“Sorry, mate, didn’t see you there” is what this London cyclist must have heard as he was trying to pick himself and his bike off the ground. And if you’re the kind of man who insists on commuting on his bike in Great Britain’s great capital city, you’re probably used to this situation already.
Back in 2013, there was a period of two weeks in November when six cyclists were killed in traffic accidents throughout the city. People protested, they organized huge “die-ins” in front of Transport for London’s headquarters, they requested 10% of each borough’s transport budget to be used for cycling infrastructure and hoped things would improve eventually. Two years on and London is still the kind of place where you just can’t get bored as a cyclist.
There’s always a bus to watch out for - you do share the same lane, after all - a driver who forgets to use the indicator as they turn left, and pedestrians who can’t be bothered to look out for vehicles that don’t have a solid metal body and weigh less than a ton. It keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure.
This clip shows a small and largely benign portion of what can happen when you decide to pedal through London. It’s probably not the best example as the cyclist is half at fault here as well, but let’s just focus on the other half of the guilt that belongs to the driver.
The first mistake the rider does is position himself too far back while waiting at the stop. One of the first rules, when you start cycling in a city, is to try and keep yourself out of the drivers’ blind spot. This cyclist seems to do the exact opposite, staying in that narrow cone throughout the entire length of the video.
Then, the Porsche switches on its indicator, signaling he’s about to pull over on the left (this is England, remember, so they drive on the other side of the road). Of course he’s supposed to let the cyclist pass, but he will only do that if he can see him. The man on the bike, however, has a clear view of what’s happening, so he should exercise caution and be ready to brake. Instead, he just maintains the same speed as the car, making it very hard for the sports car’s driver to spot him.
Finally, when the contact is inevitable, he puts his hand on the car instead of keeping them on the handle and focusing on maintaining his balance and applying the brakes. He even seems to take a nasty fall, failing to extend his leg and cushion the hit.
Having said all this, the driver is still the only one who’s legally at fault here.
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