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Ting ting...


Neil2

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7 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

In fact the "ting ting" bells on a rough towpath only sound when you want them to, whereas the old style ones with "flying washers" inside were far more irritating, as they made some sound continuously on a rough surface.

irritating, however gives other towpath users good advance warning of a bike coming and then they can decided what action they want to take without a 'ting-ting' from two feet behind them! :) 

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1 minute ago, Hudds Lad said:

I'm now tempted to switch my bell for a rattle, but I've spent a few quid on a helmet and don't want to have to swap to a flat cap and football scarf :D

If you did, perhaps a recorded whippet call would suit.

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I also have tinnitus in both ears and never hear a cycle bell, as many cyclists try to break the sound barrier on the towpath it is only the presence of my wife that stops me from being run down and cursed at.

very handy in the pub when it's my round, 

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1 hour ago, dunfixing said:

I also have tinnitus in both ears and never hear a cycle bell, as many cyclists try to break the sound barrier on the towpath it is only the presence of my wife that stops me from being run down and cursed at.

very handy in the pub when it's my round, 

I have it in my left ear but have you called the Tinnitus helpline? I tried it once but it just kept ringing......................

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2 hours ago, Athy said:

I don't like those sort of grammar. That (or those) apart, I entirely agree with your points.

A difficult one, though, is if a car is going at 70 m.p.h. in the outside lane of a dual carriageway or motorway and another car comes up close behind, obviously keen to overtake. Should the first car move over and let him pass? I'd say no, as that would be encouraging the second driver to break the speed limit, and thereby the law.

Grammar - yes I suppose the sort is singular but I think it flows better with "those" for some reason. Just like fanatically refusing to split infinitives can be painful!

As to 70mph I don't think it's the place of motorists to try to regulate other people's speeds. Think about the overall safety, not just an arbitrary speed limit. Which is safer, allowing the chap past at 75 or having him up your chuff getting more and more frustrated? And, as the illuminated road signs often say, "frustration causes accidents". So by blocking someone you are substantially increasing the probability of an accident. Is that a good thing?

But a more fundamental point that most people don't seem to appreciate is that most cars' speedos over-read. My Subaru did so by a full 10% so I know that when it was indicating 77 I was on the limit. When it was indicating 70 (stuck behind some self-righteous person with a lack of appreciation of their speedo accuracy) I was only doing about 64.

Edited by nicknorman
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Yes, I take your points fully (though ""those sorts"  would surely be preferable?) - and as we had four Subarus in a row, three Foresters and an XV, I hear what you're saying about their indicated speed. I don't know if this feature is universal amongst all makes of car.

One man's "self righteous" could be another man's  "caring and responsible". I don't think it would be right actively to encourage (said he, carefully side-stepping split infinitive) someone else to break the law, especially if danger (from, for example, excessive speeding) would result. But I did preface my remarks by admitting that it was a difficult one.

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16 minutes ago, Athy said:

I don't think it would be right actively to encourage (said he, carefully side-stepping split infinitive) someone else to break the law,

Surely that example of tortuous avoidance typifies the kind of English up with which Churchill would not put?

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1 minute ago, WotEver said:

Surely that example of tortuous avoidance typifies the kind of English up with which Churchill would not put?

Tee hee. Nowt tortuous about it though. It isn't green and it hasn't got a shell.

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As I understand it the excuse "..... but the speed limit is 70mph so they shouldn't be going faster than that" is not what the rozzers will do you for.

They'll do you for obstruction as you have in effect turned a 3 lane motorway into a single lane road.  An action for which you have no authority so to do.

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9 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

As I understand it the excuse "..... but the speed limit is 70mph so they shouldn't be going faster than that" is not what the rozzers will do you for.

They'll do you for obstruction as you have in effect turned a 3 lane motorway into a single lane road.  An action for which you have no authority so to do.

I doubt it: you have no authority to go at more than 70 m.p.h. Neither has anyone else (except the emergency services). People should move over to let them through, even if they're doing 90 m.p.h. Otherwise you can't be obstructing anyone because that anyone doe not have the right to exceed the speed limit, which he would have to do to overtake you if you were driving on the legal speed limit.

Oh, and I suggest that it would not be an "excuse". Excuses are for use when you've done something wrong. If I don't pay my fare on the train, "I left my wallet at home" would be an excuse. But if I did pay my fare, I would need no excuse because I had behaved correctly.

Perhaps one of our ex-police members could clarify the law in such cases.

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It's not all the cyclists fault. These people that walk the towpath with headphone on, blasting music into their ears so loud that passes by can also hear it. They have no idea what's coming up behind them (how ever loud the ting) and this makes them unpredictable and dangerous.

