Why you should always assume the driver has not seen you

if they are going to be wound up by someone pointing at them, fuck em

"Eye contact generally works" - Sounds dangerously like you're ducking your own advice and relying on an assumption there, Oliver.

?

That's neither an assumption formally, nor in terms of its content (which is pretty orthodox and based on a lot of backing).

Assuming a driver will not stop has saved my ass so many times, and to think otherwise is ridiculous.
Trust he will stop ? or trust the driver to indicate and assume he drives completely error free ? No, you don't do that, it's something you just don't do, if you want to survive that is.
Preparing yourself on the "assumption" a car will pull out is pretty standard stuff, and like i said, it's saved me many many times.

Eye contact is optional

Have you had cycle training, Dylan?

I love how people instantly blame the person on the bike in the event of an accident. It's almost as if they're trying to describe themselves as some sort of fucking super human cyclist who never ever has accidents. Or something.

fair point...
But it tends to degenerate and spoils my Karmic state!

bike radar >>>>

A real issue that is developing is that of "A" post blind spots. Euro safety regs mean that cars must be able to sustain fairly dramatic roof impacts without structural failure. This has led to ever chunkier "A" posts which obscure vision two quadrants.

*Oliver:
Obviously, it is still better to assume that a driver hasn't seen you than to assume that they have seen you when they haven't, but making any kind of assumption in traffic is the mother off all mess-ups.

*Sureley even you will concede that that's a somewhat misleading statement, Oliver?
How can they both be the 'mother of all mess-ups'??
One worst case might get you through a junction with around 10 seconds delay, the other worst case might get you in hospital?

Whatever way you look at it, the cyclist was just passing the centre of the roundabout just before the car entered into the roundabout. Also where was the driver going? He seemed to be heading straight for the centre of the roundabout?

So easily avoided by the motorist with the most basic observation. Cyclist was going a bit fast though.

Also where was the driver going? He seemed to be heading straight for the centre of the roundabout?

Like I said, he was distracted by the car on his left which was also going for it. He looked left, thought "WTF?! OMG!!!" and missed the cyclist.
Driver on his left (our right) saw the cyclist and decided to drive straight through the roundabout knowing, that driver on his right (normally the one which has the right of way if there's no oncoming traffic) will stop giving way to the bicycle, because the was no other option for the cyclist than turn either in the road the elderly driver was coming from or cycle past him in opposite direction (sure there was always an option of cyclist making a u-turn on the roundabout and that's why both car should wait for their turn).

Assuming a driver will not stop has saved my ass so many times, and to think otherwise is ridiculous.
Trust he will stop ? or trust the driver to indicate and assume he drives completely error free ? No, you don't do that, it's something you just don't do, if you want to survive that is.
Preparing yourself on the "assumption" a car will pull out is pretty standard stuff, and like i said, it's saved me many many times.

Eye contact is optional

I suspect we are actually thinking the same way. It's just that I wouldn't say "assuming a driver will not stop". I would say that I don't assume he will stop; and I have a plan B if he doesn't. I think it's the same point but I am wary of the word assumption being used to describe what is actually, in both our cases, a fairly sophisticated approach born of experience. What you are describing, and the approach I advocate, is much more 'active' and thought-through than the word 'assumption' gives credit for. Certainly I never go on 'trust'. I really think we have the same view but maybe semantics has confused it. Also I think I know a little about how to survive cycling in London :)

Bad drivers assume that something smaller is also slower. It actually happens quite often on roundabouts.

I agree with will, if you know what you're getting into you know how to get out of it. In the OP example the guy froze when the car didn't stop, when I reckon, with a little foresight he might have maintained a bit of speed and sidestepped him.

Then you gotta know your limits. I take no risks aprat from negotiating empty ped crossings, after which do a tim henman fist punch in my head i'm so adrenal.

this was a sobering reminder to continue to ride super defensively here in london. i watched this at work, now i can't seem to concentrate on the task at hand.... ;p

^^ Or just don't ride too fast into junctions.

bike radar >>>>

This ^

^^ Or just don't ride too fast into junctions.

this.

surprised to see he didn't do the get up and walk around all embarrassed move

I have nothing useful to comment on this video except, except that this is just up the road from me, and, as has been previously mentioned, the road layout is a total charlie foxtrot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvJBNiEVSug

Oooof!

Sorry if a repost, but didn't see this on here yet!

6 threads down - they should have slowed down IMO.

ah, my searches for 'crash' 'headcam' 'head on' weren't much use then.....

Course he should have slowed down. WTF was he doing? Yeah I know he has right of way blah de blah but in that instance you always have to assume the car is going to pull out. Either slow down or get right over onto pretty much the other side of the roundabout, so you go straight over it, that way the driver has a better idea of your intentions.

He seemed reasonably ok though, which is the main thing

The way he reaches for his (presumably smashed up) mouth made me cringe...won't be whizzing over roundabouts on my way home tonight...

it sounds like he shouts in japaneze or something.
but i hate it when he breaths out and blood is spattered over his arm

I agree he should have slowed down for the roundabout i'm pretty sure that is in the highway code. That car looked suspect from first sight though the scary thing is the driver probably didn't even see the cyclist a "you came from nowhere" event. I'll definitely watch out for car reg.R809 WRA when approaching roundabouts though.

Hope the cyclist is okay now and no long term damage.