Please Slow Down on CS3 - Head on Crash
192,841
Published 2016-10-10
This crash happened so quickly that I didn't really see what happened at the time, it was only when I sat down and looked at the footage that I saw that it was the overtaking cyclist that effectively caused it by going too fast and trying to overtake into oncoming cyclists.
What was very worrying was that one of the cyclists travelling in the opposite direction ended up on the main carriageway. Fortunately for him the phasing of the lights meant that the traffic had been held back, otherwise we could have been talking serious or fatal injuries has a lorry or coach been coming along.
PLEASE PLEASE SLOW DOWN AND DON'T OVERTAKE UNLESS IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
EDIT: Some commenters have asked about the people involved in this, and whether they were badly hurt. The female cyclist that caused this chain of events had a swollen finger, grazed and maybe broken, difficult to tell. She also complained about hert shoulder, and when following her afterwards, she was constantly rubbing her thigh.
The cyclist going the other way that she hit, needed help to get up. He said that he was okay, but I think he may have some more serious injuries that will did not surface at the time. The one that hit him and ended up in the road, seemed perfectly fine, if not a bit bruised.
I have now uploaded an analysis of what happened
• Cycle Crash - An Analysis of What Hap...
All Comments (21)
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Speed is not the problem here. The problem is clearly of an idiot overtaking into oncoming traffic.
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She was trying to overtake somebody in the face of fast-moving oncoming traffic. Even if he had moved to the left after overtaking, she would still have been trying to overtake two abreast with oncoming traffic passing, which is incredibly risky. If she had been a driver she would rightfully have been prosecuted for dangerous driving. She should probably be prosecuted as it is.
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The overtaker clearly at fault here, and for those leveling some criticism at the Boris biker he really has not done anything wrong, unless you count not having Peter Sagan's handling skills as a fault. There was no reason for him to take a line further left. It is clear he was travelling faster than the rider in front (with a light) and at the time of collision was only marginally outside his line. Yes he had slowed, but that was almost certainly because he judged it unsafe to pass at that point, so was in the most sensible place to speed up again and pass when safe. If he had gone further left he would have been blocked in by those he had just passed (safely). And he did not 'wobble'. Overtaker clearly clipped him, probably right handlebar, see at 57s, when he was holding his line. This pushed his bars left and as anyone would do he compensated and that caused the full collision. I doubt if many would have done any better particularly on a Boris bike which do not have the best responses and handling at any time
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Stupid over take.
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A dashed line down the middle of this cycle path would probably help make it clear to people when they are 'crossing the line' in their actions.
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What on earth is this? A motorbike must give you 1.5m space when passing you, but a cycle path barely 1.5m wide is two way?!? That is utterly, utterly mental.
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That was one idiotic overtake attempt. Scary.
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Treat these lanes as you would roads. We have nothing like this in the North, don't ruin it! Going 3 wide on 1 side of a 2 lane road is asking for it.
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That is a "too close for comfort overtake" that lady clearly underestimated the width of the Boris bike handle bar, not to mention the lack of respect for other bike lane users. Live and learn.
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Stupid overtake. Feel sorry for the guy - got taken out big time! Hope he got the details of the female cyclist. I sense a big claim coming!
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She was so lucky not to be really, really badly injured here. Thats just outrageously dangerous cycling
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Must overtake the Boris Cyclist! I been there, still I will never do what this woman walked right into.
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If you understand Counter-steering, then you'll know the cyclist overtaking is 100% at fault. She nudged his handlebars to the left, which made his bodyweight move to the right, which caused him to veer even more right. The fact that he didn't fall and create a bigger collision is quite impressive tbh.
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Somehow managed to get to this video again after 2 years. The poor guy in blue first gets taken out by the female cyclist overtaking and then gets absolutely rammed by the cyclist behind who can't stop in time.
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Seems like the guy on the rental bike was staying slightly right, waiting for oncoming bikers to pass before passing more riders. Girl behind is oblivious to life and tries to overtake rental bike guy, sees oncoming bikes and clips his handlebar causing 2 other riders and herself to crash!!
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This did scare me, but it is very good for educating on good riding etiquette. Thank you for sharing.
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Or perhaps it's the fault of this 'superhighway', the name of which implies that, as room is made on a motorway for vehicles to overtake, there might at least be here room to overtake and room for cyclist in both directions. I've seen wider canal tow-paths.
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This is why I still doo a large chunk of my London commuting on the road, even when there's a cycle path there. I have very little faith in the bike skills of other cyclists, so would rather go with the flow of traffic than chance the ridiculous contra-flow system of some of these bike lanes (CS3 in particular).
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Overtake = actually ridiculous, the embodiment of ridiculous. And how the cyclist behind the chap in blue who stacked it managed to not hit the woman on the ground, I'll never know...
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Definitely the overaker’s fault on the right. I ride fast and take pride in it, but I’m always careful to watch around me and to clearly call out “on your left” ahead of time. A warning might have prevented this, or even slowing down if cycling traffic is too much.
