What would you do?

Topics relating to Advanced Driving in cars
waremark
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Re: What would you do?

Postby waremark » Thu Dec 31, 2015 5:43 pm

Before overtaking a cyclist on double whites, I admit that I do not necessarily slow to the speed of the cyclist to check whether their speed is above or below 10 mph. I would overtake if I was confident that I could complete the overtake giving the cyclists safe space and be back on my own side of the road far enough before the bend not to be at risk of conflict with an oncomer. That is unlikely, unless the double whites start stupidly far before the bend. I would not be influenced by followers - and actually I think most drivers are prepared to wait behind cyclists if the view is not adequate to go past safely.

titian
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Re: What would you do?

Postby titian » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:28 pm

Here's the link, draw back down the road to appreciate the approach speed & distance and the amount of clear road ahead - does that change the decision/options?

https://www.instantstreetview.com/@53.9 ... ,-5.41p,1z

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Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
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Re: What would you do?

Postby Mr Cholmondeley-Warner » Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:23 pm

I wouldn't be crossing that solid white line to overtake one or two cyclists. The amount of signage (including yellow borders) and other road engineering (rumble strip etc.) suggest it's got a pretty nasty reputation. There's a junction just out of sight, so there's the potential to find a vehicle broadside on just as you're completing your overtake. Vision around the curve is pretty non-existent too, although there's a momentary cross-view where you might see a vehicle of reasonable height approaching. There's no vision across the junction to the left, though. Patience would seem to be the order of the day. Justifying risk on the grounds that it might assuage the irritation of those behind doesn't cut it, for me.
Nick

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akirk
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Re: What would you do?

Postby akirk » Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:55 pm

road narrows, junction, rumble strips, slow markings, lack of vision, mmm not sure - difficult without knowing the road, but there look to be better bits further on (even if ignoring the white lines)

Alasdair

fungus
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Re: What would you do?

Postby fungus » Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:25 pm

I'm with Nick on this one. If you scroll back and take the veiw just before the black and white posts you will notice the tree on the right obscures the view. You would not see a vehicle exiting the bend and accelerating into the straightening road.

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akirk
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Re: What would you do?

Postby akirk » Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:33 pm

It is also worth noting that if a driver is coming the other way behind a slower car, and knows the road, they will be aware that they are approaching an opportunity to overtake - this could mean that they are focussed on a possible overtake, not on what is coming the other way if out of the ordinary...

Alasdair

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Adamxck
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Re: What would you do?

Postby Adamxck » Thu Dec 31, 2015 11:06 pm

Im out.
Adam.

Astraist
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Re: What would you do?

Postby Astraist » Fri Jan 01, 2016 12:54 am

StressedDave wrote:oooh... and something else to consider: if you do go for it and you suddenly get an oncomer, you need to have completed the overtake by the distance at which the oncoming driver is observing. I've seen quite a few pretty fatals where the impact occurs on the 'wrong' side of the road for the victim, who voted with the steering wheel when they perceived the overtaker, even though the overtaker was returning to the correct side of the road and would have 'missed' the victim.


Seen my fair share of those too.

It's even worse when this results in hitting not the oncomer but another driver behind them or a driver overtakn by them. In that case, the other driver had not the chance to slow down as much and the impact tends to be more powerful.

titian
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Re: What would you do?

Postby titian » Fri Jan 01, 2016 1:04 am

Some good points, our approach to the right hander has, by running limit point analysis, paid due respect to the not inconsiderable number of signs and paint, we have considered appropriate speed, two junctions to the left which virtually merge into one when meeting our road, no view through the bend and we plan to have the car balanced under gentle acceleration through the series of bends to come.

What's left I believe is legality. Do you sometimes drive at 33mph in a "30" or 75 in a "70"? What's accepted and what isn't?

Happy New Year and keep safe.

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StressedDave
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Re: What would you do?

Postby StressedDave » Fri Jan 01, 2016 7:18 am

titian wrote:Some good points, our approach to the right hander has, by running limit point analysis, paid due respect to the not inconsiderable number of signs and paint, we have considered appropriate speed, two junctions to the left which virtually merge into one when meeting our road, no view through the bend and we plan to have the car balanced under gentle acceleration through the series of bends to come.

Congratulations - you're wholly wrong. There are large sections where the view is obscured sufficiently to give pause and it only gets worse when you're on t'other side making the pass. The white line system starts, by my reckoning about 60m from the bend and I'd want to borrow maybe 5m at most of that and I'd be berating myself seriously all that time. It is simply not safe to undertake the manoeuvre there. Doing it via a flying pass would only make it worse.

If you did same, then congratulations on being lucky. If however, you're trying to justify what you did after the fact, then I would suggest that it's more your attitude that needs adjusting more than anything else... As a thought experiment, imagine that you'd reduced speed to that of the cyclists and looked at the pass. Would you have done it then? I somehow doubt it.

Happy New Year, and before anyone suggests that my medication is compromised this morning, it isn't.
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