Today’s Near Miss of the Day is slightly unusual as the driver involved is a learner under instruction who close passes a cyclist riding in, what can be best described as, an utterly terrible ‘murder strip’ cycle lane.
Learning to drive is stressful, nervy and difficult, so it’s only fair to show, as road.cc reader Martin did here, calmness and direct any issues to the instructor.
What followed was a well-made point about giving vulnerable road users 1.5m space (even if they’re in a ‘cycle lane’), an apology and a promise that the situation will be reviewed with the learner. Refreshingly undramatic…
“I don’t think I was out of order to chase this driver down,” Martin told us. “I wouldn’t normally do this, but I figured a driving instructor was maybe less likely to turn violent.
“The cycle lane here is an absolute waste of paint and unless I ride over the drain gratings my bar end is over the line. Then there’s the junction which requires attention and then thinking ahead to the mini roundabout where I normally turn right, so I was caught off-guard by the passing car and even more annoyed to see it was a driving school vehicle.
“I followed this up with an email as it was rather easy to track down the instructor and got a sort of acknowledgement and apology so I decided not to take it any further. Hopefully he will no longer advise his clients that the 1.5m Highway Code advice is optional in the event of an oncoming vehicle.”
Martin followed up the incident with an email asking the instructor to ensure students keep a safe passing distance and received the following reply: “Thank you for this. I’ve taken it on board and reviewed the situation with my learner. All the best. Sorry about this!”
Anecdotally speaking, we can’t recall having too many (if any) incidents of dangerous driving from learner drivers. Maybe we’re just extremely fortunate, and maybe there aren’t enough learner drivers on the road for us to notice, or maybe we’ve sympathetically erased them from memory… but what’s your experience sharing the roads with driving instructors and students? Normally pretty cautious, thus often safe?
> 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
51 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 789: Sensible discussion and apology follows learner close passing cyclist during driving lesson”
Not making excuses for the
Not making excuses for the extremely close pass, but road positioning of the cyclist is terrible. Far too close to the curb, trying to stay in the murderstrip. With traffic the other way thats a ride primary road
“Kerb”
“Kerb”
KERB
KERB
Please follow the correct case usage policy.
I’m glad I managed to curb my
I’m glad I managed to curb my pedantry on this occasion.
belugabob wrote:
I realised after I posted, but couldn’t be bothered to come back and change it
It looked to me like, rather
It looked to me like, rather than trying to stay in it, they were on or just outside the white lines – can’t really tell though, since we don’t know where on the bars the camera was.
Pyro Tim wrote:
Looks like he’s riding with the wheels just to the right of the Moordstrookje markings, which I think is about where I’d choose there, far enough out to discourage passing in the lane but allowing safe passing in the opposite lane where possible.
at the very least primary
at the very least primary through the pinch point, that alone might have been enough to deter an overtake from a learner.
Is the footway a shared space
Is the footway a shared space? Couldn’t quite see from the first few seconds.
hirsute wrote:
No, it looks like it directs you into the road at 7 seconds in.
edit: it looks really weird, seems to direct you onto the pavement just before the traffic light controlled crossing, then puts you back into the road afterwards. Is it just there so cyclists don’t have to stop for a red light when pedestrians are crossing?!
Just sends you up there long
Just sends you up there long enough to plough through any pedestrians waiting at the crossing.
The most concerning thing
The most concerning thing about this is not the close pass from a learner, but the fact the instructor doesn’t know the rules! I wonder if they actually told their student to go for the gap?
if the learner had stopped
if the learner had stopped naturally in traffic, Id have been tempted to then have a direct word, Im not sure Id have wanted to create a situation that made them stop like they did in the video, because they clearly start to get flustered by whats happening with the cyclist, and eventually stop on a double yellow line, which isnt the smartest or safest place to have a cosy roadside chat however polite it was.
and anecdotally yes Ive had close passes from learners, and very few of them seem to understand priorities when their side of the road is blocked with parked cars, I know you are supposed to make allowances for mistakes, and I do, but I remember my driving instructor would call me out if I was about to make a mistake like that, so I have to assume these are driving instructor approved moves on the whole.
Awavey wrote:
A large percentage of qualified drivers also don’t understand priorities when their side of the road is blocked by parked cars, or indeed when they’re driving on a country road and their side of the road is blocked by pedestrians or cyclists.
It seems the done thing to just force the vehicle with right of way to brake and/or force their way through as close as possible to the vulnerable road users.
absolutely, but Im resigned
absolutely, but Im resigned to losing that battle. Whereas with learner drivers supposedly being taught the right way to drive, I find it disappointing and annoying in equal measure that they still arent being taught to view cyclists as having valid priority on a road, and will still drive at you to force you into the gutter to make space rather than stop, seemingly all without correction from the instructor.
Maybe I’m just cycnical, but
Maybe I’m just cycnical, but that certainly didn’t sound like an honest and remorseful apology to me. He wen from “I don’t have to give you 1.5m if you’re in a cycle lane”, to “what am I supposed to do if there’s traffic coming?”, and then fell back to a “yeah whatever, sorry” probably just to make you go away.
