What's a Vokswagen? 
Mk1/Mk2 Golf's are, in good condition, otherwise nah
Mk1/Mk2 Golf's are
, in good condition, otherwise nah
What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
- Thread starter dave
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What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
What's a Vokswagen?
Mk1/Mk2 Golf's are
Mk2's where questionably cool:chin: Cool is in the eye of the observer. :wave:
Mk3 and 4 where basically terrible and the same car, the Mk5 started to get things right again and they nailed it with the mk6 (especially once they cut the roof off
) Then changed the rules again for the 7 and 8..... A mk7.5 R with a Revo Kit and Lamborghini scaring performance is still very cool, as are a lot of the Clubsport cars.
As someone who has owned some cool cars at least you're in a position to have an opinion,
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The only reason they don't still make a Punto is because the bloke in charge ran the company quite badly.
Because they still make the Golf
Granted, I'll give you mk1 and mk2s are ok, but only if they're left in standard spec: chav cars are always naff!What's a Vokswagen? [emoji14]
Mk1/Mk2 Golf's are
I've softened to them mainly as each Golf/leon/polo is not a Tiguan..or T-roc or a kamiq..or a T-wat or whatever the next VW group parts bin suv with a name pulled from a scrabble bag is called.
Also the rest of the industry has moved to the business of "build 100 mechanically identical models and price them differently based on seat fabric" so can't really pillory them that either. Pricing structure and options list still amounts to bait and switch though. The man who decided options should be in packs so wanting one thing requires 3 unrelated things can go a long way away...
Could be worse though, I watched a review of the PSE 508 the other day..that's a 50 odd grand car. I recognise interior parts (not tiny ones things you use every day) from the C3, and the software on the dashboard is clearly just a reskin of what is in the C3 as well.
The thing that made me laugh is I noticed the button missing on the panel next to the wheel the C3 has, it has interior alarm deactivation, stop start, and Lane assist controls for child locks on it. On the estate 508...you'd imagine family car..Child lock button missing, and sure enough you can see the key hole to switch them on when he opens the back door.
So 50k car..manual child locks 14k car you can switch them from the drivers seat.
The way I see it at the bottom of the tree you're getting a decent deal but when you're paying 30k+ for the same **** then not so much.
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Tbh, vw design just leaves me cold. Peugeot design is just plain naff these days. Citroen design is generally better, and I'm hoping that they'll let Fiat do the best job they can with the components they'll have to use. Hopefully, they'll also let Fiat style their cars, and if Fiat is marketed as the value for money brand, they'll also let Fiat have proper buttons for things, rather than lumbering them with that crummy touchscreen!!
Doubtful as the touch screen is cheaper than buttons...hence why VW are going nuts for them at the moment. Once you've got a basic system in place you can just skin it as required for the brand of vehicle it is sitting in and add more or less things depending on the trim level.
Flipside of that is PSA have since developed physical climate controls that work with the touch screen, they are in the Corsa and the new C4 so the stuff is in the parts bin.
But you literally wouldn't want or need a button for 98% of what the touchscreen has on it, it's all stuff you'd set to your preference and then leave. All the stuff you need short notice has a physical button. The journos tend to bang on the about the difficulty..but they also demonstrate it by using the touchscreen in an absolutely unnatural way.
Eg. "Look how many button presses this takes to set the fan and temperature" I concede it does the way they do it...but it has climate control and remembers what your last setting was.
So why every time you get of the car are you going to set the temperature to minimum and switch the fan off? Switch the engine off, it goes off, start the car it starts on the settings you had last time. It has Climate control, if you're messing with it multiple times a trip you lack a basic understanding of climate control.
Literally all you need to do..press "auto" first time you sit in the car and set your desired temperature but that's not something a journo has ever mentioned.
The sum total of interaction should be knock it up or down a degree or 2 if you have coat on or not. You can actually tell it if you want it to heat/cool the car slowly so the fans are quiet, or aggressively chase the desired temperature using as much fan speed as it likes or go somewhere between the two (one of those things again you set once as a preference).
You could say why do you need this? The point it's there because they'll be using the same ecus and bcm so you might as well have control over it.
On Wednesday, with the libraries now open for appointed visiting and with both of us having books to return, Mrs J and I decided to visit the Drum Brae Library Hub. It's a wee way from our home so gives Becky a bit of a run out. Near the library there is a long steep hill to climb with no chance of a run at it so quite large throttle openings needed and it was good to find that, now with her new thermostat fitted, she pulled better up this hill than she ever has since we bought her.
