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news
Near Miss of the Day 106: Impatient driver can't wait to overtake
The latest entry in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a type of driving that often crops up in these videos. with a motorist putting a cyclist, the occupants of a car coming in the other direction, and themselves at risk simply to save a couple of seconds.
The footage was shot in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, by road.cc reader Damian, who told us: "For some reason this person thought they could overtake and cut back in before the car travelling in the opposite direction came past, but if not, they could always just get as close as possible to me."
Damian continued: "I had a bad few days in October, four close passes in a nice little compilation."
The sharp-eyed among you will spot that the second of those happened on the same stretch of road as the incident in the video above.
"Sadly, I could probably do a daily blog of close passes they are that frequent," Damian added, "some worse than others though, and all the above are pretty close!
> Near Miss of the Day turns 100 - Why do we do the feature and what have we learnt from it?
Over the years road.cc has reported on literally hundreds of close passes and near misses involving badly driven vehicles from every corner of the country – so many, in fact, that we’ve decided to turn the phenomenon into a regular feature on the site. One day hopefully we will run out of close passes and near misses to report on, but until that happy day arrives, Near Miss of the Day will keep rolling on.
If you’ve caught on camera a close encounter of the uncomfortable kind with another road user that you’d like to share with the wider cycling community please send it to us at info [at] road.cc or send us a message via the road.cc Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/roadcc
If the video is on YouTube, please send us a link, if not we can add any footage you supply to our YouTube channel as an unlisted video (so it won't show up on searches).
Please also let us know whether you contacted the police and if so what their reaction was, as well as the reaction of the vehicle operator if it was a bus, lorry or van with company markings etc.
> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- grOg 3 sec ago
Where does it state in the article that Ashley purchased the stock? it does state that Ashley bought the brand and intellectual property, not the...
- rogerwb 2 hours 40 min ago
Jump off the bike and run across. I cycle in trainers though.
- momove 3 hours 43 min ago
Cheers for the lesson! Wasn't expecting one so was pleasantly surprised, especially getting to find the origin of "laconic"!
- ktache 4 hours 30 min ago
Isn't it a rights issue?
- AidanR 5 hours 20 min ago
Same here - it took me by surprise. 10:30am doesn't feel like a dangerous time to cycle; apparently I'm wrong on that.
- Daddy Feebs 5 hours 33 min ago
If anything, it looks a bit like an SL6
- wtjs 6 hours 9 min ago
Other commenters have different views True!
- Daclu Trelub 6 hours 24 min ago
Incredibly bone-headed.
- Sriracha 8 hours 26 min ago
Lidl have a window poster emblazoned, "Black Friday. Starts Sunday".
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19 comments
This is why you take the lane and adopt primary postion! Don't invite them to pass you in spaces/ situastions drivers can't bother to assess properly.
This is such a common response on here to a lot of close-passes and holds merit in a lot of cases.
But, in this case, the rider is travelling at 20mph and is not exactly hugging the kerb so I believe your comment to be mis-placed. The driver chose to make an overtake at an inappropriate time and in a dangerous manner; you cannot apportion any blame on the cyclist.
I don't understand why not riding primary is seen by some as being an invitation to be close passed. It's nothing more than victim blaming.
It's my responsibility to ride safely so as to not put others at risk and it is the responsibility of others to drive/ride safely so as to not put me at risk. If a driver requires me to ride in a certain way so as to tell them how to drive safely then they have no business holding a driving licence in the first place.
More wonderful bad driving we have to contend with everyday. If it makes you feel any better I had two coaches overtake me so close that I was about to pray to god and say goodbye to my wife and children this afternoon with cars on coming on the other side by seconds. This happens literally everyday. We have to tolerate this everyday. Selfish dangerous drivers that are driving at the limits of killing another motorist that chooses to do something healthy and ride instead of drive. Frustrating, keep cycling.
Was it reported ? That driver needs to have a visit from the Police before he kills someone.
Deliberate.
Please tell me it's been reported.
That is definitely a punishment pass. Insanely and dangerously close, only to the light up the brake lights and drive right up against the kerb in some deranged attempt to "teach the cyclist a lesson". The irony of course, is that it is the willfully dangerous driver that desperately requires education.
I'm not sure it is, just shit, inconsiderate driving. Some drivers think it's a good pass so long as they don't actually hit anything/damage their own car.
I have to say I agree with you. Whilst to us, these actions seem deliberate, spiteful and spineless acts of some weird vigilante driving, I think the truth is, most are simply drivers working to the rule 'you only have to miss'
They're not trying to be cnuts, they just don't think about what the experience of their 'just in time' overtake is from a cyclists perspective.
This is why they often look so surprised when they get some angry spandex man spitting expletives at the next roundabout.
Education, educatuon, education.
That is definitely a punishment pass. Insanely and dangerously close, only to the light up the brake lights and drive right up against the kerb in some deranged attempt to "teach the cyclist a lesson". The irony of course, is that it is the willfully dangerous driver that desperately requires education.
As a cycle commuter into Newcastle u Lyme myself, sadly this is a normal daily occurance. Most drivers are Ok but every day you get some moron like this coming within inches of killing you. I could join Damion in his blog!
Perhaps that's why I see, on average, only one cyclist per day on my 10 mile commute around Stoke.
I think it's simply 'must get in front' syndrome.
I wonder if the presence of the shared-use footpath led the driver into "teaching the cyclist a lesson"? From a quick a look on Google Street View, this particular road (Brymbo Road, I believe) has been blessed with the usual "let's make a cycle path by simply sticking a sign on a pavement" nonsense.
Sadly this is definitely a factor in many drivers (narrow) minds, and there would never be any way of making them appreciate how totally unfit for purpose some of these shared use paths are. The one along side the road in this case has several junctions and a bus stop meaning even in the absence of pedetrians, progress would be slow and awkward. Factor in a few folk strolling/waiting for the bus and it's simply not practical to use it unless simply bimlbing along on your shopping bike. Certainly no use for a rapid commute.
I fail to understand the mindset of a driver that makes a pass like that. After that last oncoming car the road was clear, within line of sight, for ages.
Did the driver underestimate the speed of the cyclist?
Did the driver fail to pay attention to the cyclist early enough to adjust their speed and make the overtake after the oncoming car had passed?
Or did the driver really just have to get in front, as so often seems to be the case?
Wrapped up in their fug of warmth, music, and farts; totally oblivious to anything going on outside that bubble.
I think it's not even that. Many drivers are notably bad at anticipating beyond the next "obstacle" -- it doesn't even occur to them to check if waiting a few seconds will make it easier, or if the overtake just gets them to a traffic queue faster, or whatever. They focus on what's immediately in front of them -- getting past the cyclist -- without consideration of whether or not it's actually worth doing just then.
The driver is simply a feckwit like 2 of those who I had behind me earlier when I over took a cyclist. It appears many drivers don't understand when overtaking a bike you go into the other lane.
Also you don't actually have to adjust your speed if there are no cars in the other lane, you simply move out to overtake and move back in.
Or possibly they were on their mobile phone, so not paying attention to the road.
Has the cyclist taken this to the police?
That is awful driving.