Give me a metre!
Went for a ride today - such a beautiful day to do it!! Said hello to the swans down the Torrens and popped into the LBS to pick up a pair of BBB sunnies. The one downfall of my day is that some crazy guy in a white van didn't bloomin well give me a metre and nearly knocked me off as he zoomed past, thank God for my awesome ninja reflexes which came in handy! ;) I wish I could've got his number plate to report him but he was dodging through traffic so he was out of view!
The lesson here folks is to please share the road and give bike riders a metre. We just want to exercise and enjoy being outside. We'll do our part and wear high vis clothing and hand signal.
:P
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Richard on -
Maybe you need them new style bar ends Hannah, you know, the ones with the chainsaw built in?
I feel your frustration though. I had a bus come flying past me the other day, nearly hitting me, pull sharply across in front of me, nearly clipping my front wheel, then standing hard on the brakes so he could get into the bus stop he was aiming for. Idiot. I could have stopped to get his number (should have stopped), but my heart was racing too hard and I just cycled on. I no longer stop to discuss the issue as I've found that my language does little to improve the situation.
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Permalink Reply by Hannah Cursaro on -
Hahaha!! Definitely need the chainsaw!! Somehow I don't think the police would let me get away with it!
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Permalink Reply by Chris Hutchinson on -
Yes agreed! Have my "Metre Matters" sticker on my car...tonite driving down Chandlers Hill Road...did the right thing & overtook a cyclist giving him the wide berth...only to have him tailgate me the full distance on the downhill from the intersection with Sugarloaf Rd to the roundabout. He was a metre or so from the rear of my car. There are a lot of tight corners on this descent. I was driving at 60kms or less on the bends and found it very disconcerting that he was behind me like that. I may be a 'cycling aware' driver.....but a quick touch on my brakes he would have been roadkill no matter how good a cyclist he thinks he is? There are idiots all around on the road
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Permalink Reply by Clive Palfrey on -
Unfortunately Hannah, the 1 Metre reccomendation is not law
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Permalink Reply by MARK FERGUSON (SPARTACUS) on -
It should be law!
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Permalink Reply by Mike Brisco on -
Yes it should be law.
For reasons that need not concern us here ... I happen to have in front of me, a table listing all demerit point offences on SA roads. Offences "overtaking when not safe to do so" (2 demerit points) contravenes section 140, Australian road rules; "Failing to keep safe distance when overtaking".(2 demerit points) contravenes section 144.
As said, law doesnt specify what distance is safe - but there is this. P1 drivers get, or used to get, a State government booklet on additional skills. It recommended drivers keep a 'safety cushion' of 1.2 m clear on all sides. So 1.2 m, while not exactly in law, is a State govt recommendation....
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Permalink Reply by Hannah Cursaro on
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Agreed it should be law!!!
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Permalink Reply by Keith Davies on -
My recent experience was a 4wheel drive and trailer. The vehicle passed ok but the driver didnt allow for the trailer being wider as he pulled across in front. A very close one !!!
Agree the 1 Metre should be law
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Permalink Reply by Craig Button on
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Try riding in the country where we are on the Yorke Peninsula and the idiot drivers from Adelaide passing you at 110km and not being able to cross the dotted white lines on the road for some reason and not giving you room. The locals are fantastic and they get on the other side of the road no worries. WAKE UP PEOPLE. On a Sunday morning no cars for 30 minutes and this idiot missed me by half a metre. Then not another car for 25 minutes. DH.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Palfrey on
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@Keith A frequant occurence with caravans I find and all too often tradey trailers which I often suspect is a deliberate act, just judgeing from the smirks I can see in the rear view mirrors from driver and passenger alike.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Brisco on
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Some ideas (A)rear view mirror, to keep an eye on drivers closing to overtake (b) ride slightly out, giving room to move left if a car's too close. NB - P1 driver training, suggests drivers keep a 1.2 m "cushion of safety" all round their car - a bit like personal space. Front, back and to both sides. The driver who zoomed past, gets a 'fail' for that, and hopefully a few demerit points.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Murray on -
Yep both these are good. I definitely find the mirror useful for keeping an eye on what is coming up behind me. My main issue is the drivers who don't seem to understand why I am leaving a metre to the parked cars on my left. Sometimes I just risk it and tuck into the door zone at the last minute as I am being overtaken.
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