Photo: Facebook / Idiot UK Drivers
Drivers get a lot of flak whenever they’re involved in an accident they’re responsible for because they were on their phone at the time it happened. Turns out, cyclists do, too.
Footage captured by a rear dashcam in England, and posted to the Facebook group Idiot UK Drivers Exposed (and many others like it), is causing quite a controversy online, mixing outrage at the cycling-and-texting on the man’s part and disbelief at the stupidity of the accident. You can see at the bottom of the page.
The video shows a cyclist in the distance, clearly absorbed by whatever is going on on his phone. He makes a turn and navigates his way towards the stationary car, and not once does he look up from his mobile. He does that just as he’s about to crash, one second too late: he hits the back of the car hard and is sent forward with his head into the windshield, which shatters to pieces.
The idea of the video is, obviously, to show that cyclists can also be idiots. They drive and text, too, and they tend to do many other reckless things on the road, which leads to all sorts of accidents. This guy seems to be one of them, apparently so engrossed by his phone that he doesn’t even consider the fact that he’s still on a busy road and that it’s night, so visibility is reduced.
In other words, you can’t blame commenters who have rushed to call him out for his gesture, demanding that he be made to pay for the damage he caused, even if he doesn’t have insurance – like a car driver does, for example.
Then there’s the question of whether the video is legit. For one, it looks as if the car backs into the cyclist at the last moment, since the rear lights go on at some point and are reflected onto the cyclist’s clothes. Secondly, it doesn’t look as if the phone of the cyclist emits any glare, which would only make sense if it was shut down. Last but not least, the windshield breaks all too easily.
This video could be a fake, set up for some show or to generate traffic online. Even if that turns out to be true, there’s still a lesson to be learned here: don’t cycle / drive and text. It’s never safe and never smart.
The video shows a cyclist in the distance, clearly absorbed by whatever is going on on his phone. He makes a turn and navigates his way towards the stationary car, and not once does he look up from his mobile. He does that just as he’s about to crash, one second too late: he hits the back of the car hard and is sent forward with his head into the windshield, which shatters to pieces.
The idea of the video is, obviously, to show that cyclists can also be idiots. They drive and text, too, and they tend to do many other reckless things on the road, which leads to all sorts of accidents. This guy seems to be one of them, apparently so engrossed by his phone that he doesn’t even consider the fact that he’s still on a busy road and that it’s night, so visibility is reduced.
In other words, you can’t blame commenters who have rushed to call him out for his gesture, demanding that he be made to pay for the damage he caused, even if he doesn’t have insurance – like a car driver does, for example.
Then there’s the question of whether the video is legit. For one, it looks as if the car backs into the cyclist at the last moment, since the rear lights go on at some point and are reflected onto the cyclist’s clothes. Secondly, it doesn’t look as if the phone of the cyclist emits any glare, which would only make sense if it was shut down. Last but not least, the windshield breaks all too easily.
This video could be a fake, set up for some show or to generate traffic online. Even if that turns out to be true, there’s still a lesson to be learned here: don’t cycle / drive and text. It’s never safe and never smart.
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