Blameless Drivers

I had a bit of a run in with a driver recently.  Fortunately, I got the incident on helmet cam to share.  Have a look at the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCVY06peNLg

Looking at the video, you might think that there was nothing wrong with this.  However, the problem that the driver had involved the corner that they were overtaking on.  You can not see what is coming until you are parallel with the corner itself.  So you have to treat this as a give way section if turning right.  So I believe that a word was in order.

I have posted her reaction.  Watch the video of the incident and her reasoning.  Make up your own mind on this.  However, not that with fisheye lenses she is a lot closer to me than the video indicates.

The point of this though is not if I am right or wrong.  But the attitude.  Is it me or was she a little condacending?  Unfortunately this is all too common of road users.  It is not just that they do not show respect or concern for their actions in relation to cyclists.  My problem is that they show no respect or concern for any other road user or pedestrian.

The superior attitude is common to motorists dealing with cyclists though.  The "I pay tax and have passed a test" mentality seems to quite common.  So if I didn't pay tax and hadn't passed a test, that is a death centence is it?

However, it is this attituted that breeds accidents and road rage, as one group feels disafected or challenged by another.  Apparently, I have an attitude.  Funny, it only shows when people try to kill me.

But ultimately, this is not just about cycling safety.  It is about general consideration and road awareness.  It is understanding that we are all mortal and do not like being reminded of it just because somebody is impatient or can not see the problem with opperating a one ton machine and texting at the same time, or rushing to overtake, just so that you can slam the anchors on and left hook for a junction.

So I suppose what I am saying is that this is not just about cars.  It is that we live in an impatient and intollerant society.  We expect our pizza to be delivered within half an hour.  We expect to have over 100 cable TV channels.  We expect information instantly via the computer, our phones and our TV.  And we drive accordingly.  We do not allow for traffic.  We do not allow for road works.  We only know that we should be able to do as we please and that all of our actions are perfect and justifiable.

Thoughts?

Luck

Lance Armstrong Movie

OK, is it me, or is there something fundamentally wrong with this?  At the moment it appears that several actors are clamoring over each other in order to play the discraced cyclist. 

Call me provincial, but I just don't get it.  The man is a cheat, a fraud and has managed to tell the biggest porkies since the British Rail timetable was last published.  And we are making movies about him because?

Please tell me that he is not getting a percentage of the takings on this one?

Grrrrrr.