Keep your eyes peeled, I suspect you’re going to see more of the same from him.
What happened to “do not stop
What happened to “do not stop or park on double yellow”?
Driving instructor is not fit to teach.
cbrndc wrote:
Just to play devil’s advocate, he may have been concerned that his learner would get upset or flustered by a cyclist following and calling out and so told him/her to stop to make sure no incident occurred? His later excuses do indeed seem to indicate he at least needs to go back to instructor’s school and brush up on his highway code, but there could be a valid excuse for stopping there.
I see exactly this not
I see exactly this not infrequently – instructors using the “picking up / dropping off” dodge to be sat on double yellows waiting between lessons. No, they’re not “just picking up”, they’re parked waiting where it’s most convenient. In one sense where they’re doing it makes it inconsequential. It does demonstrate to their students that you can ignore some rules.
I believe that there are fairly stringent requirements to be a driving instructor? I suspect that “their mileage will vary”. I had a very pedantic one – which probably helped me pass. Others may lean towards “teach how it is” rather than “teach the rules”.
TBH I think it is important but under our system probably quickly becomes irrelevant. Because learning and passing a test happens once a lifetime for most. After that it’s pretty much “do as everyone else does”.
Actually to be fair, the rule
Actually to be fair, the rule isn’t no stopping on DYL. That’s drl. You’re permitted to stop for (assisted) boarding / alighting on DYL as long as you take no longer than necessary to do so. So they’re not breaking the letter of the rule there.
Exactly my point. It was
Exactly my point. Double yellows are another thing which doesn’t really mean much. In practice we have another “rule” where (presumably) trying to lawyer common sense into it / establish limits has – imagine – made it pointless. Unless you are or travel equipped with a member of the police + council official.
Of course it was necessary and reasonable to stop for 10 minutes for “boarding” because the student wasn’t there on time. Or the instructor was 10 minutes early.
Or they had time for a fag / sandwich before driving elsewhere. Also necessary because parking 30 yards in either direction where there are legal spaces just wouldn’t work.Again – it’s a “minor” issue because I’m happy to admit they weren’t endangering anybody. And they weren’t blocking anyone or impeding their progress. Which appears in practice to be the one thing everyone agrees is unacceptable (though where and when you can is quibbled).
But they’re a driving instructor.
Case law (well, TPT so
Case law (well, TPT so tribunal) backs up that waiting for a prearranged pickup is ok on DYL – which as you say, tends to make a mockery of the purpose of most DYL!
is that an adopted highway or private parking? On private land DYL have no stat meaning at all, just whatever stupid rules the PPC makes up to get as many tickets issued as possible…
Yes – good point. Given the
Yes – good point. Given the age of the place and standard signage / markings I’m pretty sure this one is adopted. I’ve even seen a council parking warden round here (clearly this is a convenient spot for everyone to take a quick break).
Is there a way to tell apart from seeing “private road” signs – without doing some kind of property search?
As often it gets more complicated once you pay attention.
Again – I don’t begrudge people (who’re driving all day) a stop in a pretty innocuous place here. Well – Amazon ought to use the legit spaces and get their vans off the pavement. It was an illustration of a universal behaviour and that even driving instructors don’t see this as a biggie.
Sure double-yellow lines
Sure double-yellow lines carry a clearly understood meaning; everyone knows they mean [i]Off-road parking only i.e. park on the pavement.[/i]
Or of course that all
Or of course that all regulations are voided with the use of BOLAS.
Correct – and Amazon have
Correct – and Amazon have clearly been giving training as they were in evidence.
It’s all moot because there
It’s all moot because there don’t seem to be the resources to enforce the rules. That’s part of the cycle where “not enforced” or “exemptions” mean “ignored” which mean “everyone does” which mean “de facto we’ll mostly not bother enforcing”. Take double-yellow (“no waiting”) – “You may stop to load or unload (unless there are also loading restrictions …) or while passengers board or alight. Double yellow lines mean no waiting at any time, unless there are signs that specifically indicate seasonal restrictions.”
So this Amazon van was (just now) – take your pick: “loading”, “boarding” … didn’t see anyone come or go from it but presumably it was a delivery. On the pavement, opposite a junction, it’s been there over 10 minutes now… Note the free parking spaces at top right, you don’t need a permit.
This is totally “accepted behaviour” in many places. Similar applies to speeding / RLJ / no tax or insurance (as wtjs points out). You can sometimes add running people over to that “decriminalised” list – including on the pavement (in other threads).
The instructors around here
The instructors around here like to stop on DYL around the business park I work on just to have a chat. It’s a daily sight when I go for my lunchtime walk. Sometimes the instructor will even has his door open across the pavement.
The take home, for me, is
The take home, for me, is that cycle lane infrastructure is so poor, in the UK, that you should not use them. In fact you’re at grater risk of injury if you do. Don’t take my word for it see, Adams, Thomas, and Rachel Aldred. 2020. “Cycling Injury Risk in London: Impacts of
Road Characteristics and Infrastructure.” Findings, December.