The library visit went well with both of us finding a number of books we'd not read (don't visit this branch often though) and me finding a couple of authors I've not previously read: Gareth Powell and Dominic Dulley - both looking like promising Space Opera tales.
Then off we went on the return journey with all going well until we ran into a very long tail back traffic jam on Ferry Road which started before the Morrisons junction. We steadily crept along probably averaging about 10 mph in 2nd gear at tickover revs. Along past the supermarket opening, past the car wash, past the playing fields on the right, all at a pretty steady 8 to 10 mph. Now the road ahead drops very slightly letting me see all the way past the used car garage to the junction at Golden Acre, and it's solid all the way - I later found out they're doing major road works at the junction. Well, there's a road on the left here which allows us to cut down towards the sea and along to come up past the junction where we can turn into our road, so I decide to go this way.
Now for the "dodgy" bit. Very recently our council has installed big rubber blocks bolted to the ground with vertical poles sticking up out of them down both sides of this road to make a dedicated cycle lane. This lane is wide enough that maybe 3, certainly 2, bicycles could ride abreast but has substantially reduced the driving to one lane for cars - what you do if you break down I don't know because there is no way to get over these blocks and out of the traffic flow, you'll just be blocking the traffic 'till the breakdown truck comes. Ferry Road is one of the relatively few really flat roads in Edinburgh so bicycles can maintain a goodly speed along these lanes.
These days I'm not at all an aggressive driver, I'd much rather give way to others rather than contest a point and I frequently check my rear view mirror ("Old Mr Scott", who taught me to drive all those years ago was very hot on using your mirrors and it's just stuck with me) Pretty much at any time, if you put a hand over my rear view mirror and said "what's behind"? I would be able to tell you. So as we are approaching this left turn off the main road, I'm checking both my interior and door mirrors including the N/S door mirror. Maybe 25 yards from the junction I indicate left and as I start to turn I'm still checking mirrors - which are clear - as Mrs J shouts "LOOK OUT"! whilst at the same time there is a loud screeching noise (That distinct dry brake block noise bikes make). Of course I immediately mentally register "That's bike brakes - but where is he?" as I hammer on the brakes.
Because we are moving so slowly the stop is virtually instantaneous so my front N/S tyre comes to a stop on the line delineating the cycle lane - so I'm not really in the cycle lane yet - and the cyclist stops, in a straight line, level with my front wing - no contact. The poor man was obviously upset and reacted by flooding us with an absolute torrent of criticism about - well, you can guess? - I apologized unreservedly and made sure he was unharmed, then apologized again for the fright he'd suffered. Eventually he rode on and we completed our turn and ultimately got home but I was still shaking as we went in the front door.
On reflection the incident could have been much worse than it was if it weren't for us being in such slow moving traffic which enabled me to stop before Becky had entered the bike lane. I've been wondering how I can have missed seeing him and I believe, with us toddling along at a pretty steady 8 to 10 mph that's probably exactly the speed he would have been cruising along at and he'd probably been sitting in the cycle lane level with my back wheel but invisible in my mirror because the cycle lane allowed him to be much further away from me - towards the kerb - than if the cycle lane had not been there. So, in effect, he'd been cruising along, at the same speed as us, in my blind spot for some time.
In conclusion the whole unpleasant, and potentially dangerous, incident could have been completely avoided if I'd looked over my left shoulder, like in my motor cycling days, instead of relying on the mirrors. This experience has left me very upset, after all I was definitely at fault and the outcome could have been horrendous. I am now totally resolved that from now on I won't be doing a left turn, especially over one of these cycle lanes - which they are building all over our fair city just now, without physically looking over my left shoulder!
The library visit went well with both of us finding a number of books we'd not read (don't visit this branch often though) and me finding a couple of authors I've not previously read: Gareth Powell and Dominic Dulley - both looking like promising Space Opera tales.
Then off we went on the return journey with all going well until we ran into a very long tail back traffic jam on Ferry Road which started before the Morrisons junction. We steadily crept along probably averaging about 10 mph in 2nd gear at tickover revs. Along past the supermarket opening, past the car wash, past the playing fields on the right, all at a pretty steady 8 to 10 mph. Now the road ahead drops very slightly letting me see all the way past the used car garage to the junction at Golden Acre, and it's solid all the way - I later found out they're doing major road works at the junction. Well, there's a road on the left here which allows us to cut down towards the sea and along to come up past the junction where we can turn into our road, so I decide to go this way.
