05-16-2016, 04:15 PM
(05-16-2016, 02:10 PM)timc Wrote:(05-16-2016, 01:13 PM)clasher Wrote: Something like this happened to me in a roudabout recently. The "courteous" driver stopped seeing me heading toward the crossing but if they'd kept going there would have been a safe gap for me to cross right after they passed the crosswalk. Where they stopped blocked my view of the other lane and while I stood there waving them on traffic continued on their left because they didn't see me or they knew that bikes apparently don't have right of way where the pedestrians would. It was only when I got on my bike and started to ride down homer-watson that the "courteous" driver finally continued on their way obviously shouting something at me... it's a shame their windows weren't open since I had words to return in kind. I did not have to wait long for a gap to open up to cross to the first island and there traffic is slow and hitting a gap is pretty easy and doesn't slow any drivers down since they are either stopped or slowing anyway. If it wouldn't have been rush hour I'd have just been on the road "taking the lane"
This situation seems a bit confusing to me. If you are using the pedestrian crossing, you should be walking your bike. And motorists are instructed to yield to pedestrians (even if this isn't legally required -- yet). So it seems to me that the driver might have been doing the right thing in this case.
The thing that makes me nervous in the roundabout situation is that while the car in the right-hand lane may be yielding to a pedestrian/cyclist, approaching traffic in the left-hand lane may not be able to see the pedestrian or even be aware that that is what the other car is doing - if they are looking to the left to see if they need to yield, a serious car-pedestrian accident could easily occur. This nearly happened to me a few months back (I was the offending left-hand lane driver) and I am now super vigilant to confirm whether the right-hand lane car is stopped for a pedestrian.