Bicycle versus truck

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yeah I'd behave the same in Oz as well. In Oz the police would be called.

Do you seriously think the police in Oz would do anything. After you wait 45 minutes for them to turn up they would blow you off with some lame excuse - "sorry lady, there is nothing we can do. Can we get back to our pizza now?"

Seriously, you would have far better luck calling the police in Singapore, but you didn't. Why would you do this in Oz but not here? It seems like it was more important for you to post what happened on the forum - like we can do something about it.

The reason I've posted this is that we CAN do something about it! I would hope that when others experience this stuff that they might also stand up for their rights, like I did. If enough people 'speak up' when the situation occurs, slowly change happens. These guys that tried to push me off the road won't do this again in a hurry. They were mortified that someone would take them to task as I did.I would have called the police if I'd had a pen. I'm now carrying one with me when I cycle, along with the egg!
In Oz my experience has been that the police help depending on who you happen to get on the phone, or at their station. If one gets no response then a follow-up with the superior usually works. Again it's a case of 'speaking up' when society has issues. Standing back and just letting it all happen gets us all nowhere fast. How often do we all hear of the terrible driving in Singapore. It doesn't have to be like this. Complacency breeds more of the same.
I was aslo hoping by posting this to get strategies from other cyclists, e.g. am I better to take the whole lane (as if I'm a car), then if these inconsiderate madmen 'push me over' I will at least have somewhere to go! Riding in the gutter as I do, there is nowhere but pain! I hereby premapt responses like 'don't ride, it's not safe. And, as a last resort I may have to follow this advice, but not yet.

Ozchick, as I've often said here, regarding the chastisement of rude and inconsiderate people,

"If you aren't part of the solution then you are part of the problem!"

Says the same thing only a lot quicker! If you see it and don't say anything, then you are tacitly agreeing with their action. I'm with you 100% on this one!

[Plavt]

Wearing bright coloured clothes would not have helped in this situation.

How do you know that? Since on this board and others posters state or imply drivers in Singapore are either careless or simply 'loony', I would have thought making your presence more obvious would be an idea. Note: High visibility clothing makes you visible from a greater distance than normal.

[ozchick]

Wearing bright coloured clothes would not have helped in this situation.

How do you know that? Since on this board and others posters state or imply drivers in Singapore are either careless or simply 'loony', I would have thought making your presence more obvious would be an idea. Note: High visibility clothing makes you visible from a greater distance than normal.

I know tha,t cos if you read my post, you'd see that they did it to me TWICE! They moved away when I thumped on the side of their van. Then they pulled quickly in front of me and parked in my line of travel. I wouldn't normally flare up as I did if there had been any chance that they hadn't seen me. The earlier occasion when the bus driver did the same to me, he actually tooted me before pulling his bus in right in front of me- same scenario. He saw me but chose to save about 1 second and put me at risk of rear-ending him!
I wear all white, including helmet but yeah happy to wear brighter colours and yet still think thare are lawless drivers out there who are accustomed to getting their way with the weaker individuals.Nothing
really to add to this post. The road I was on is a clearly laned road, albeit busy. Riding on the footpath not an option with commuters thick across the width of it late in the day. Strategies for cycling rights on the road welcome. Saw a group of cyclists riding 3 abreast the other day. Maybe I should go home with some cyclist buddies- safety in numbers!

[Plavt]

I know tha,t cos if you read my post, you'd see that they did it to me TWICE!

I thought the issue was more they forced you off the road as for the stopping 'right in front of you' , I find a little strange but then I wasn't there.

Oh well Ozzy, maybe you should wear some attire that makes Singaporean drivers laugh so hard they might forget their usual belligerent road manners.

[Wind In My Hair]

The reason I've posted this is that we CAN do something about it! I would hope that when others experience this stuff that they might also stand up for their rights, like I did. If enough people 'speak up' when the situation occurs, slowly change happens.

If you see it and don't say anything, then you are tacitly agreeing with their action. I'm with you 100% on this one!

And so is Ayn Rand, I think:

"A culture is made - or destroyed - by its articulate voices."

[jfd]

As for a riding strategy, I ride on the roads in Tokyo all the time, and I expect the roads would not be much different. For multi-lane roads, if you think about a normal road where the gutter sticks out about 1 foot from the curb, my general position is for my wheels to be about half a foot out from the gutter, so about a foot and a half from the curb. It is not so far out that cars couldn't pass without just a little moving over, but also far enough out that they DO have to move over a little bit to get past me.