Now for the "dodgy" bit. Very recently our council has installed big rubber blocks bolted to the ground with vertical poles sticking up out of them down both sides of this road to make a dedicated cycle lane. This lane is wide enough that maybe 3, certainly 2, bicycles could ride abreast but has substantially reduced the driving to one lane for cars - what you do if you break down I don't know because there is no way to get over these blocks and out of the traffic flow, you'll just be blocking the traffic 'till the breakdown truck comes. Ferry Road is one of the relatively few really flat roads in Edinburgh so bicycles can maintain a goodly speed along these lanes.
These days I'm not at all an aggressive driver, I'd much rather give way to others rather than contest a point and I frequently check my rear view mirror ("Old Mr Scott", who taught me to drive all those years ago was very hot on using your mirrors and it's just stuck with me) Pretty much at any time, if you put a hand over my rear view mirror and said "what's behind"? I would be able to tell you. So as we are approaching this left turn off the main road, I'm checking both my interior and door mirrors including the N/S door mirror. Maybe 25 yards from the junction I indicate left and as I start to turn I'm still checking mirrors - which are clear - as Mrs J shouts "LOOK OUT"! whilst at the same time there is a loud screeching noise (That distinct dry brake block noise bikes make). Of course I immediately mentally register "That's bike brakes - but where is he?" as I hammer on the brakes.
Because we are moving so slowly the stop is virtually instantaneous so my front N/S tyre comes to a stop on the line delineating the cycle lane - so I'm not really in the cycle lane yet - and the cyclist stops, in a straight line, level with my front wing - no contact. The poor man was obviously upset and reacted by flooding us with an absolute torrent of criticism about - well, you can guess? - I apologized unreservedly and made sure he was unharmed, then apologized again for the fright he'd suffered. Eventually he rode on and we completed our turn and ultimately got home but I was still shaking as we went in the front door.
On reflection the incident could have been much worse than it was if it weren't for us being in such slow moving traffic which enabled me to stop before Becky had entered the bike lane. I've been wondering how I can have missed seeing him and I believe, with us toddling along at a pretty steady 8 to 10 mph that's probably exactly the speed he would have been cruising along at and he'd probably been sitting in the cycle lane level with my back wheel but invisible in my mirror because the cycle lane allowed him to be much further away from me - towards the kerb - than if the cycle lane had not been there. So, in effect, he'd been cruising along, at the same speed as us, in my blind spot for some time.
In conclusion the whole unpleasant, and potentially dangerous, incident could have been completely avoided if I'd looked over my left shoulder, like in my motor cycling days, instead of relying on the mirrors. This experience has left me very upset, after all I was definitely at fault and the outcome could have been horrendous. I am now totally resolved that from now on I won't be doing a left turn, especially over one of these cycle lanes - which they are building all over our fair city just now, without physically looking over my left shoulder!
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The tiny mirrors on Pandas don't help much.
With any collision, or near miss, there are at least two parties involved. One person may have made a mistake, but in most situations, the other has done little to prevent the occurrence.
You've done your best. The cyclist meanwhile, is approaching a left junction. Any car on his right may turn left, so he should be alert for signs of this, signals are a good sign of course, but also changes of speed or direction can help anticipate changes. (You know all this of course, but sadly most do not. (I spend my working life with experienced drivers, few of which scan or anticipate.) Cyclist should also be looking into your mirror. If he cannot see your face, you cannot see him.
How's your hearing? Perhaps if you truned down that thumping music, you'd have heard his bell.
If you ever have a similar experience, your apology should include, "sorry, you must have been in my blind spot, could you see my face in my mirror, and so sorry, I didn't hear your bell."
No harm done. Some learning taken, all good. Keep smiling.
Thanks PB, that's cheered me up no end!
My hearing unaided is not great, mostly don't hear high pitched noises. Without them in I live in a world without birdsong! However I wear them all day long, only removing them to sleep or shower etc, so with them in my hearing is as good as anyone's. Also rarely have the radio on in the car as I actually like to listen to all the wee noises as you're driving along.
Bell? What bell? Cyclists seem to have forgotten they exist. I know this because on my walks on the city walkways I'm frequently "frightened" by cyclists, at some speed, skimming past me so close that sometimes they actually clip a coat sleeve etc. None seem to have bells and when I look, and I make a point of it now just out of curiosity, I can see no bell on their handlebars.
