This is the 930th edition of Near Miss of the Day, our series making a point about driving standards and the lack of consideration for vulnerable road users on UK roads. That means that the vast majority involve drivers of vehicles putting cyclists in danger (and the, often questionable, way incidents are dealt with by the police) however today’s is a little bit different.
It comes from last month’s Fred Whitton sportive, quite possibly the hardest cycling event in the UK, and shows the moment an “idiot” participant almost caused a high-speed crash on the descent of Kirkstone Pass.
The event doesn’t enjoy closed roads, a fact anyone taking part would be perfectly aware of. However, despite the shouts of ‘car’ and ‘car up’ that can be heard from riders further down the descent, the participant overtook on a blind bend, in the right-hand lane, before diving back across at the last second to avoid flying into an oncoming vehicle.
The video has been uploaded to YouTube by Tony Houlihan with the punchy, and to-the-point, title: ‘Kirkstone descent idiot cyclist overtake’.
“Despite the warning shouts of ‘Car’, this idiot carried out a Kamikaze-style overtake,” Tony added in the video description.
Fellow cycling YouTuber Cycle the Nation commented on the video, asking for a copy of the video, as he “makes the guide and downhill videos for the Fred and it would be a demonstration of what not to do”.
The other comments include plenty of frustration from the cycling community, people suggesting it paints cyclists in a bad light and that the rider had not only risked his own safety, but also that of the other riders around him at the time who he swerved back in front of when he saw the vehicle.
> 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@road.cc or send us a message via the road.cc Facebook page.
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
55 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 930: “Idiot” cyclist overtakes on blind bend and almost causes shocking crash during Fred Whitton sportive”
That’s the sort of behaviour
That’s the sort of behaviour that gets events cancelled. Even without hitting the car, he could easily have put another rider into a drystone wall.
I rode the Etape some years ago (Limoges to St Flour, 2004 or thereabouts) and we all had rear numbers on in addition to the front ones to
help make money selling event photographsimprove safety. I don’t see why the police don’t insist on being able to identify riders from footage as a condition of giving the event approval?panda wrote:
That be one step away from registration numbers for cyclists.
Exactly. Sounds good. You got an issue with it in events like this?
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They do it in pro races, FGS!!
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Flintshire Boy wrote:
Yes, I have a problem with cyclists be forced to have number plates.
…in organised events?
…in organised events? Answer the actual question not the one you invented.
Its a very very big step away
Its a very very big step away from it. Most organised events have numbers to identify participants.
mctrials23 wrote:
Not wishing to point out the obvious, but if the whole world starts shouting for number plates to identify muppets like this, don’t shout me down when the conversation turns to ALL cyclists needing to have number plates . Imagine the embarrassement of being that cyclist who’s quoted in the Daily mail calling for identification numbers for cyclists. But you’re too smart for that.
don simon fbpe wrote:
And yet most organised events have had participant numbers for years without your fantasy horror show coming about. Me think thou doest protest too much.
In fact I rode my bike through town today with my number from Chase the Sun still attached and I saw no pens and notebooks or camera’s twitching.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
You take care there, you might too close to the point, and we can’t have that, can we?
The conversation has already
The conversation has already turned to all cyclists needing number plates and it’s been closed down on logistical grounds before gaining any traction outside the comments section of the Daily Mail etc.
I don’t think a guideline which says “if you’re not on fully closed roads and the event rewards going fast in any way (e.g. having results listed in finishing order) then we need to be able to identify you from a number of angles” is unreasonable.
Frankly, if I were organising an annual sportive, I’d insist on it myself to protect my investment.
Just wondering whether the
Just wondering whether the rider was actually a part of the Fred Whitton or a) someone who saw the other riders, assumed it was closed roads and thought they would sneak on or b) some arrogant pillock who uses the roads regularly and didn’t like “interlopers” on “his” roads and decided to show them all how much better he is? An absolute cockwomble whether he had paid his entrance fee or not, of course.
Could be any of the above,
Could be any of the above, but totally consistent with the riding I saw in the Fred. When I did it I didn’t much enjoy the Kirkstone descent. It’s a lovely stretch of road, but it’s close enough to the start that everyone is still pretty bunched together and there’s a nervous energy – plenty of people diving down this descent without much regard for others.
Yep it looks like fairly
Yep it looks like fairly standard sportive riding behaviour ime, no matter how often they stress it’s not a race, (and shout out to Aled Jones who this morning congratulated a listener for completing the Dragon “race” this weekend) there’s always someone channeling their inner Pidcock on the descents.
