzing past at 70mph is just too brown trouser making even if objectively pretty safe.

rjfrussell wrote:

Unless there is a specific restriction on that stretch, the National Speed Limit for dual carriageways is 70mph, not 60mph.  

And you can clearly see such a restriction in the video.

I recently rode that stretch and it varies, I went through patches of 60mph, 50mph and 40mph sections along the A34 when heading up to tittensor. But I also got decently quiet traffic with pleasant weather and everyone who passed me was already in the other lane well before they neared me. I tried my best but I could only maintain between 20-28mph, so at least wasn't going 10-16mph where I face the worst overtakes inside towns and cities.