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TL;DR: honking used correctly for a change
Note: i drive a motorbike
On my way home i always have to make a certain left turn. There's a double cycle lane before the road i have to make my turn into - so i have to watch out for cars from the opposite direction, and bicycles from both directions.
so i'm waiting for the cars to pass so i can make the turn, and spot a few (4-5) bicycles coming from behind me. There's a white van right behind me, so i can't see anything but a big white bumper in my rearview mirror, and the two bikes since they're alot more to the left than me/the van.
ok, so car coming from opposite direction has passed, but i'm still standing still since the bicycles are very close to the intersection now and i have to let them pass first.
white van behind me starts laying on the horn so my first reaction aren't very nice thoughts, i'm not standing still because i just want to... this actually makes me pause a second or 2.
At this point, my front wheel is half on the other carlane (still standing still) and i suddenly hear the sounds of breaks going berserk and see a convertible just an inch away of my nose. He somehow managed to avoid my front tire and the cyclists (he went onto the cycle lane with part of his car trying to avoid me when he spotted me - must've been going 60-70 km an hour...)
*made a quick mental apology to the driver of the white van* he was trying to warn me of the car, or the car of the fact that there was a reason he was standing still... (i had my turn signal on, the white van didn't. Car couldn't see me i guess so he only saw the van standing still on the road, and the way seemed clear to him as there were no more cars from the opposite direction. Probably never even slowed down and planned to overtake the van, if there were 2 cyclists instead of 4-5 i might've made the turn a bit earlier and got hit right in my side, so thanking my lucky stars there)
I get home a bit shaken and tell my partner about it, but about 3 days lateri'm not even giving it a thought anymore. A week or two later i pass the same way (as i do most every day) and i see drawings on the road (police markings after an accident) - a day or two later my mum tells me of an accident that happened there with someone she knew. i hadn't told her about what (nearly) happened to me, and she describes near exact the same! A car didn't see another lighter car in front of a tractor, thought the tractor was just driving slowly, and passed it, ramming the car making the same turn i did into it's side. The lady making the turn had multiple fractures, the child in the backseat of her just some scratches. The person ramming her had a few bruises, but one of the cyclists had a very nasty cut from part of one of the cars flying off into his face and shoulder.
And then i heard there have been at least 3 petitions to have the road altered so there would at least be a sign/roadlines indicating you're not allowed to pass at that intersection in the last few years... apparently me and unlucky lady weren't the only ones in accidents or nearaccidents there, one person has died already 4 years ago.
so again, mental thank you to the white van driver, your honking may have just saved my life and sorry i thought you were a twat for a second there!
Note: i drive a motorbike
On my way home i always have to make a certain left turn. There's a double cycle lane before the road i have to make my turn into - so i have to watch out for cars from the opposite direction, and bicycles from both directions.
so i'm waiting for the cars to pass so i can make the turn, and spot a few (4-5) bicycles coming from behind me. There's a white van right behind me, so i can't see anything but a big white bumper in my rearview mirror, and the two bikes since they're alot more to the left than me/the van.
ok, so car coming from opposite direction has passed, but i'm still standing still since the bicycles are very close to the intersection now and i have to let them pass first.
white van behind me starts laying on the horn so my first reaction aren't very nice thoughts, i'm not standing still because i just want to... this actually makes me pause a second or 2.
At this point, my front wheel is half on the other carlane (still standing still) and i suddenly hear the sounds of breaks going berserk and see a convertible just an inch away of my nose. He somehow managed to avoid my front tire and the cyclists (he went onto the cycle lane with part of his car trying to avoid me when he spotted me - must've been going 60-70 km an hour...)
*made a quick mental apology to the driver of the white van* he was trying to warn me of the car, or the car of the fact that there was a reason he was standing still... (i had my turn signal on, the white van didn't. Car couldn't see me i guess so he only saw the van standing still on the road, and the way seemed clear to him as there were no more cars from the opposite direction. Probably never even slowed down and planned to overtake the van, if there were 2 cyclists instead of 4-5 i might've made the turn a bit earlier and got hit right in my side, so thanking my lucky stars there)
I get home a bit shaken and tell my partner about it, but about 3 days lateri'm not even giving it a thought anymore. A week or two later i pass the same way (as i do most every day) and i see drawings on the road (police markings after an accident) - a day or two later my mum tells me of an accident that happened there with someone she knew. i hadn't told her about what (nearly) happened to me, and she describes near exact the same! A car didn't see another lighter car in front of a tractor, thought the tractor was just driving slowly, and passed it, ramming the car making the same turn i did into it's side. The lady making the turn had multiple fractures, the child in the backseat of her just some scratches. The person ramming her had a few bruises, but one of the cyclists had a very nasty cut from part of one of the cars flying off into his face and shoulder.
And then i heard there have been at least 3 petitions to have the road altered so there would at least be a sign/roadlines indicating you're not allowed to pass at that intersection in the last few years... apparently me and unlucky lady weren't the only ones in accidents or nearaccidents there, one person has died already 4 years ago.
so again, mental thank you to the white van driver, your honking may have just saved my life and sorry i thought you were a twat for a second there!
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