Not sure I’d have been as close to the centre line as some where there either.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Certainly looks like he has the event sticker on the side of his helmet.
Is it possible that they had
Is it possible that they had earphones in and couldn’t hear any warnings? It’s not a very clever place to overtake, regardless.
Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t
Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be riding in such a way that only warnings make sure you don’t avoid an accident unless its completely out of the blue. Riding fast around blind corners on the wrong side of the road is fantastically stupid and exactly the sort of thing that will get these events cancelled.
mctrials23 wrote:
I do hope we don’t need to have the “accident” discussion again.
But that is both stupid and fucking scary.
I would send the organisers and seek assurance that he will be banned from all future events
Isn’t that what I’d said?
Isn’t that what I’d said? (although I was more concise)
Lakes Road Club jersey? So on
Lakes Road Club jersey? The club that organises the Fred.
Yes, it does look like a
Yes, it does look like a Lakes Road Club jersey. Similar to one being worn here:
https://www.steveflemingphoto.com/071100
Good detective work!
Good detective work!
Seems like a very good
Seems like a very good likeness, high correlation of deatil between the 2 shots.
Enough for positive ID? I would be tracking him down and sharing the video of his unacceptable riding.
That’s remarkable. How on
That’s remarkable. How on earth did you find that (other than exhaustive trial/error)?
Obviously, if this were the Slowtwitch forum then nobody would rest until he’d lost his job …
panda wrote:
The Fred Whitton website has the location of the photographers on route and helpfully there was one stationed at the top of the Kirkstone pass.
Tony has put timestamps on his videos, he has a video at the top of the pass taken at 7:09am and this dangerous overtake is timestamped 7:15am. That’s a 6 minute window and with a bell curve distribution of probability, it’s most likely towards the middle of that time window.
The event photographer has ordered photos by timestamp and 7:11am seemed like a good place to start! Took a couple of minutes.
Hopefully this rider has learned their lesson and will not ride so recklessly in future. It’s also a reminder to others that this sort of risk taking is not acceptable and perhaps will not go unnoticed.
quiff wrote:
Track and ban him.
I think the off roader is nearly off road!
I rode The Fred this year and
I rode The Fred this year and unfortunately saw several instances of similarly poor behaviour by other cyclists who definitely were paid-up entrants. Can’t say for certain about this specific rider (not that it makes much difference, as you say) but I agree with quiff that it looks like he was wearing the Lakes Road Club jersey and therefore almost certainly was officially participating (and of course not many other cyclist happen to be on the Kirkstone Pass on 7am in the morning).
There’s always one who treats
There’s always one who treats it like a race. Appalling.
(What cracking weather though!)
You would get disqualified
You would get disqualified for going over the centre lines in a road race, and if enough of the other riders didn’t ride to a good enough standard the whole field would get disqualified
Hi everybody
Hi everybody
Firstly well done to all who took part that ride is beyond me! but my modest effort over the weekend (Box hill and back from Chessington) was rather mired by two people, both on aero/tt style bikes overtaken me whilst I was out, they were so close to me if I had changed my line or even reached for my bottle it would have been a collision! I am damn sure that if it was a car overtaking them that closely they would be venting for weeks. Alas there are idiots everywhere.
Bob’s Bikes wrote:
There most certainly are idiots everywhere and we need to get as many of them as possible out of cars and onto bikes. At least with cyclists close-passing other cyclists, both are going to get hurt when something goes wrong and it’ll likely be non-life-changing injuries.
Coming off a bike, whoever is
Coming off a bike, whoever is at fault, can easily be life threatening due to impact with kerbs, street furniture, cars going the other way, or just the floor. Many years ago a school friend cracked his skull wide open so his brain matter was clearly visible as a result of a 5mph low speed wobble, some bad luck and an ill fitting helmet. That cyclist was a reckless idiot who could have seriously injured a number of other cyclists as well as himself. Let’s not try and make this about car drivers.
LeadenSkies wrote:
Totally. I’m not trying to make it about drivers, but about idiots (not saying that your school friend was – that could just be lack of experience/skill).
In his case, totally down to
In his case, totally down to a lack of experience, skill and bad luck. He suffered enough as a result of that accident without me implying he was in anyway and idiot.
I think your missing the
I think your missing the point. I most certainly do not WANT to be hit at all whilst cycling please don’t try to excuse their behaviour.
Bob’s Bikes wrote:
I’m not excusing bad behaviour of anyone.
But, given that a percentage of people (5%?) are pyschopathic idiots, I’d much rather we have psychopathic idiots on bikes than pyschopathic idiots in cars etc. Even better is if the pyschopathic idiots are just on foot (Auriol Grey?)
