Police spotting (junction watch)

Read the pdf - It's a reasonably good (and, as far as I know, still current) coverage of your rights when it comes to police stop & searches.

True ^

Anyway, here's an example I prepared earlier.

The cycle lane starts on the far left and then shifts to the right, via three blobs of blue paint, before continuing in between two lanes of traffic.

In this same 30-metre stretch of road that cyclists are being asked to move to the right, drivers wanting to turn left at the junction ahead are being filtered across the cycle lane. This is utter madness.

The whole situation, of course, is made worse by drivers inevitably but illegally doing 50mph.

Happily, there is a set of traffic lights (not pictured) shortly before this known accident blackspot. By jumping that red light (if the road is clear) I can comfortably make it across that 30-metre stretch and live to tell the tale.

Start from the middle, take the lane, make eye contact (if possible) with anyone who looks like they might pull across.

It's not infallible, but if you position yourself square in the middle of the lane and are aware of what is going on around you that junction is 100% fine.

Not one of the solutions posted so far, Ed's included, is safer than jumping the red light (if the road ahead is clear).

Gambling my safety on drivers a) seeing me and b) slowng down to allow me to merge into much faster traffic, is laughable in rush hour and fanciful any other time.

Again, Cycle Training will help massively in boosting your confident in being able to change lane without worried about getting hit by drivers.

You just need to be more assertive, look back, put your left arm out high and straight, then change lane from primary to primary when there's a sensible gap.

If you're in secondary, you're significantly less visible than you are in front of the car.

Like I said earlier, drivers are not out to hit you, good communication is keys, as Dammit said earlier, eyes contact is vital, you don't even need to try and lock your eyes with the driver's in order to fall in love and have homosexual babies, just looking back is powerful enough.

14 years ago i was run over and nearly killed on this stretch of road.

On the other side of those railings where that car is to the left of the white lorry is the exact spot where a berk in a red Vauxhall Astra piled straight into the back of me and sent me and the Cannondale flying forward into the air. lucky for me he knew how to brake because as i looked up from the tarmac i saw his radiator grille coming right at my head!

I escaped with a crushed 'dale, torn clothing and a broken Scaphoid (wrist bone).

It transpired that the chap who rammed into my bike had been road raging behind me with a Nigerian mini-cab driver (who sped off) and when he resumed looking at the road ahead encountered myself...

That was the late 1990's since then Lambeth Council's toytown planners have made that stretch along Kennington Park road to the Oval and the left filter to Brixton road even worse.

So yeah I'm with Diamond on this, trust your own instincts and not any other bugger out there.

It is also the 1990's were the risk is much higher than it is now.

No harm in taking cycle training events if you been riding for a long time.

The 90's was well risky.

The 90's what?

All of it, just a downright risky decade. People died in the 90's, have some respect. RIP Diana.

^^^^ Ed are you really suggesting that cycle training will protect someone from being driven into by a driver who is not paying attention?

Yeah, it gives you a kind of spidey sence known as scobley sense, you'd anticipate getting hit from behind and hop off to the side, over a fence and land in primary going the other direction.

if you're off doing cycle training then you're not even going to be in the way of the car in the first place are you...

^ Ed are you really suggesting that cycle training will protect someone from being driven into by a driver who is not paying attention?

Quite possibly, neither not taking cycle training will either.

Just one of those scenario where you're in an unfortunate situation with no way out (except maybe a delorean, or a polo bike).

^^^^ Ed are you really suggesting that cycle training will protect someone from being driven into by a driver who is not paying attention?

Cycle training works by reducing the marginal risk across all elements of riding, from basic control, enabling a person to react quicker to someone's poor driving because a trained cyclists will always have their brakes covered, to spotting an erratic driver behind because a trained cyclist will not be surprised and will be aware of what is going on around. So, while cycle training will not protect someone a trained cyclists may have an advantage in anticipating and reacting to a crap driver.

Most cycle trainers will remark how significantly their riding style changed after training and how they have less conflict and move through traffic more efficiently than before they were trained

^

Just one of those scenario where you're in an unfortunate situation with no way out (except maybe a delorean, or a polo bike).

This was my point. The idea that when you have cycle training you magically become safer is hilarious. You may become a better rider, but fundamentally the other people out there are still the major risk. Sometimes you're just SOL and no amount of training will save you

Quite possibly, neither not taking cycle training will either.

Quite possibly, but not taking cycle training wouldn't either
(not having a go, but you requested clarification rather than lolz from TS
feel free to tell me to >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> )

People died in the 90's what?

The 90's period of time.

I'n th'e 9'0's man'y people' 'died'

Yeah, I got that, think I got out of it though.

'

Oh, the ninetie's. Why didn't you just say so?

This was my point. The idea that when you have cycle training you magically become safer is hilarious.

No, you don't, you just get better at reducing the risk.

Yeah, the nine teas.

Why the fuck don't the police do something more worthwhile and start handing out penalty notices for crimes against the apostrophe?

it really winds me up when people misuse apostrophe's

I couldn't give a fuck's fuck.

FFS - "For fuck sake", "For fuck's sake", or "For fucks' sake"?

fer fuck's sake