I do have sympathy for this chap but his reaction was pretty extreme and aggressive considering all he was forced to do was brake sharply. If I had chosen not to "eat humble pie" I think a physical confrontation could have easily been invoked. I know what he's on about though as I used to cycle to work every day when I was younger and have had some really heart stopping moments caused by incompetent/uncaring motorists. For instance I've been knocked onto the pavement no less than 3 times by buses partially overtaking and then pulling in to a bus stop before clearing my front wheel and I once suffered injury when a though less woman threw her door wide, without looking, right in front of me and I collided with it. I was very lucky to only suffer light abrasions with this as it threw me right out into the middle of the road, fortunately no vehicles were approaching at the time.
There's a massive push on here just now building dedicated cycle lanes all over the city. There are these physically delineated ones with the blocks and poles as I've mentioned but also, more commonly, there are lanes separated from the vehicles only by a solid white line. I recently discovered that it's an offence to cross that solid line! Even if the car in front of you is, perhaps, held up trying to make a right turn so you can only proceed by going round him on his N/S which would mean putting two wheels over that solid line! Apparently you can be booked if you do this? I know it's all in the interests of emissions and the environment but I do wonder about the amount of money being spent for the relatively small usage of these cycle lanes that seems to be apparent - typically we'll see less than a dozen, often a lot less, cyclists using these lanes on one of our outings to child mind at one of my boys, mostly they are empty of users.
Whilst on the subject, we come back into town through the Royal Park (Holyrood) from the commonwealth pool down to the Palace. It's quite a long way and downhill all the way with a statutory 20mph limit. It's really common for bikes to overtake you going quite a bit faster than you going down that hill. Surely bicycles are subject to speed restrictions just like anyone else? Also, whilst walking out of the main entrance at the Newhaven Asda a wee while ago I was very narrowly missed by a woman on a cycle going ridiculously fast. There is a really wide paved pedestrian area at this door and she was using this as a shortcut instead of the road. And just to complete the moan, It's not that unusual to see cyclists riding through a junction when the "green man" is illuminated for pedestrians - I don't think they are allowed to do that are they? Although I might actually make an argument that it is quite a good idea to keep them safe as long as they don't mow down the pedestrians.
A bell is recommended on a bicycle, but few fit them. Then they moan when we do not know they are there. No sympathy from here. We all have a responsibility to keep us all safe, but we all also have a duty to manage our own risk. Falling under a car when he could have anticipated the actions, and reduced speed or given an audible warning for me puts as much responsibility for any such collision on him as the other party involved.
Any solid white line carries the same rules, do not touch or cross, except to enter or exit premises, a side road, or to pass a stationary obstruction. Another vehicle waiting to turn does not count, as it is not 'stationary'. If it breaks down, then you can use the cycle lane to pass it.
Same applies to bus lanes. If someone is waiting to turn right, you can't cross a solid line into a bus lane to pass it.
There's a bus lane along the centre of a road in Swindon, as only buses can turn right at the next junction. If a bus going the other way stops at the bus stop, most cars will enter the bus lane to pass it. This is the same offence whether the bus lane is on the right or left.
Cyclists are bound by the road traffic act, same as other vehicles. Once the rider is astride the bicycle, it becomes a vehicle. But there is no law requiring them to fit a speedometer, so prosecuting them for speeding is difficult. It would require a witnessing police officer to attend court and give evidence. If found guilty, the fine is likely to be small, so just not worth the cost and effort. They mostly only prosecute cyclists if they cause injury.
I once got bleated at by a lycra-clad cyclist. Not wishing to have a conversation with him, I said, "I'm sorry, I'm unable to have a serious conversation, until you put some clothes on." He had no answer to that. End of discussion.
A further thought about bicycles being vehicles. Overtaking one on the zig-zags on the approach to a pedestrian crossing is the same offence as if overtaking any other vehicle. Worth £100/3 points.
Thanks for all of that PB. Bus lanes are a very hot subject up here with many of them being monitored by cameras and they seem to catch a lot of people. Because of this, even though they - the bus lanes - are only active for morning and afternoon rush hours, many people just don't drive in them at any time. I'm not very trustful of the technology, my thinking being that if the camera's internal clock threw a wobbly and clocked up the wrong time on my photo then how could you possibly prove it was wrong? - mind you I'm old and don't trust "Tech" in general.
Your advice on the white lines is very welcome and is what I'd always understood. ie. a white line is a white line is a white line and THOU SHALT NOT! I know you may not go into an active bus lane for any reason but I was a bit unsure about the cycle lanes, that's cleared it up nicely for me.
