Am just posting here after getting in seething from an altercation with an arrogant London cabbie.
Just interested in views of BRs.
I am a cyclist and approached a junction near to home. Junction is quite complicated so will do best to explain. There are three lanes all turning right into a road with three lanes too. Furthest left lane is a bus lane on both roads. once you've turned into the main road the three lanes run parrallel for 100m before the left and middle lane peel off at an angle to the left. At this point the right hand lane continues straight on and just before the parting it then widens to become 2 lanes going straight on. At that very last point a cycle lane on the left hand side of this pair appears for all of 10 metres until a set of lights.
Anyhow I approach junction on my bike, if traffic behind me is clear I signal and get right over into the furthest right lane to go through the junction. I then cycle down the right hand side of the left lane marker for the right lane all the way until i get to the cycle lane and the traffic light.
Anyhow tonight I set off as per the above round the corner onto the main road to sense flashing lights and horn tooting from a London cabbie behind...anyhow he then moves left into the "wrong lane" for straight ahead...goes around me while yelling "you can't cycle there" and anyhow at the lights he winds his window down and I ask him what he was doing. he says you can't do what you're doing you'll get yourself killed. I pointed out the continuation of the whole lane straight through to the lights and that i have as much right to be there as him. he said I should be in the other lane (or I think really as most cabbies think not on the road at all). I think i was in the right and he both was being aggressive to save all of a second or two waiting until the road widened and also was in the wrong for crossing into an inside lane to go around me on the inside and then pull back in front of me and stop.
It just got my blood boiling although there was another cyclist backing me up at the same time.
What do car drivers think? my side or his? if his where am I supposed to cycle on that junction given that cycling on the kerb is 2 "wrong" lanes away from where I need to be and the more I go along the kerb the more I run out of time to cross back to the right hand lane?
Edited by Pugugly on 18/11/2008 at 21:44
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People have bad days. Unsure of what your route was, despite your detailed explanation... it would be better in conjunction with a reference to look up on Google maps or equivalent (satellite view).
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Route was from one road turning right into another (both main roads joining at right angles) and then going straight on (not peeling off to the left) and through the lights.
Here is it on googlemap.
tinyurl.com/584hoh
my journey is Kennington Road, turn right into Kennington Park Road then straight on Kennington Park Road continuation
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Simple.Get his taxi number and report him to the Licensing Officer of the local authority.If there have been other complaints about his conduct he'll be in trouble.Sounds,judging by his attitude there may well be.
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I think I understand you're description, and looking at the Google map I think you're going the same way I'd cycle. When you make your right turn out of Kennington Road, you initially have two lanes on Kennington Park Road. The photo shows the white arrows on the road and they clearly indicate that the left lane of the two is for the left turn onto the A23/Brixton Road and the right lane is for straight on on the A3/Kennington Park Road. You're going straight on so you need to be in the right hand of those two lanes at that point. After the A23 and A3 split, you are positioning sensibly to get into the cycle lane ahead. Simple really. Can't see what the taxi driver's problem was.
Isn't Google Maps/Earth brilliant.
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I think I understand you're description...
Or, in English: I think I understand your description...
How annoying.
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People have bad days.
Quite a lot of London cabbies have quite a lot of bad days. Mostly they are practical and economical in their approach, but some like to give other traffic a bit of norfansahf. They aren't always right either.
Sounds as if you startled one of those ukbeefy. If you were doing what you usually do, and the other traffic doesn't usually seem to mind, and if you feel more or less safe doing it as a rule, I wouldn't give it another thought. London has that harsh, stressed and raucous side to it like all very big towns.
Edited by Lud on 19/11/2008 at 01:20
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Northampton seems to have a large number of exceptionally arrogant and bad taxi drivers - using bus lanes shortcuts, cutting infront of you, red light jumping and the list goes on.
Familiarity breeds contempt and so it is that many taxi drivers hold both rules of the road and other road users in contempt. Its no real suprise at all.
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Maybe different down your end of town Stu but on the Weedon Road bus lanes, except for the new bits Princess Marina to Sixfields and at Black Lion Hill are open to taxis as well. The Black Lion Hill one is busses only but with a (temorary) exception for taxis at night.
What's odd is how many motorists keep out of them well before 7am when they're only active 07:30 to 09:30.
Edited by Bromptonaut on 19/11/2008 at 11:49
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Bromptonaut - I checked this little bit I was talking about and no mention of taxis - but I agree about the Weedon Road bit - people dont read the signs at all - I dont really see the point of the 7:30-9:30am at all.
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Sounds like the cabbie was in the wrong - but on the other side of things, from your description at least, sounds like he was reasonably nice about it and trying to advise you rather than screaming swearwords at you or anything.
Doesn't seem worthy of blood-boiling.
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Perhaps he was confused by a London cyclist who actually signalled! ;-)
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Cyclists are road users just as are cars etc, (albeit more vunerable) and are governed by the same highway code, therefore (in the absence of any "designated cycle lane alternatives") I would use the road just as I would if I were in a car.
It sounds to me that this is infact what you did, therefore I think you would be in the right.
Billy
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reassuring that the responses seem in my favour. makes me less jittery - today did not cycle as the thing shook me a bit - just hate it when someone does a "look sonny I'm bigger/older than you" type rank pulling.
It was not a shirty exchange but he was pretty strident even though I think he was in the wrong and did not see any sense in lsitening to my non rude pointing out the road markings being in my favour.
Anyhow will not try to lose sleep over it. I cycle within the rules which many don't so was particularly annoyed at being slighted.
Am getting back on the bike tomorrow.
Funnily enough i saw a similar beeping at someone doing the whole junction in reverse - there's definitely an issue with some traffic not getting in the right lanes and then beeping at cyclists or slower cars that are in fact properly positioned.
Also what's made me think is traffic seems more badly behaved towards cyclists outside of commuting time. During commuting time the density of cyclists seems to make people back off. They know if they challenge one guy they might get a whole herd speaking up for them.
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I've had exactly the same thing happen in the past - in a one-way system approaching traffic lights, I needed to be in the centre of 3 lanes to go straight ahead but a car full of louts shouted basically that I was mental and should cycle on the left.
However, it cuts both ways -I was walking along the other day when a fast cyclist mounted the lowered 'disability kerb' at traffic lights and rode on the pavement rathet than stop at the red light. I had to step out of his way. He wasn't young either.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 19/11/2008 at 23:04
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ukbeefy,
I think you're both right.
You seem to be cycling in the appropriate lane for where you want to go (i know the area from when i used to work down that way)...but... that leaves you pretty vulnerable, because for a while you're in lane 3 of a 3 lane road (albeit 30mph limit). How many of us in cars, in reality, would expect to see a bicycle in lane 3?
I'd understand a car driver thinking...'blimey this is an accident waiting to happen'.
I don't see the option of riding in lane 1 for further, then cutting across as being all that ideal either, so i think you're a bit stuck there.
Bottom line for me would be yours (and others ) safety...and that layout doesn't look that safe to me.
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thanks westpig. yes it does feel vulnerable there being so far right but I think it's the less of two evils. The vast majority of traffic coming from Kennington Road is aiming for the a23 not the A24 clapham Road so that is why I have deduced that doing what I am doing is safer than anything else.
The junction was altered in the last 3 years but still si one where effectively there is alot of traffic weaving from lane to lane and deal with buses doing the same.
I think the only saving grace in London is generally speeds are low.
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