Cyclist crashes into parked white transit in broad daylight

It is far from unknown for car drivers to drive into equally visible things for no obvious reason.

Several years back, a driver pulled out in front of me- I was the last in a stream of cars. The claim was they'd not seen me. Conditions where perfect. After doing the 'paper work', another car hit me as I stood by my car - his nearside door mirror shattered having hit my hip, he must have been doing 60 +. He didn't stop but someone (unknown) got his number and called the police. I had also reported it.

When he was interviewed, he denied seeing me or hearing the noise. Anyone who has had a door mirror hit will know how loud it is, even at

Sadly, some people think the world ends at their windscreen.

There's a T junction near here controlled by traffic lights. When the lights go green for the 'minor' road, the left filter comes on the major one.

Was waiting for that filter with a black cab alongside me - obviously he was going straight on.

When I moved off with the filter, so did he, and crashed into the side of a car coming out of the minor road. And there is perfect visibility at this junction.

Most with sense would look for a car jumping the lights in this circumstances, let alone drive through a red light.

In fairness, we all make errors but sometimes you think 'how on earth...' when you see those some people make.

I do a lot of cycling myself, but haven't competed in an 'open road' event. (I did do NightRider London this year, but that wasn't against the clock).

I can see that, when the pressure is on, you can get your head down and forget there may be objects in your way.

I'm very careful with both road running and cycling events where the roads haven't been closed - after a Freeloader driver decided he *had* to get to his driveway by driving straight through a pack of runners on the Pontypool 10k a couple of years ago. I had a few choice words with him and it was only for the fact he got back into, and locked his car, it didn't come to blows, as I was one of the runners he nudged with his car.

How can a person "forget there may be objects in your way"?

Quite easily in the red mist of a race.

Yes, "red mist".

All sorts of weird stuff is possible. I've had an unaccountable crash on the M25 so I speak from bitter experience.

There is a similar junction near me, the left filter goes green while the road from the left is green too, there are often (fairly minor) crashes when the straight ahead traffic has gone because the left filter traffic has moved off. Locals know it, but there are a lot of business and out of town shopper traffic that do not.