Also thanks for the bit about overtaking on the zig zags at pedestrian crossings. I know you must not park there or overtake another vehicle but hadn't really thought about bikes I suppose. Having said that I'm always very careful approaching crossings so I doubt if I would have attempted to pass anyway just out of common sense.
I think the watch word to keep out of trouble these days is to consider giving priority to pedestrians and bikes whenever in any doubt, no matter how annoying or frustrating that may be, as they are always going to come off worse in any confrontation and you (the motorist) is going to be seen as the "bad boy".
One final thought. With all the infrastructure now being put in place and the very active encouragement to get on our bikes, so the prospect of greatly increased volume, is it not time to think of mandatory insurance? you can do/cause to happen a lot of damage on a bike! A very small annual road tax - like a car - might be an earner for the treasury too? (especially as you can't justify the existing vehicle tax by saying it pays for road/infrastructure upkeep but is more of a "users privilege tax" these days)
Did manage to fly today.... Briefly thanks to the clouds getting lower and lower and it being like a thick pea soup about 2.5k feet up. never mind there always next time.
First time in a Cessna 152 (known as the moped of the skys) turns out all 6'3 of me needs to be origami'd into the cockpit but once in while cramped its reasonably comfortable.
First time in a Cessna 152 (known as the moped of the skys) turns out all 6'3 of me needs to be origami'd into the cockpit but once in while cramped its reasonably comfortable.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
here eBay.... here boy 3 bicycles for sale! Don't encourage them for heavens sake. As a cyclist I say shhhhhhh. As a car driver I say ban the bu*****! (Not busses)
A lot of the bus lane enforcement is done from the cameras in the buses. There are cameras inside teh buses to monitor all passengers, but usually also one looking forward through the windscreen. When a bus encounters a vehicle in the bus lane, the driver pushes a button to mark the point. Then later, a clerk will download teh relevant footage and pass it onto the council who will issue a ticket.
With cyclists not needing licences, I think compulsory insurance would be a great way of not only protecting anyone they hit, but also could be a means of traffic enforcement.
The plan:
All cyclists over the age of 14 must have insurance.
Insurers will issue a 'disc', like the old car tax disc. This will show policy number, and be in a holder, clipped to the handlebars, easily unclipped and pocketed when parked. Can be used on any bike, so only one needed per person, regardless of number of bikes.
If riding without the disc, bike gets confiscated, like cars do. Owner has to collect from the impound, pay the fees and show insurance before retrieving it.
Any traffic offences, policeman notes policy number, and issues a warning ticket to the cyclist. Offence is then added to the insurance database.
At renewal, any offences will increase the premium. All insurers access same database, so changing insurers won't escape.
Insurers make a little money, scheme pays for itself, no time wasted with police in court for small offences. Cyclist is incentivised to behave, as offences make higher premiums, and no insurance gets bike confiscated.
May also reduce bike theft, as thief would need an insurance disc.
Yes, I've noticed the little black dome through the windscreen of the bus as it pulls up to the bus stop, and the other ones inside the bus. I was a great user of the Edinburgh bus service before covid. We have a really excellent and pretty cheap to use service up here, but I haven't been on one for over a year now.
My goodness, you've obviously put a lot more thought into the bike insurance idea than I have! I like what you propose and it seems to me that cyclists would actually benefit because, as things are at this time, if you are held responsible for causing a serious incident causing damage/harm/loss then you are solely responsible for recompensing any costs etc which might ensue. In the case of personal injury or even where an expensive object, perhaps a vehicle or several vehicles which crash together due to your actions, then you are completely liable. This can be a big problem in that you may never be able to pay and the aggrieved parties may either have to directly suffer loss or claim on their own insurance which then has implications for future policy costs.
I wonder too whether it would assist the police in regulating the "naughty boys" who use the extensive walkways which have been created using the old urban railway routes - Edinburgh is an absolute maze of disused railway lines - Bikes and motor cycles, often stolen, are their favourite mode of transport and could be immediately and easily confiscated if no insurance was in evidence. A lot of these walkways give them easy access to residential areas where they commit burglaries and other antisocial acts, then leap over the fences down onto the walkways, jump on their bikes and, within minutes, thanks to the lovely smooth tarmacked surfaces - better than many of the road surfaces around us - are miles away. By the way, I don't think we have a problem any bigger than any other big city in this regard, but I know the police unofficially give names to these routes. A policeman acquaintance tells me the route which runs down the side of our wee estate is referred to as "The Burma Trail" - Not sure what my old Dad, a Burma veteran, would have thought of that?
