Equinox

...my closest calls have been with cars cutting their left turn short off the cross road. They are turning left onto the road I'm on, and they cut the turn so that they are actually turning into the oncoming lane. The first time it happened, I was actually on the shoulder of my lane; that's how bad she cut it. I gestured angrily to her and of course, she got mad at me. That was actually my closest call.
It happened yesterday also, but not as bad. I was in the driving lane about a foot off the fog line. I think there might have been some intent on this one, though. I saw him cutting the turn short and I started moving right, but he kept coming at me. I made it around the corner, and I looked back, and he had slowed almost to a stop. I just kept going. i don't know what his intentions were. It may have been object fixation and he might have actually been uspset at how close he came to hitting me or he could have been looking for a confrontation. These incidents happened on isolated country roads.

unterhausen

I haven't had a problem with this, but the subject comes up on here from time to time so it must be pretty common

FBinNY 

It's a regular problem on my commute. Second only to those drivers who stop t sop signs, then decide it's OK to go as I'm approaching the intersection.

Drivers in the Metro NY area, seem to be making their lefts closer and closer every year. Maybe because it's easier to make a wide sweeping turn than to proceed to mid intersection and make a square corner turn while holding a cell phone, coffee, or whatever in one hand. Anyway I've gotten used to anticipating naorrw left turners, staying back from corners, moving farther right than I might otherwise, which has the drawback of poorer line of sight angles.

Unfortunately I have to make a left at one of these intersections, which has led to some interesting dodge-em situations. Just another day in the life of an urban bike commuter.

Notso_fastLane

So they cut the corner and wind up coming at you?

If that's the case, that's exactly what happened to me a couple years ago, except I was on my motorcycle, and the guy nearly killed me. Totalled the motorcycle, which is the real tragedy in this case, since it was a classic, and one of only a few dozen left in the US.

unterhausen

that's too bad about the motorcycle. These threads make me feel better, at least there is one variant of motorists misbehavior I haven't had to live through. Never had anyone left cross me either.

Equinox

That really is heartbreaking. These drivers do this so blatantly carelessly that there would definitely be a head on collision if a motor vehicle were legally approaching the intersection.

delcrossv

That really sucks. What kind of motorcycle?

Commodus

I deal with this constantly. The level of sheer ineptitude required to actually fail to negotiate a normal corner would be shocking if it weren't so damned common.

Of course, when I go on group rides I nearly get dropped at every corner because it seems I'm the only one who has any interest in staying out of the oncoming lane, so it's certainly not restricted to motorists.

FBinNY 

As many experienced cyclists know, the outside, inside, outside line is the fastest way to take a left corner. It's standard practice by race drivers and cyclists on closed courses. It's often also standard practice on rural roads. Unfortunately it's also becoming standard practice in many urban areas.

It's not only a problem for cyclists, witness the number of cars with driver body damage, or left front corner damage. I don't know anyway to protect myself except via awareness and sharp reflexes.

Equinox

You took the words right out of my mouth. The ineptitude is so common that the perepetrators actually belive they have good technique! "What's the problem?" "You're on my side of the road!"
I also get dropped a lot because of my cautious nature. ...and because I'm not as good as the others.

Matariki

I hate left-turning corner cutters whether I am on a bike or in my car. There is absolutely no need to "cut the apex" on public streets. This is a habit that is learned early and will never be changed until they do a head on with another vehicle (and maybe not then).

unterhausen

there is a corner on my bike commute that I cut every day. It's like any other sloppy driving habit, it's not that big of a deal if there isn't anyone at or approaching the intersection.

Dunbar

On the plus side, when an oncoming car cuts you off it's usually pretty easy to see and react. Right hooks can be much harder to detect, especially if the car makes a sudden move when it's right next to you.

noisebeam

Locally it seems to be far more of a risk/practice on neighborhood streets where traffic and speeds are low enough to 'make it work' Seems a regional habit as well, very common in TX, less so in CA, OR, MA.