For smaller single lane roads, I try to keep in the gutter as much as I can, just to be practical. This is also not as unsafe as it may sound as the speed of traffic is usually slower on the tight single lane roads.

Happy trails!

[Vaucluse]

In Oz the police would be called.

For cutting, inadvertent or not, you off in traffic?

Get real and get over yourself.

You don't even call the cops if the damage in an accident is under AUD500.

As was said previosuly, you'd have more resonse from Singaporean police whom you could make cower under your hystrionics.

[ozchick]

In Oz the police would be called.

For cutting, inadvertent or not, you off in traffic?

Get real and get over yourself.

You don't even call the cops if the damage in an accident is under AUD500.

As was said previosuly, you'd have more resonse from Singaporean police whom you could make cower under your hystrionics.

Mm...someone's had a bad day haven't they?!
Tomorrow can only get better!

[Vaucluse]

Actually, it has been a crappy day . . .

[EADG]

I came around a long time ago while in Japan that you / we aren't going to change much, either there or here.

But I gotta chime in too that you / we just can't stand by and let things happen. That change may happen but not in our lifetimes here. Let your voice be heard, I'm sure if you did the same thing to someone else, intentionally or not, you would also get an earful.

The difference I see between here and Japan is there they usually instinctively know when they are in someone's space and try to respect that, whereas here it seems like they are flexing their muscles to see how far they can push it.

Which is why they seem to only respond to anger. Which is not my preferred way and I have to step out of character to make a point in the way they seem to need to hear it.

Wish I could say something more positive by way of approach.

If enough people 'speak up' when the situation occurs, slowly change happens.

Ozchick, as I've often said here, regarding the chastisement of rude and inconsiderate people,

"If you aren't part of the solution then you are part of the problem!"
Says the same thing only a lot quicker! If you see it and don't say anything, then you are tacitly agreeing with their action. I'm with you 100% on this one! Wink

[Forks]

This is why i dont cycle on major roads here or stick to the foot path, cycling paradise this place aint.

But then again its not really a motoring paradise either, no big long open roads.

[Boog]

hi ozchick hope you will see this
http://www.spf.gov.sg/stats/traf2007_interest.htm

then think again next time when you want to cycle on main roads. you really need to be EXTRA careful!!!

btw, the police only states 22 dead cyclists for 2007, they didnt give any info on cyclists who were maimed or paralyzed from road accidents.

[kapisce11]

Motorists here in singapore are generally bad from what I've experienced and observed. They don't look out for pedestrians, cyclists and even other motorists.
ozchick, nah.. you weren't too tough on them. they deserved it. It's drivers like these that put cyclists (or anyone else on the road) in danger. Hopefully, they'll learn to be more aware of their surroundings next time while driving.
Cycling too close to the curb can also be dangerous for the cyclist. You DO NOT need to do this. keep a safe distance, maybe about half a metre from the curb. As a cyclist, you do have to follow the traffic rules, give signals, etc. MOST IMPORTANTLY, cycle defensively. Regardless of who is in the right or wrong, where bicycle vs truck/car/van/lorry/bus/motorbike, bicycle always loses.
Cyclists have a right to be on the road. Most motorists are either ignorant of that fact or just don't care. If you want more information on cycling safely on the roads, there's a good local forum you can visit called togoparts.com. Lots of information there.
Ride safe, have fun!

[maneo]

Many motorists (especially taxi drivers and bus drivers) mistakenly believe that bicyclists should be riding on the sidewalk.
Some may even deliberately try to "educate" cyclists they encounter, not realising that they are wrong in doing so.

It seems that an education campaign for these motorists is needed so that they realise that bicycles are supposed to be ridden on the roadway according to Road Traffic Rules ("close to the left hand edge of the roadway").
It may not be enough, but it would be a necessary start.

What would be even better to put this into motorists' consciousness would be creation of a network of bicycle lanes with appropriate fanfare.
Start campaigning.

[Vaucluse]

Having read through this plethora of 'awful Singaporaen drivers' the conclusion that I come upmwith is that we should chuck all these pesky yellow and brown people across the waters and that only white people should be alowed to live and drive here . . .

Of course there are exceptions. Italians, French, Belgians, Portuguese, Greeks, Dutch, Spaniards and their ilk should also be banned from driving or even enetring this island paradise. Oh, add anyone over 65 and from Florida to that list.