Video: Cyclist has words with driver in Aldi after "punishment pass"

It seems that supermarkets are increasingly becoming the place to take motorists to task about close passes. This latest example, in a Bolton branch of Aldi, does however seem rather more justified than when a man challenged a woman in a Lidl car park last year.

The latest footage was captured by Grahame Cooper, a computing professor and retired lecturer at the University of Salford, who writes the Bike-Riding Motorist blog.

He believes the motorist seen in the video carried out an intentional ‘punishment pass’ because he wasn’t using a bike lane.

Being as they were both going to Aldi, he decided to confront him in there. The driver’s defence is perhaps most notable for his impressively frequent use of the phrase ‘bike lane’.

Cooper told the Manchester Evening News:

“He was in front of me in Aldi so I just thought I would leave the camera running and ask him politely to give me more room.

“Before the second overtake there is a cycle lane but I couldn’t use it because it’s over the apex of a bend and I’ve been cut up there a lot of times before.

“Also, there was a tanker crash before Christmas and there’s still rubbish and mud in part of the cycle lane and sand from preventing the fire. My contention is that he saw I wasn’t in the cycle lane and did what’s called ‘a punishment pass’.”

As Cooper points out, cyclists are not required to use cycle lanes, it’s up to the cyclist to use them if they feel it’s safe.

“Secondly, even if the motorist believes the cyclist should be in the cycle lane, they should not be aggressive towards them. Irrespective of what a vulnerable road user is doing, the motorist should not engage with them. If a pedestrian is walking down the centre of the road, you don’t threaten them.”

Cooper also mentioned rule 163 of the Highway Code which informs drivers they should "give a cyclist at least as much room as you give a car" when overtaking.