Unfortunately it happens far
Unfortunately it happens far too often in races aswell. Most recently 8 days ago in Banbridge with an idiot at the back of the peleton the wrong side having to quickly get back taking out himself and 4 of the same club to avoid an oncoming car.
I think I’d have pulled in,
I think I’d have pulled in, put my nearside indicators on, and waited until the majority got past, and pulled out when the numbers had thinned out.
Narrow road, in the shadows, not much room for error.
That would work until another
That would work until another driver came up behind, but would be the safest option. However, I think we need to give this driver some credit for their low speed and cautious driving. They reacted very quickly and got right over into the verge. If it had been a driver doing just 10mph more I reckon that could have been a fatal collision for the cyclist and possibly any other riders caught up in the aftermath.
newbankgyratory wrote:
Seriously? The driver did nothing wrong and if you think otherwise you’ve got an awful case of bike brain.
Bearing in mind that I’m not
Bearing in mind that I’m not a particular good driver, with poor observation, little situational awareness, slow decision-making, and even worse reactions:
When faced with on-coming hazards – such as bully SUVs, cars where I can’t see the drivers face, cars where the driver looks terrified, cars too far over my side, horse riders, boluses of bicycle riders, etc – I will pull in to let them pass at their own risk.
The roads where I live are extremely narrow and oftentimes dark – it is quicker for everyone if someone makes a decision quickly and allow the traffic to flow. It does help that there aren’t too many traffic lights and it’s easy to make up the time.
My comment was about the generality of multiple on-coming cyclists.
The corner-cutting one appears to ride their bicycle like they probably drive their car. One day Goddess Fortuna will intercede and take away their luck.
newbankgyratory wrote:
On the one hand, it sounds like you probably shouldn’t be driving in the first place.
On the other, the fact that you’re aware of all that means you’re probably a better driver than most on the road.
🤔
newbankgyratory wrote:
I think I’d have stayed on the right side of the road, listened to the warnings of my fellow participants and not plunged round a blind bend through the apex as if I were a pro on a closed road.
Narrow road, in the shadows, not much room for error.
Honestly, we have to credit where it’s due, even to Range Rover drivers; without the driver’s careful and sensible approach here we would be reading about another tragic death in a sportive and most of us (including me) would be assuming it was as a result of a selfish driver trying to push through a dangerous spot.
I think you mean ‘stayed on
I think you mean ‘stayed on the correct side…’ if you’d stayed on the right you would have crashed.
<Pedant off>
For the avoidance of doubt
For the avoidance of doubt for those who can’t read in context or understand that some words have synonyms…
It was only a slight ribbing
It was only a slight ribbing but my work pc doesn’t have a wink emoji. Not that I was looking at road.cc during work hours, obviously!!! 😉
There’s emojis in the roadd
There’s emojis in the road.cc comment editor
I rode the Fred this year and
I rode the Fred this year and the majority of participants were taking few risks but there’s always a few who seem to think it’s OK to put others at risk. Those descents are tricky enough without having someone cut into your space.
#FutureDarwinAwardNominee
#FutureDarwinAwardNominee
If you want to ride/ race
If you want to ride/ race like a pro, then do it on closed roads. On roads with other traffic, ride accordingly……So read Roadcraft with positioning, viewing points, etc
Does anyone know if we’ve got
Does anyone know if we’ve got access to his helmet cam? I’d love to see his sight lines.
don simon fbpe wrote:
Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPxNUTvawVE
You’re following Tom Pidcock
You’re following Tom Pidcock down a descent thinking “this is awesome, I just need to follow his line”… then he nearly highsides it in front of you
(1m 11s). Think I’d back off a bit after that.
You lost me at “you’re
You lost me at “you’re following Tom Pidcock down a descent” (except in the abstract “in the treadmarks of…” and probably not even then on this one). But I take the point.
OTOH the chap following is a dude who’s done it a fair bit faster (long cut version), so I’ve no doubt he’s wired differently from most of us…
quiff wrote:
Mad stuff alright. I think it was a pedal strike – you can clearly hear a noise as the pedal is down.
Personally I think the
The organisers should do what they can to identify the driver and congratulate them for the care and skill shown. That would be as good a way as I can think of to encourage good driving while demonstrating that the cycling community takes as dim a view of poor road skills and behaviour by our cohort as we do of others. This is an annual event so taking such a stance should help engender good local relations which can only be to the benefit of cycling in general.
And of course the Fred Whitton isn’t the hardest cycling event in Britain, that accolade surely goes to the Mille Pennines which is next being held on 4th July from Bispham.