{"id":170953,"date":"2018-10-18T08:15:42","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T08:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=170953"},"modified":"2018-10-18T08:16:42","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T08:16:42","slug":"sorry-mate-the-smidsy-phenomenon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/10\/18\/sorry-mate-the-smidsy-phenomenon\/","title":{"rendered":"Sorry, Mate: The SMIDSY Phenomenon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>I\u2019ll start with full disclosure; I\u2019ve been on both ends of a SMIDSY. I\u2019ve said SMIDSY. And I\u2019ve been told SMIDSY. For those of you who don\u2019t know what SMIDSY means, it means \u201cSorry Mate, I Didn\u2019t See You\u201d. And it\u2019s usually said by the guilty party in a traffic collision or, as you can see here, a near collision.<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OwznGOFowmE<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Whose fault?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s very easy for us cyclists to point the finger at car and van drivers but, as the above video demonstrates, even pedestrians can be oblivious to cyclists. Why? Because cyclists often move faster than expected for a vehicle that doesn\u2019t make any noise.<\/p>\n<lite-youtube videoid=s-PuD8fSI-I params=\"enablejsapi=1\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi_webp\/s-PuD8fSI-I\/maxresdefault.webp');\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<p>So, here we have a cyclist moving at speed on the road, being careful to stay clear from the row of parked cars that may reverse with limited visibility. He\u2019s got flashing lights that you can see on the road, despite the bright street lights \u2013 and still, he narrowly avoids a collision with a pedestrian.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Is day-glo the solution?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You know when you see a cyclist wearing black at night and they don\u2019t have any lights on their bike? We\u2019ve seen them, haven\u2019t we? We shook our heads and thought that if they were wearing day-glo lycra, we\u2019d have a better chance of seeing them. Wrong \u2013 the point is that we\u2019ve seen them.<\/p>\n<lite-youtube videoid=a9JOTVncSe0 params=\"enablejsapi=1\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi_webp\/a9JOTVncSe0\/maxresdefault.webp');\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<p>Here we see a responsible and alert motorist who, seeing the unlit cyclist with plenty of time to spare, indicates his overtake. Helpfully, the driver flashes his full beams just before he passes so you can see the reflective strip on the back of the cyclist.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, us cyclists should always use lights at night, but if they unexpectedly fail, reflective strips help you avoid a SMIDSY. And motorists can\u2019t assume that cyclists will always be visible \u2013 stay alert. As both a cyclist and a motorist, I\u2019ve been made aware of a tail light not working. It happens.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Blind spots<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes, it\u2019s the responsibility of the motorist, but there comes a point where we need to own our own safety. Even in cycling utopias like Amsterdam, you can\u2019t assume that everyone will follow the rules. Check out this video and see if you\u2019re alert to the dangers like the cyclist filming.<\/p>\n<lite-youtube videoid=leW8Mx1GciE params=\"enablejsapi=1\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi_webp\/leW8Mx1GciE\/maxresdefault.webp');\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<p>First of all, the lorry is indicating left and has been conscientious enough to avoid the bicycle advanced stop line. One cyclist sees the potential danger \u2013 that the lorry is indicating to the left and makes the decision to go around the lorry\u2019s right-hand side. This is the right decision.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Dutch Reach<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Even when your car is stopped, there are several ways it could still cause a collision. Most driving curriculums around the world prevent them, but one is almost unique to The Netherlands \u2013 this video demonstrates what The Dutch Reach is.<\/p>\n<lite-youtube videoid=GzIf80eSfCg params=\"enablejsapi=1\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi_webp\/GzIf80eSfCg\/maxresdefault.webp');\"><\/lite-youtube>\n<p>Being the selfish idiot I am, I\u2019ve realised that not only does The Dutch Reach prevent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/bike-blog\/2012\/jul\/24\/cyclists-threat-parked-cars?INTCMP=SRCH\">The Door Prize<\/a> from happening \u2013 it reduces the risk of cyclists, motor-cyclists, van-drivers, and other car-drivers from ripping your beloved car\u2019s door off its hinges. Thanks, mate \u2013 I did see you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ll start with full disclosure; I\u2019ve been on both ends of a SMIDSY. I\u2019ve said SMIDSY. And I\u2019ve been told [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":170959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[2344,2343],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-170953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-cycling-at-night","tag-smidsy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sorry, Mate: The SMIDSY Phenomenon - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ll start with full disclosure; I\u2019ve been on both ends of a SMIDSY. I\u2019ve said SMIDSY. And I\u2019ve been told SMIDSY. 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