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news
Near Miss of the Day 129: Motorist roars past club run at pinch point
Today’s near miss features a harrowing combination of factors for a cyclist. You’re approaching a traffic island, the road is about to narrow and you hear the sound of a fast-moving car behind you…
The incident took place on January 6 at the junction of Renfree Way and Chertsey Road in Surrey during a local club run.
While we can only see one cyclist in front, MCR Cyclist (who also provided Wednesday’s near miss) said there were also several behind, riding in single file. He said the driver would have been able to see them for a good 30 seconds before passing.
MCR Cyclist said he had intentionally waited to post the video until he’d heard the outcome from Surrey Police.
“They have offered the driver a Drive Improvement Course. If he fails to accept it, he will be prosecuted. I can only praise Surrey Police for their quick action and understand that they are limited on what action they can take due to current guidelines.”
> 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.
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
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- Bungle_52 2 sec ago
Looks like you may get your wish. https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/motoring/should-older-drivers...
- David9694 13 min 36 sec ago
Man charged after lorry crashes onto railway line...
- Quiddle 47 min 11 sec ago
The first part of this article scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Councillor Hunt makes a reasonable case with no evidence of any 'fuming'. Why go...
- lesterama 9 hours 10 min ago
They need to re-release a yellow turbo. That is their most iconic saddle of all time, as ridden by Fignon, Lemond, Hinault et al. on their...
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it feels a conveniant donkey to put the tail on imo, and Im not saying some members didnt quit BC because of the Shell thing, but Im not entirely...
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Did I mention that it costs £580?
- chrisonabike 10 hours 17 min ago
Don't worry! They've got plenty of others they can use!...
- Rendel Harris 10 hours 33 min ago
Well what is that way? Are you suggesting that every bend on every descent can be barriered over a 180km mountain stage?
- slappop 14 hours 46 min ago
Hopefully it'll still be allowed for recreational use.
- Bungle_52 15 hours 38 min ago
Well Gloucestershire are getting better. I'm being told whether or not action is to be taken, but not what action, within a few days of each report...
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24 comments
The cyclist makes no attempt to check over their shoulder that it is clear to move from the cycle lane into the main carriageway. There is no communication whatsoever to anyone behind of what they are about to do - as the lead cyclist of a known group, they should have indicated something to those behind, so they didn't just cycle straight into an obstacle. In this case, there could have been a pile-up into the kerb.
We obviously don't know if any of the riders behind signalled they were moving out, but there was no signal to be passed down the line and I'd have a reasonable amount of sympathy with the driver if a bunch of cyclists in a cycle lane suddenly move out into the main carriageway without adequate warning.
Granted, the driver should have slowed down and given the cyclists plenty of room and appears to have had time to do so, but the cyclists don't appear to have helped themselves, from what we can see.
I've been giving the whole "close pass" thing a lot of thought lately - particularly with regard to apparent "double standards". If I'm cycling on the road, cars are supposed to give me 1.5m of space. If I'm cycling on the pavement (shared use), they don't have to give me any room at all - they could be 0.3m away from me and that would be perfectly reasonable. Walking my daughter to school last week, we got passed by a skip lorry going at speed (40mph road) - came within a few inches from me, as it made no attempt to move out from the kerb, despite nothing coming the other way. So it's no real surprise that drivers pass cyclists as close as they do.
Pinch, what?
How much room exactly, a potholes width, a gust of wind.
The driver was clearly speeding even if not for the traffic island, if anyone had been in primary I'd imagine they'd be dead now.
A large SUV with a 'BO55' number plate.
Says all we need to know about the mentality of this 'driver' and no Driver Improvement Course will ever change his mindset.
Don't know what all the fuss is about, loads of room. Canal paths have no cars on them and if you can't handle the traffic maybe you should ride there. If every car etc that passed me gave me as much room I'd be well happy.
That was close.
I wonder if the cycle lane markings caused a problem here. They direct cyclists off the road just before the pinch point. Maybe a 'punishment pass' from a motorist who incorrectly believes the cyclists should have followed the cycle path.
No punishment pass here, just a motorist with no advanced perception of hazards. Driving too fast and/or braking too slow. Would be surprised if they even realised there was a cycle path, because all cyclists 'ride in the gutter' or similar claptrap
<howl of anguish>
I think you are probably right. No malice, just incompetent observation and reckless speed. They seem to be braking and don’t swerve towards the riders. Maybe they are unfamiliar with the road and didn’t see the island with the missing bollard.