 

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Of course two wrongs do not make a right.  I'm not sure we're on the same wavelength here.

If you are driving in the outside lane at 70mph pulling back over to let someone else pass you at a higher speed is not encouraging them to break the law. They are responsible for their own actions. Otherwise we'd all be to blame for whatever everybody else does when they break the law, simply because we didn't remove the opportunity for them.:huh:

John Law would still do you for obstruction if he clocked your registration on a camera while you were doing 70mph in the outside lane without any other driver in sight.

Not even the emergency services have dispensation. They can and in fact do get done, mainly if it goes breasts ascending during the process.

 

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3 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

Of course two wrongs do not make a right.  I'm not sure we're on the same wavelength here.

If you are driving in the outside lane at 70mph pulling back over to let someone else pass you at a higher speed is not encouraging them to break the law. They are responsible for their own actions. Otherwise we'd all be to blame for whatever everybody else does when they break the law, simply because we didn't remove the opportunity for them.:huh:

John Law would still do you for obstruction if he clocked your registration on a camera while you were doing 70mph in the outside lane without any other driver in sight.

Not even the emergency services have dispensation. They can and in fact do get done, mainly if it goes breasts ascending during the process.

 

Exactly, also everyone should be driving in Lane 1 (AKA the inside or "slow" lane) unless overtaking or about to do so.

I use my phone with a sat navigators app to measure my speed, and I have only ever found one car (my youngest sons Lotus Elise) to have a truly accurate speedometer.  Most over read  (it is illegal for then to under read) by 5-10%.

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1 minute ago, Canal321 said:

It's not all the cyclists fault. These people that walk the towpath with headphone on, blasting music into their ears so loud that passes by can also hear it. They have no idea what's coming up behind them (how ever loud the ting) and this makes them unpredictable and dangerous.

 

No.

Ambling along a towpath concentrating on whatever takes your fancy does not make you dangerous.  It might make you unpredictable, however anything not in your immediate control may be described thus.

Which is why C&RT want cyclists to dismount and walk their bikes around pedestrians they encounter. Every time one relies upon "ting ting" and then swerves around you has done no more than take a guess at which way you're likely to step. Usually with no threat to their own well being.

I don't even want to experience the shock of a person on a lump of metal suddenly careering around me from no where, let alone waking up in hospital because I'd stooped to the right to pick up my dog's Doo-Doo.

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12 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

Of course two wrongs do not make a right.  I'm not sure we're on the same wavelength here.

 

 

I think we are on absolutely the same wavelength: comparing what should reasonably and logically happen with what sometimes does happen.

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You are all wrong about motorway lane discipline. The inside lane is for those queuing to leave at the next junction, the middle lane is for those jumping the queue to leave at the next junction and the outside lane is for everyone else plus a few jumping the queue of queue jumpers. They will sort themselves out by all suddenly veering left on the basis that a gap will open because nobody wants an accident.

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1 minute ago, Sir Nibble said:

You are all wrong about motorway lane discipline. The inside lane is for those queuing to leave at the next junction, the middle lane is for those jumping the queue to leave at the next junction and the outside lane is for everyone else plus a few jumping the queue of queue jumpers. They will sort themselves out by all suddenly veering left on the basis that a gap will open because nobody wants an accident.

This was most definately the case when the M25 was part of my daily commute from Slough to Epsom. :o

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15 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Far far better for cyclists to use roads that they are designed for and leave towpaths for walking on that way cyclists dont fall in the water trying to get past people on the path.

Fine to hope that but we should bear in mind that many towpaths are only able to be cycled because of cyclists and the interest that local authorities have in meeting their needs. Prior to that, as I well recall, most were often impassable, let alone cyclable.

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1 hour ago, Sir Nibble said:

You are all wrong about motorway lane discipline. The inside lane is for those queuing to leave at the next junction, the middle lane is for those jumping the queue to leave at the next junction and the outside lane is for everyone else plus a few jumping the queue of queue jumpers. They will sort themselves out by all suddenly veering left on the basis that a gap will open because nobody wants an accident.

Tee hee. Have a greeno, Special Cynical Edition.

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I have a slight theory about using motorways ( which are still considered the safest form of driving!).  

 

For each lane you should have a 'speed range' this would help in keeping the traffic flowing.  

 

Eg Lane 1: 55-65 mph ( allow for joining traffic as well as slow moving lorries etc) 

 

Lane 2: 60-70 Mph ( allow for overtaking lorries) 

 

Lane 3: 65-75 mph.   

 

Plenty of putfalls i am I am sure as well as how to enforce, allow for merging lanes etc.  

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