Nearly SMIDSY'd a fellow biker!!!

[Mudskipper]

Ferrying the kids home in the car last night, was in thick walking pace traffic and spotted a bike in my rear view so I pulled over to the left to let them filter...and nearly wiped out another bike that had come on my inside!!!

I...didn't...check...my...left...wing...mirror.

He came up the inside to nip to a left junction just ahead. I got such a dirty look off the pillion.

I felt dead ashamed as a biker, if it was me I would have given the same look and thought 'stupid cager bitch, not checking her mirrors' like they probably did.

I also felt a bit of empathy for non-biker cagers, it's so easily done. Even though I should've looked left first (could easily have been cyclists on the inside), I really had no idea they were there, didn't see them in the rear view and am just glad there was no contact.

Anyone else nearly become an evil cager SMIDSY causer? Or is it just me and should I think about my penance...
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"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[APNess]

Don't feel too bad, I would say - you were doing one guy a favour, can't please all the people all the time. Filtering is a grey area where you have to take extra care - sometimes bikes are in blind spots and despite looking all about you miss 'em, especially with distractions (kids, radio, other traffic) going on.

I'm sure the bike rider isn't a perfect rider/driver either. The only ones that are are bullshitters

[stinkwheel]

On the other side, filtering up the inside and filtering next to a junction is asking for trouble. Not all cars have a left hand mirror for one thing.

Mind you, I always tell car drivers who ask me what to do when there is a bike coming up behind them that I'd far rather they held a steady course and just make eye contact in their rearview mirror so I know they've seen me. If it's safe to pass, I'll do so. Better than having them swerving all over the road.

You get a lot of people who'll suddenly start driving with two wheels in the gutter when you come up behind them, they're kicking up dust/crap and spending so much time looking in their mirror they don't pay attention to the road ahead. I'm not going to overtake on a bend with an HGV coming the other way regardless of how far they tuck in.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[feef]

What on earth was he doing squeezing up the inside of you at the approach to a junction? What if you were intending turning left yourself.

Fair point about watching for cyclists, but he shouldn't have been there in the first place.

a
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[Annabella]

[hellkat]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[tomski_w]

You admitted you didn't check your left mirror.

Okay, you were doing a fellow biker a favour by letting him pass on the right, but you shouldn't change course unless it's safe to do so - no matter what you're driving or riding

I can honestly say I get near SMIDSY's at least 4 or 5 times a week and i've even caught myself doing it more than once on my bike!!! (Only using my mirrors instead of doing a full visual/lifesaver check)

Like the new Highway Code states, you should check your blind spot. This should apply to everyone - cyclists, motorcyclists/cars/vans/trucks and even pedestrians who walk out blindly into traffic

Patronising rant end
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To ask maybe one moment's shame,
but not to ask is to condemn one's self to ignorance
and in ignorance you'll remain.

[st3v3]

To be honest, any biker with half an ounce of common sense would know not to use the inside, but filter on outside, slot in and wait a few minutes to be able to safely turn in. As we all know any bike filtering down the outside can see and is most likely able to decide when to go and when not too, I wouldn't worry about it, their own daft fault for being daft.
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[LUXY DJ]

"LOOK,LOOK , then LOOK AGAIN"

thats the words of the advert for a reason, BUT..... if i was that other bike you nearly hit, then id have been a car lengths distance behind the other bike but on the other side for this exact reason,

as you get a bike filtering & if there slow as fcuk then i wanna get past so i might try the other `available slot` but id always be double aware of a car moving over for them & not thinking about another bike on the other side(me) coming up

riding in london is a high % of filtering so you just pick up on certain vibes & know when to go & to stay back
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[iooi]

Dont like this filtering up the left hand side of traffic.
Far to easy for a door to swing open, car to ease to the left and squash em, or pull to a parking spot. Or even worse kitten step out in the road....
Car's expect a bike on the outside not the inside.....

What would they have done if you were going to turn left at the junction..... HIT YOU.....
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[Charlie]

I dont like filtering up the inside, however in double lane traffic I will... although there is a couple of sets of lights which I dont like to do it..

2 lanes, the right one for straight on, the left one for turning left. Never get any for turning left which makes it very easy to filter up. However it doesn't feel right undertaking all the cars.

[Finglonga]

Got to be honest here but its usually scooters that do that daft trick around here. Now I don't mind them filtering but up the inside!! So if I see one tazzing along I will just close the gap enough so they can't squeeze through to make them filter properly on the right. It's a public service I'm doing IMO.
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Andy Sez....
F.Y.Y.F.F.

[Luke_Retrofly]

best bet for car drivers is to not move, most bikers know what they are doing and will filter in and round cars all day, its when they start making erratic sudden moves that fecks us up.

Luke

[Mudskipper]

Thanks for all your views.

So the consensus is it's best to stay put as a car driver.

I have to say, riding yesterday I did notice the gutter-swervers, moving unneccesarily right over to the left (even though they meant well).

It was slightly offputting, almost feeling rushed into overtaking them despite oncoming HGV's!!

It's all experience eh.
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[pa_broon74]

I've had it happen, once in the car and once again on the bike. Both times though with cyclists. They bolt up the inside, obviously as you're turning left you kinda veer that way, meanwhile some skinny vegetarian is trying to undertake you on the inside on his Claude Butler. I do a left shoulder check now when turning left off main roads.

I did once have another motorcyclist pull up level at some traffic lights on my right, he/she stopped maybe a foot further on than me. Lights change, we set off and the goat turns left across my path.

No one is perfect, but cyclists are definitely just goats.
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