A close shave

samcrx3 said:

Hi, this is my first experience of a car purposely getting too close to you when riding. It gave me an awlful shock. I was riding on the shoulder of the road because there was room and this ute (which moved too quickly to see his number plate, plus I was just so stunned that anyone would do what he did) decided to drive on the white line, less than half a metre away from me. If a passenger were to put his hand out of the window, I would be knocked over. I don't understand why there are idiots out there who would purposely get very close to a bike rider. Is that illegal? I now kicking myself not getting his number plate.
Sam

and wot would you do if you got his plate?

he drove too close to you?

i doubt police would bother with it...

i always keep an eye on the actions of the driver and facial expresssion... and get off the road if someone is wanting to play with my life...

I know I will probably get burnt for saying this but this happened to me once and if I ever get that number plate, I would do whatever I can to find the address of the driver. At "least", it will be the last time they find their car in one piece.

Some people just dont realise that their moment of stupidity can cost another's life or serious injuries.😠 😠 😠 😠

I have been actually hit twice, once deliberately by a bunch of young blokes who thought they were the bees knees, once by a women who didn't see me in busy traffic. I didn't go down in either case.

i've commuted for twenty years, and my experience is that like anything with cycling on the road you need to stay alert for these and all the other fools, who are conspicuous due to their minority.

Fortunately I did not fall off - I just shook my head in disgust. The majority of drivers in Bathurst - a town of around 30 000 - are very curteous. There are a large number of cyclists here, both recreational and competitive and you see them everywhere. I'm a better driver now as a cyclist, I'm always aware of other cyclists on the road. I've heard from other cyclists that cars are better around cyclists in Bathurst, than they are in Sydney. The roads here are rather wide, which helps a lot. But you still got to watch out. I fairly new in cycling, and at the time was by myself, so it did give me a fright.
Sam