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Near Miss of the Day 103: Overtaking lorry driver forces cyclist to brake

Our regular feature highlighting close passes caught on camera from around the country – today it’s Leeds

The latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a lorry driver in Leeds overtaking a cyclist, forcing him to brake to avoid being squeezed between the trailer and a row of parked vehicles.

It’s also an example of something we regularly see in our readers’ submissions for the feature – a motorist who will needlessly put a cyclist in danger, with the lorry driver in this case having to stop at a set of traffic lights immediately after the dangerous manoeuvre.

It’s also worth noting that the trailer of the lorry has one of those stickers on it warning cyclists not to ride up the inside, though that works both ways of course, with the driver in this case putting the rider in exactly that position.

The footage was sent to us by road.cc reader Rob the Commuter, who also provided a detailed description of the incident. Here’s what he said:

I was close passed by a Chris Wright rig in Rawdon on my way into work this morning. At the point that the driver came past, there was no oncoming traffic, so he could have given me sufficient room.

I would have been caught between the parked vehicles and the side of the trailer but braked quite hard to make sure the trailer had cleared me before I arrived at the parked vans.

At the point I started braking, I had no idea how close the truck was going to get (it was too close for me to fit safely between the trailer and the parked vans as it turned out).

In any case the traffic lights ahead were on red, so as soon as he passed me he had to stop. It wasn’t as if I was holding him up.

On the full version of the video it can be seen that there is a long stretch of clear road before we arrived at the parked vehicles, so he could have come past then, quite safely.

On the other hand, if he had eased off earlier, it would have saved me the close pass and saved Chris Wright haulage a bit of fuel and brake lining.

The tractor was a Foden. The reg on the trailer was N555CWB.

From where I was sitting, this was quite tight. If a door opened on one of the parked vans and the trailer had been beside me or the trailer had been a touch closer, I would have been killed.

I have contacted the haulier. On the basis of previous experience, I have no expectation of any action from the police, so I have not formally reported it. I have however asked if they might consider a close pass initiative here in Leeds.

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.

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.

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.

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12 comments

Avatar
Daveyraveygravey | 6 years ago
2 likes

I hate those stickers.  They are just put there by lazy inconsiderate twunts who then think the sticker makes them a good driver.

Avatar
davel replied to Daveyraveygravey | 6 years ago
2 likes
Daveyraveygravey wrote:

I hate those stickers.  They are just put there by lazy inconsiderate twunts who then think the sticker makes them a good driver.

I'm even more cynical - I think it gives them an excuse not to bother being a good driver... At least where cyclists on the nearside are concerned.

I interpret them as 'Cyclists: I (or a manager in my company) am a victim-blaming bellend and will shirk responsibility for my shit driving through the use of a sticker, if I can get away with it. Now watch while I try to get away with it.'

Would have to be a pretty big sticker, that, so it might be snappier as

'Cyclists: I'M SHIT!'

Avatar
lllnorrislll | 6 years ago
9 likes

Have road.cc been in contact with Chris Wright Baildon Ltd for a statement? They are quite easy to Google and have social media accounts, that would make more interesting journalism?

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
4 likes

So red light ahead (MGIF) and with no oncoming traffic still couldn't be fucked to go into the other lane. I'd quite happily pull this twat out the cab and smash ten bells of shite out of him.

Avatar
OldRidgeback replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
0 likes

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

So red light ahead (MGIF) and with no oncoming traffic still couldn't be fucked to go into the other lane. I'd quite happily pull this twat out the cab and smash ten bells of shite out of him.

That's an understandable reaction, but assault is a criminal offence remember. That'd seriously mess up your career and your ability to travel (no more trips to the US for starters, and probably several other countries too). You'd have to pay higher insurance rates and if you have kids, well it'd not be good for them either.

Hopefully the cops will do something for this truck driving numpty instead.

Avatar
Grahamd replied to OldRidgeback | 6 years ago
1 like

OldRidgeback wrote:

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

So red light ahead (MGIF) and with no oncoming traffic still couldn't be fucked to go into the other lane. I'd quite happily pull this twat out the cab and smash ten bells of shite out of him.

That's an understandable reaction, but assault is a criminal offence remember. That'd seriously mess up your career and your ability to travel (no more trips to the US for starters, and probably several other countries too). You'd have to pay higher insurance rates and if you have kids, well it'd not be good for them either.

Hopefully the cops will do something for this truck driving numpty instead.

Therein lies the problem, we have to hope the police do their job, rather than be able trust in enforcement.

 

Avatar
ktache | 6 years ago
5 likes

Unfortunately he will still get away with it.  Presumed liability seems to me to be only about insurance.

I think that they only see us, they cannot see beyond us,  They don't see the oncoming vehicle, the traffic "calming" measure, the blind bend, the large queue of traffic or the red light.  Either that or they are just shit drivers.

 

Avatar
Bluebug replied to ktache | 6 years ago
3 likes
ktache wrote:

Unfortunately he will still get away with it.  Presumed liability seems to me to be only about insurance.

I think that they only see us, they cannot see beyond us,  They don't see the oncoming vehicle, the traffic "calming" measure, the blind bend, the large queue of traffic or the red light.  Either that or they are just shit drivers.

 

The latter.

Many drivers seem to rely on other road users regardless of their mode of transport including foot to prevent incidents happening. Unfortunately that doesn't always work...

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Stef Marazzi | 6 years ago
4 likes

We have to get presumed liability in this country. Until then it's too easy to do this and get away with it.

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thereverent replied to Stef Marazzi | 6 years ago
1 like

cyclesteffer wrote:

We have to get presumed liability in this country. Until then it's too easy to do this and get away with it.

If insurance companies did regular serching on YourTube or set up their own portal to report drivers and used that to raise premiums for those drivers (or commercial fleets) this might act as a quick deterent for drivers and cuold actually save the insurance companies money (as they would charge bad drivers more).

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