Still, one of the more scary close passes I’ve seen.
'Maybe they are unfamiliar with the road' - all the more reason to keep you speed down and drive carefully.
My understanding is that the Police do not get a share of the fees from the Driver Improvement Courses, but I am happy to be corrected on that if I am mistaken.
My issue is with the courses themselves. I have never been on one myself, but a friend of mine has and, according to him there was very little about how to behave around cyclists. Are there a number of different courses used, or are we just relying on drivers to be able to apply generic "don't be a dick on the road" advice to the specifics of driving safely around smaller, more vulnerable vehicles.
If so, that doesn't fill me with confidence since their inability to that is what landed them on the course in the first place.
'Most forces keep about £35 of the fee - between £79.50 and £92.50 in total - depending on area and course provider, or it goes to road safety partnerships they run with councils....'
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35170779
A driver improvement course ... for which the old bill will get a percentage of the fee.
And the psychopathic effing c--- in the car escapes points.
Win-win all around for the car-centric world in which we live.
Going for a gap that wasn't there doesn't make anyone a psychopath. Probably just an idiot that can't judge closing speeds properly.
An idiot who really *really* can’t judge closing speeds! That was a lot worse than I’d thought it was going to be: how fast was that SUV going at? The slightest error on the part of anyone there (a cyclist wobbles, the motorist misjudged their own line or the cyclists line) and someone would have been dead, there...
Some of the common definitions of a psychopath include lack of caring, over-confidence, disregarding the rights of others, irresponsibility...
Of course, there's some overlap with sociopathy.
'A driver improvement course ... for which the old bill will get a percentage of the fee'
I think that the money is split between the company running the course and the Treasury.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35170779
Thanks for the link, I stand corrected.
From the article - Speed awareness courses, as well as other training alternatives to fines for offences such as not wearing a seat belt, are overseen by the not-for-profit National Driver Retraining Scheme (NDORS).
I don't know how many different courses there are, this implies there are other 'training alternatives'. It mentions 'no seatbelt' and I know that you can get one for using a mobile phone. Surely there are not the numbers to run a 'close pass' awareness course?
The speed that guy was going youd be wiping the bodies off the windscreen if anyone had tried taking prime through there. You do not have crash protection zones,or airbags,when you ride a bike you have at best a lump of ineffectual polystyrene on your head,clothing made of lycra and the rest is skin,flesh and bones, you will I can assure you come off worse putting your body in the way of a 1-2 tonne metal lump travelling at that speed.
Don't ever wait to hear the sound of a vehicle, shoulder check well in advance and take strong primary if not right of centre of the lane so there's absolutely no chink whatsoever.
you might get bleeped at and shouted at, but fuck em, they want people on bikes to go by the rules of the road so I'm damn well going to use as much of the road as I need for my safety just as I would if I were in a car, bus HGV or Ice Cream van.
Inaction by police on these incidents is precisely why the level of motoring is where it's at and makes more work for themselves to the point they now ignore it and of course creates more danger, more deaths and injuries.
The police and so called justice system are part of the problem andd yet all that MPs are after is more laws for the people who are on the recieving end.
'Inaction by police on these incidents'
Err, think you you missed out 'General/In general' at the start or end of this line.
This NMotD had for once a positive outcome.
"You are approaching a traffic island ........ and you hear a sound of a car moving fast behind you.." That's when you decisively take primary position.
As for the driver, I don't believe that any "training" ot awarness course is going to make any difference. Certain people simply aren't intelligent enough to operate any devices more complex than a kettle.
The driver improvement course I went on for speeding was amazing - it had such an impact on me and I drive totally differently now.
I always, always, always pull out to the middle of the road as I approach one of these opportunities for the driver to imagine he has enough room to pass. In this instance you'd have given the driver a shock as he tested his skill at wiping off the momentum though....
The classic, 'I can only deal with one issue at a time when I'm driving too fast'.
Cyclists, traffic island, cyclists, traffic island......decisions, decisions.....I know, I'll brake about 29 seconds too late.
Good candidate for a driver improvement course and a victim happy with the outcome to boot.