This morning's commute and other commuting stories

The other day in a supermarket I overheard a cyclist recounting a story to a friend. Riding down a main road, an approaching car turned right into their path. The driver was looking down (maybe at a phone, maybe at a radio) and by the time they looked and realised what was about to happen the only option left to them or instinctive reaction was to slam the brakes on. The car behind them went into the back of them. Driver number one then jumped out and said/shouted to the cyclist "you caused that!"
The cyclist didn't stick around and continued their journey. Should the cyclist have hung around?
Both drivers were female and the cyclist was black male if memory serves correct.

Both drivers were female and the cyclist was black male if memory serves correct.

bloody typical! tchoh!

Can't really see any reason for the cyclist to hang around - it's not their problem if one motorist decides to rear end another and I doubt they'd get any thanks for trying to help.

I would guess insurance claim will go in favour of the driver who braked as you are supposed to be able to stop within the distance available. Hence rear ending someone is automatically your fault.

What difference whatsoever did their genders or skin colours make?

Never mind skin colour, was he wearing a helmet? :)

To activate or provide supporting data to our hard wired prejudices innit.
Sounds like they were all in the wrong to me, tut tut! - M (White Male)

if he spat at you get police to take a dna swab, this counts as assault

sorry am a bit late to this

a few years ago a passenger in vehicle spat at me and i reported it to the police. the driver denied knowing who his passenger was, so nothing happened.

last year the police contacted me to say they had arrested the spitter on other charges (dna matched) and asked if i wished to press charges and i said yes. however it transpired it was now too late for a criminal case to take place

in your case this is recent and the driver can be identified

I'd be tempted to hang around to point and laugh.

If driver one was female and driver two was black I would hang around. If driver one was male and driver two was female and black I would probably do the same. If driver one was female and black and driver two was male and black then I'd hang around. If I was female and black and driver two was male and black and the first driver, what was the question again?

A helmet like this?

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Tbf mentioning that the two drivers were female was the black cyclists fault, @coppiThat was just trying to accurately pass on the story.

Would driver 1 have blamed the cyclist if he wasn't black?

i think they said that driver one was white and driver two was black. they were both wearing a helmet at the time of talking so i would assume so when riding at the time of the incident.

The rider might have offered his services as a witness, although given that at least one driver was intent on blaming him, it might have ended up as more hassle than it's worth. I once saw a driver rear-ending another on the Lea Bridge Road and stopped, explaining that I'd seen it and could be a witness. They both looked at me rather confusedly and said that they'd just swap insurance details and all was fine. As fault is quite clearly apportioned in cases of rear-end crashes, I suspect that in this case, too, it probably wasn't necessary to offer to be a witness.

@Col-De-Camberwell What happened? The van passed close, as it was a pinch-point (wide caravan parked, refuge in road) this isfairly understandable. perhaps if you completely blocked the lane in primary position you wouldn't have ended up feelng threatened by van-man's road position? Of course, a lot of drivers would take offence at this, esp where there 'loads of room'. It's a tricky road to cycle somehow because there's lots of room - the pinch points make needlessly narrow sections in an attempt to calm speeds, and there's lots of them so motors pass dangerously. Also it being 20mph seems to be odd to drivers (perhaps the wideness again) so it is routinely ignored at 35-45mph.

Watch for cars turning across you when going down the hill. A fair few have been taken out by those coming up the hill and turning off the main road across cyclists into Dumbarton Rd, they either misjudge cyclists speed as it's a hill or they just don't give a fuck and pull across anyway.

The long slog up Brixton Hill on the way home might be annoying sometimes and bus drivers will routinely dick you about on the hill as the bus garage is just a couple of stops more and they start to switch off. I come back more often via Cavendish Rd then Telford Avenue, if you are more into Streatham then the other one that goes around the edge of the common more and up by the station would be easier.

Good tips, thanks.

Quite enjoyed the slog up the hill on the way home - but I suspect grinding it out every day throughout the winter might get old. Think of the gainz tho...

Btw - coming from Brixton onto the CS7 at Oval today made me totally understand the impulse to use the main carriageway when the blue paint is busy. Slow going.

Pretty Hetchins parked at work, roomy roads and water fowl walking around.

Small town holiday commuting isn't so bad :)

This morning was perfection. Sunny, perfect temperature so no sweating, slight tail breeze wafting me along. Took the monster commuter on my off road route through Richmond Park then skirting round the bottom of Wimbledon Common. Always great to get a bit of a morning mountain bikey bit in before work. Bliss. Just wish I could go out and play the rest of the morning/afternoon.

So the Hammers are finally ensconced in their shiny new, mostly subsidised stadium. This has immediate repercussions on anyone commuting through Bow and Stratford on a match day and no mistake. CS lane absolutely full of claret zombies, shuffling home or clustering round previously condemned boozers. I eventually took to the road when my patient excuse mes and bell ringing were met with "ding ding cunt"... At which point another scratchy necked, grey sock wearing shit muffin in a kak coloured 90s beemer he'd presumably stashed in one of the nearby industrial streets leant on his horn while his polyester sporting, bubble blowing passenger told me to "use the fucking bike lane". All to the background tune of some song about Yids.

I hope you like your fucking multi million pound present you fucking witless arseholes!

0/10 will avoid again.

Don't worry, they'll be back down to their more realistic sub-10,000 attendances in no time. #oneoff

my erstwhile place of employ are westhamshire's primary sponsors. the company is owned by 4 jewish dudes - which may be ironic i don't even like the sports.

Expect the PC brigade on your back for the use of that word.

I'm quoting and am quite comfortable with my decision to do so in the context of my own obvious revulsion at it. But thanks for the heads up.

Context was pretty obvious as far as I can see. I'm a Millwall fan so I should probably offer to beat them up for you, but all that footie fan tribalism does my fucking nut in.