It’s been a while since we at FMFT had a moan about other road users, but once again I was reminded that the roads are an unpredictable and dangerous place.
Recently there’s been an increase in traffic on my commute due, in no small part, to roadworks and temporary traffic lights on a major junction. I’m left with a choice of sitting with the cars, or taking advantage of my cycling position to slip past the traffic as much as I can, but it was this which nearly led to my downfall.
Filtering along the inside of the road past various cars, busses and vans I was paying attention but still had very little time to react when a van from a popular national telecommunications provider quickly indicated and then instantly pulled left to take a side road and avoid the traffic. Luckily I’d adjusted my front brake before I left, and grabbing a huge handful of lever was the only way to try and stop. The van continued into the side-turning and I executed what would, in happier times, be an awesome, fast, one-footed rolling endo, narrowly avoiding the side of the van. With it out of the way I brought the bike under control and clipped back into the pedal I’d disengaged from in anticipation of needing my foot free, with adrenaline pumping I carried on along my way.
Perhaps I’d have been safer if the van driver had watched this TfL ad I saw late one night this week:
It’s the most visible sign of a brand new campaign to make cycling in London safer, which you can find out more about on the TfL website. It does also suggest that cyclists may be key in the fight against bank robbery We can probably expect cycling to get safer as high-profile heists on financial institutions get more successful and burglars pay more attention to all the small details.
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