I'm sure most of you will remember my Oil Tanker incident which occured in March 2008. It was a horrible incident that unfortunately, due to technical issues never went to court.
Unfortunately, this morning I suffered a very similar incident in exactly the same place. This time instead of being icy it was pouring with rain. It was an HGV, although this time a tipper truck instead of an oil tanker. I came on at the same junction, I was well on the roundabout, more so than last time and the HGV pulled straight out. Had I not stopped on this occasion I would have been run over with the cab.
He did slow down a bit, gave a bit of a wave and drove off. He saw me all right. No question there.
There were plenty of drivers around who witnessed it, but they drove off.
So there I was stuck in the middle of the roundabout completely dazed and absolutely furious that the same thing could happen again.
I swore a lot and once the adrenalin had worn off, I was a bit shaken.
Of course, I'm no ordinary cyclist, I am a helmet camera cyclist, so I have it all on video, front and back. Interestingly, this time, due to the angle I ended up at, it is the rear footage which demonstrates how close it was better than the front. I know the name of the company that operates the HGV and I have it's registration. I even have a GPS trace showing my position and speed on approach to the roundabout. So the video has been edited and the police have been informed. Of course, with it being a weekend it will probably be a day or so before they have time to see me, which is fair enough.
So where is the video? It is on YouTube, but it will remain unlisted for the time being. I am determined to do this one by the book, so it may be a while before it is released for general consumption. Sorry.
On the bright side, that is two HGV drivers who have done their best to wipe me off the planet and two that have failed. Perhaps, contrary to what my 'fans' suggest, I am actually riding a bike in a way that allows me to avoid collision.
I've decided that a slight change to my route is in order. I can come to that roundabout via a different direction. I'm not going to let that happen again.
After today hope I still have a few lives left.
Oh well, third time lucky...
ReplyDeleteWhat an utterly idiotic cock the first commenter is, obviously didn't get enough 'special love' from his step sad last night
ReplyDeleteGrr! I changed my own route about a year ago to a longer one due to trouble spots. I resisted a for a long time, saying "Why should I be the one to change, the few who make it dangerous should be the ones who have to change something!" but finally changed my route anyway.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about this. I have had a few worrying moments myself this week, after a peaceful few months of cycling. I hope that this time you get a more positive outcome from police, etc. Keep us posted and stay safe!
ReplyDeleteRe the first comment. Are you too worried to give your name/moniker when joking about such things? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteHope the proceedings go better this time. Will be interesting to see how this one .
This has happened to me several times, at the same place on a particular roundabout which I have to use every day. It feels like I'm not a real person in their eyes. I am sure they would give a pedestrian more respect
ReplyDelete