Up here we have the police out and about making sure that cyclists are safe from motorists who intimidate or are just plain dangerous driving regarding cyclists. There has been an upsurge of cyclists, and there’s been so much people complaining, the police have made their presence felt. Obviously they cannot be everywhere, but you may be lucky if some numpty cuts you off too soon and the boys in blue happen to be there. Some motorists have been fined.
Being myself a cyclist too Jim, I know how vulnerable you are, especially in heavier fast moving traffic. Perhaps that's why my "wee encounter" last week upset me so much? I think we just all need to give more consideration to our fellow road users, both motorists and cyclist, but the big, and pretty insurmountable, problem is the speed difference which many motorists, in this modern high pressure world of ours, are not prepared to be delayed by. So, I think these cycle lanes are excellent in that respect but both parties, myself included, need to get to grips with new procedures and possible problems - like my left turn.
I do question the expense of installing these lanes though when my perception is that, here in Edinburgh anyway, they are only lightly used with our hilly topography and, for a lot of the year, cold and wet weather, making cycling quite an unattractive prospect for any but the most enthusiastic/dedicated users? There's also the fact that the reduction of traffic lanes so caused in some areas will cause increased frustration amongst motor car users - surely counter productive in building support for cycling and cyclists?
When I lived in Weymouth, a very long time ago now, one year as the clocks changed, the police had a crackdown on bikes without lights. Thsi was well publicised in the week before, so no reason to be taken by surprise.
One evening (a Thursday i think), as schools were out (4pm then), in three locations the police were stopping all unlit bicycles. No lights, bike confiscated. First time they did this, they got 5 vanloads of bikes in about 2 hours.
The following Saturday, all owners could collect their bikes from the police station, but only once lights had been fitted. The three cycle dealers in the town had people there selling light sets, and would fit them. Or you could bring your own, for you to fit, or they would fit for you for a small fee.
A fortnight later, after an announcement in the local paper, the exercise was repeated. Only two vanloads.
Never repeated, but it became rare to see a bike without lights.
Cycle lanes painted along the edges of roads, can make the bikes less safe.
We are encouraged to allow 1.5m clearance when passing a bike. So surely, a cycle lane should be wide enough for a bike, plus a hatched area alongside, 1.5m wide.
With bikes on a normal road, many drivers will try to give the required clearance. But once a dividing line is painted, it tells us that we only need to be outside the line. Now fewer drivers will give more clearance, so most will pass much closer to the cycles than without the lane lines.
But it makes the quota. All local authorities are measured by miles of cycle lanes. There's one in Swindon, about 3m long.
One evening (a Thursday i think), as schools were out (4pm then), in three locations the police were stopping all unlit bicycles. No lights, bike confiscated. First time they did this, they got 5 vanloads of bikes in about 2 hours.
The following Saturday, all owners could collect their bikes from the police station, but only once lights had been fitted. The three cycle dealers in the town had people there selling light sets, and would fit them. Or you could bring your own, for you to fit, or they would fit for you for a small fee.
A fortnight later, after an announcement in the local paper, the exercise was repeated. Only two vanloads.
Never repeated, but it became rare to see a bike without lights.
Cycle lanes painted along the edges of roads, can make the bikes less safe.
We are encouraged to allow 1.5m clearance when passing a bike. So surely, a cycle lane should be wide enough for a bike, plus a hatched area alongside, 1.5m wide.
With bikes on a normal road, many drivers will try to give the required clearance. But once a dividing line is painted, it tells us that we only need to be outside the line. Now fewer drivers will give more clearance, so most will pass much closer to the cycles than without the lane lines.
But it makes the quota. All local authorities are measured by miles of cycle lanes. There's one in Swindon, about 3m long.
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I do get all sides, but once a human being is put in charge of something, it’s only a matter of time that an accident or near miss will happen. Let’s face it, there are some bad drivers, cyclists and let’s not forget pedestrians. To be fair it’s the really bad motorists that stick out, but to be fair, it’s a small percentage. Lovely day today, another fifteen miles under the belt....
Lovely day today, another fifteen miles under the belt....
Cracking day here too, been in the garden all day. Rain showers forecast for mid to late afternoon but only some cloud blew over, now bright sun again. Going to have our supper (or "Tea" as we here tend to call it) outside on trays sitting on our bench. Aldi Vegan Cornish pasty - surprisingly good! - 1/2 a baked potato each and green beans, yum yum!
