Admiral/RoadRage200402

This is my /RoadRageDiary page for February 2004.

Tuesday 3rd

Time: ~ 9:05 am
Okay, maybe it's time to resurrect this diary thing.
I never was any good at keeping diaries anyway, but let's try again.

This time, I'll be quoting license numbers, and keeping a /LicenseRegister
I'm just a tad fed up with being nearly killed on the roads.

This morning, I exited the South end of Garden walk.
I had been a little put off by the fact that a car had decided that even though I had deliberately positioned myself slightly to the right of far left (I was turning left) in order to prevent cars from trying to overtake me while they turned left too, a car did try it.
Having turned left onto Victoria Road, I then usually turn right down Holland Street, although I'll go for Fisher Street if I think the oncoming traffic would favour it.
Of course, having turned onto Victoria Road and wanting to turn right very soon, I cycle down the right-hand side of my lane, in order to prevent cars overtaking me while I decide whether or not it will be Fisher Street or Holland Street, and then I indicate in a suitable amount of time.
This time, I decided to go for Holland Street, so I began indicating right as soon as I had passed Fisher Street.
I knew that car that tangled with me at the end of Garden Walk was behind me, so I was quite eager to start indicating to prevent him overtaking through my trajectory.
When I was about half way between Fisher Street and Holland Street, the car behind me accelerated and overtook, literally metres away from where I was going to turn right.

The license number of the car was Y289 OVT.
In my opinion, the driver should go back to driving school.

In other news, Cambridge registered taxi number 236 failed to indicate to turn left from Park Street onto Jesus Lane *falls over with surprise*.

Thursday 5th

Time: 6:10 pm
Carlyle Road, Holland Street.
Cyclist one (not me) cycling SouthEast? down Carlyle Street, towards the junction, lights, helmet.
Cyclist two (also not me) cycling SouthWest? down Holland Street, no lights, black clothes, no helmet.
Night time.
Cyclist two, straight forward, no indicating, fast, wants to turn left.
Last minute, cyclist two spots cyclist one, who is heading straight ahead.
Big skid.
"Sorry"
Cycle on.

Friday 6th

Time: ~ 6:30 pm
In the middle of Stretten Avenue, there is a crossroad junction. Each of the four roads leading into the junction have signs saying "give way to the right" - ie it is treated as a roundabout. This evening I was cycling home Westwards into the crossroad, and due to turn right to go North. At the same time that I reach the junction, a car reaches it approaching from the South. Now, this car should have given way to me, especially since I had checked in advance that there was nothing coming from my right, and was going through the junction. Instead, the car accelerated onto a collision course with me, and I had to brake hard to avoid a crumpled front wheel. Sometimes when I have to brake hard and am annoyed about why I have to, I put the back wheel in the air. It sort of makes a little bit of a statement. I did it this time, and with the particularly damp conditions, the front brakes were at their best squeakiness. The car just ignored the whole thing, and carried on accelerating.
I had to chase it to the next red light in order to read its number plate - usually a good sign that it is leaving a junction too fast. The plate read Y46 FCE.