But which specifically only
But which specifically only covers London, and I feel from my many observations of London traffic over the years, theres alot more going on than just painted cycle lanes = bad. And so its not then good enough data to extrapolate to all UK painted cycle lanes = bad.
Some are undoubtedly, the one in this video a perfect example of badness, but they arent ALL like that.
You are correct. Come up and
You are correct. Come up and cycle around Bradford and you’ll soon see that the infrastructure in London is way better than where I live. So are the buses the trains etc, etc but not the country lanes, trees and wide open moorland.
VIPcyclist wrote:
Or the curd tart. Did you know that Bettys tearooms do mail order now? My wife bought me a box of curd tarts for our anniversary
(haven’t had that particular food of the gods for nigh on thirty years: they don’t sell it this far south).
Recommended – I’ve been a
Recommended – I’ve been a recipient of their goodness by post. Even when you’re in the region it saves trying to elbow your way in. I’m partial to their fat
barascals.I’ve seen some terrible cycle
I’ve seen some terrible cycle lanes (most of them), but that one is pretty special. Lucky if it’s 70cm wide.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Meh. I’ve seen narrower… 😉
I can’t help thinking that
I can’t help thinking that was a rather hollow apology from the instructor. However the really concerning part is that a driving instructor can be so misinformed to even begin to challenge the rider on whether or not they should’ve attempted the overtake. If you can’t give 1.5m because of oncoming traffic, then you wait until it’s safe. How can an instructor teach that to their students if they don’t even grasp it themselves?!
I wonder what the government
I wonder what the government has done to disseminate information on what are admittedly more “wording changes” than “new law” / “new rules” to driving instructors (mostly “should” and “guidance” sadly)? Did they make as much effort as with the general driving population?
chrisonatrike wrote:
You mean passively aggressively drip-feeding information out to enable radio and TV presenters to grumble about it?
You read me right.
You read me right.
Mind boggling. How thick do
Mind boggling. How thick do you have to be to think that a cycle lane suddenly removes the requirement of having to leave 1.5m between you and a bike. Why on earth would that requirement disappear when there is a line painted on the road?
That also wasn’t an apology and I wouldn’t be surprised if the instructor just grumbled and whinged to their pupil about cyclists when they drove off. He was just concerned about being an instructor and on camera doing something that might damage his business.
Perfect example of “I stayed
Perfect example of “I stayed in my lane and they’re in their lane”, isn’t it?
Yep, this magic bit of paint
Yep, this magic bit of paint that means drivers don’t think, because it’s not how drivers are taught
When did they start teaching
When did they start teaching “you should move to the other lane to overtake – so you’re fine to overtake on the opposite side of a pedestrian refuge”? In the last couple of years that’s becoming much more common.
Then you have instructors
Then you have instructors like AN who minimise thr risk this poses on certain junctions just to have a pop at CM.
mctrials23 wrote:
Mark Hodson from West Midlands Police addressed the issue of painted cycle lanes in a very informative thread on Twitter the other day, well worth a read.
https://twitter.com/markandcharlie/status/1538920554874425345
Learner close passes ? A
Learner close passes ? A fringe benefit of having to ride on parts of a test route
It might not look the worst pass,certainly isn’t I’ve had here, but for context my wheels are on the cycle lane line as I aim towards prime.
The car is actually cutting back across me sharply to avoid hitting a keep left bollard. They then spend the next 2mins of travel, stuck with me directly behind them because that’s just how this section of road is.
So why would a driving instructor allow anyone under tuition to overtake through here unless they thought it acceptable too ? Its the same attitude as the instructor in that video and that I see from driving schools alot, theres little effort spent teaching learner drivers how to drive safely around cyclists.
stonojnr wrote:
Did you happen to notice if there was anyone in the passenger seat. The worst examples of driving I’ve seen involving driving school vehicle, often don’t involve a learner driver.
I’m currently walking up in
I’m currently walking up in Weardale and surrounds.
Today, on a very quiet country lane which was wide enough for two cars to pass easily, I did a bit of experimental holding my ground in the face of oncoming traffic. Out of the 7 or 8 cars, only 2 made any serious effort to leave a gap. The worst offenders were a Kia who looked baffled that I wasn’t moving into the overgrown verge and although they slowed, seemed puzzled that I expected them to go around us. The BMW was second worst – they were forced to stop because of an oncoming car, but then really couldn’t be bothered to turn the steering wheel to move away, leaving a couple of feet. The third irritant was the car faced with an oncoming bike who was baffled at the thought of waiting for the cyclist to pass so they could pull out – they seemed like they knew they should give the cyclist space but couldn’t work out how to do that with a walker in the road.
Fortunately, it was only about 800 metres of test case. I really don’t want to wear cameras as a pedestrian but I was tempted to start filming using my compact camera.
IanMSpencer wrote:
That doesn’t sound plausible, is it possible you mistook an Audi for a Kia?
Same as my walking
Same as my walking experiences. Too many drivers don’t slow or give room.
I find that walking with a
I find that walking with a 4ft walking pole I get loads of room, particularly when I wave it a little.