Only was an issue for me once in my own neighborhood, driver turned left coming straight at me. I saw them ahead of time and held my space (but kept enough opportunity to bail) Curiously the driver who stopped face to face with honked and waved arms in exasperation. I just waited till they got themselves out of the way.

Chris516

Of all the things I have experienced, living in the DC-Metro region, and when I lived in Minnesota off the shores of Lake Superior in the mid-size city of Duluth, I have rarely had that sort of problem.

Possibly because of my lane position, at the traffic light. Maybe

I have encountered motorists cutting a left-turn, when I was on a bike path, in the process of crossing the street, nearly hitting me.

But never the way the OP describes.

Equinox

That's been my experience as well. The driver is mad at me. Buddy, look at where you are, you are on my side of the road, for gosh sakes.

K'Tesh

I've had left (2/20/13) and right (10/12/07) turning cars overshoot their lane and hit me... Now I'm riding with a GoPro and filming all my rides.

For those of you who are looking for a quick release option for your GoPro, I submit this DIY solution.



Glad to hear the OP wasn't hurt.

B. Carfree

Although not exactly the same situation, we had a motorist turning left off the top of a T-intersection onto the leg. A uniformed traffic cop on a motorcycle was at the stop sign on the leg. The motorist ran right into him. Fortunately, the cop was uninjured, although his ride was toast.

Amazingly, the cop didn't Taze the motorist and haul him in. In fact, I'm not even sure he gave him a ticket.

My biggest problem is on suburban roads with limited cross streets. Motorists come around blind curves on the wrong side of the road. I've narrowly avoided several head-on collisions while riding on the shoulder. Not surprisingly, we have head-on collisions in the news on a several-times-per-week basis hereabouts. In fact, the local news had two of them from this morning.

Notso_fastLane

'89 PC800 Honda Pacific Coast

And this is the gear I was wearing when he 'didn't see me'....

If I were in a car, in the same location, it would have been a head on.

Notso_fastLane

Have you seen this?

https://hellforleathermagazine.com/20...yclist-on-gmr/

CB HI

You guys are missing the second half of the problem these apex benders cause. When they do this, they are not able to complete their turn in the left most lane of the road they turned onto. This means they also endanger a right turning motorist turning on to the same road into the right lane.

Even though left turning into the right most lane of a road is illegal, rather than give tickets out, my local government has decided the best solution is to put up traffic signs with a mini-yield symbol worded "yield to left turning" for the right turn approaches. Clear stupidity.

CB HI

Read the linked threads folks. The SUV was borrowed by a high school kid that later bragged up how he save everyone. The tag # was clear on the motorcycle cam - some pissed off motorcyclist are likely to track that SUV down and turn it into scrap. Chicken **** kid did not even tell the SUV owner what happened.

PDX Reborn

Exact, same thing happened to me last week. Except, there was no visible cross walk. I stopped about a cars length from the stop sign. As I put my foot down, I could see a car coming down the street at a high rate speed. The car missed me by inches, close enough for me to feel the gust as it cut the corner. Had I stopped a foot or two closer....

hamster

I read this several times and I still don't understand what you're talking about. If the car is turning left from the cross road onto the road you're on, if they are turning in the same direction where you're going, you should be happy that they are cutting the turn short, that takes them further away from you. If they are turning in the opposite direction, it does not matter what they do, unless for some inexplicable reason you're riding in the left lane.

My closest call was the car making a right turn ahead of me, in the middle of the day, in the rain, close enough that I had to hit the brakes. I didn't think it was even possible (or at least I was considering it a rarity, a freak accident) until that happened. Now I have to check cars behind me each time I cross an intersection.

FBinNY 

Let me see if I can build you a picture. You approach a cross street. A car is coming from your right and making a left turn to head down the road you came up. If he cuts the turn tight he'll trim off the far outside corner of your lane on the way to his. If you happen to be in the center of the lane close to the corner, or positioned to make a left, you're in his line of motion and SOL.