(no subject)

[lethargic_man]

I came off my bike outside the entrance to the "Media Village" car park on my way in this morning. I was approaching the lower T-junction on the linked map along the left hand branch, which is a dead end ending where the red car is; a van was approaching from the lower branch. Assuming it was turning right, I started overtaking it on the right, so I could go through the right hand security barrier whilst it was going through the left hand one.

Only it wasn't turning right. It was doing a U-turn, straight into my path. I only avoided either it hitting me or me hitting it by standing on my brakes so hard I fell off my bike. The driver was apologetic, and got out to make sure I was okay, and the security people came hurrying up too; fortunately, because my landing was under my control, my only injury were minor scrape to my legs.

My question is: do you think the van driver was in the wrong here, or that I was, that both of us were, or that neither of us was, and I was just unlucky? I suspect I was actually in the driver's blind spot for most of the manoeuvre, though not whilst both of us were originally approaching the junction. I may, however, not yet have joined the road (from the pedestrian/cycle path going the opposite way along the M40, with a fence in between) at the point at which he last looked left...

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ETA: I was wrong to assume my bike undamaged. I managed to shear off the derailleur on the way home. Unbe-infix-lievable. 400 miles. That's how long it took me to trash my new bike. :-(

Comments

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I'm having a hard time visualising exactly what happened - 'Assuming it was turning right, I started overtaking it on the right' sounds like a receipe for a collision.

No, it was coming in from my right, I was assuming it was turning right to go the same direction as me.

What I should have done, and normally do do, is assume once I'm in a driver's blind spot they instantly forget about my existence. That's a strategy which has saved me more than once.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

I've always found that driving as if everyone else will drive like an idiot is a reasonably accurate assumption...