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news
Near Miss of the Day 131: Mobile home driver (and cyclist) in close pass
There’s a school of thought that people who ride bikes make for safer drivers around cyclists once behind the wheel of a vehicle; after all, there’s nothing like experiencing a close pass or two to make you realise why you should give plenty of room while overtaking.
But as today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day feature demonstrates, that isn’t always the case, with the driver of a camper van passing a group of cyclists way too close and at speed, and treating them to the sight of two bicycles attached to the back of the vehicle it overtook them.
The footage was submitted by road.cc reader Matt, who was out riding with his Velo-Pengelly clubmates near Bramdean between Winchester and Petersfield in Hampshire.
As a footnote, the video disappeared from YouTube shortly after it was uploaded, with the video-sharing site deciding that Matt, who successfully appealed and got it and his account reinstated, was posting too much similar content.
Matt told us: “How ironic that me trying to highlight how often close passes happen means I'm being repetitive to the point that I get a strike on my channel.
“If people keep close passing I'm going to keep posting the videos.”
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
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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13 comments
The driver did what the driver could be reasonably expected to have done there IMO. Bed wetting from the camera bike rider, doesn’t do anyone any favours. That wasn’t really a ‘close pass’ more a big vehicle, on an unsuitable road.
The driver could have done much more, 1st he could have used the other side of the road fully, leaving a full lane for the cyclists. There wasn't any oncoming traffic 'forcing' them to the left (obviously if there had been then the overtake shouldn't be happening at all. If it is safe to cross the line and execute the overtake then what is to be gained by not going all the way over it the over it.
Nothing unsuitable about the road, looks pretty well perfect to me, No potholes, 2 full width lanes, reasonably long straight so the visibility was there for the overtake, perfect in nearly every way. I have taken a similar vehicle on single tracks with passing places, met HGVs in opposite direction still not had any hassle doing it. It just seems to be the usual issue of speed and choice of road position (from all users in my opinion)
Bikes belong to the kids (probably 2 stroppy teenagers). Harassed dad was driving.
Clearly the driver could have given the cyclist more space, especially since they were travelling at considerable speed, and if it was me riding the bike, I would have considered it unnecessarily close.
Reminds me of when I was cycling to work one day and stopped at a red light (honestly!). A leisure vehicle pulled alongside, and when the lights changed, I moved off, and being somewhat more alert than the driver, out-accelerated them, but he then overtook me while there was oncoming traffic, and passed me so close that I could hit his vehicle with my fist, which I did. He stopped when the road was clear to give me a lecture about hitting his vehicle, and when I protested that he'd passed me dangerously close, said that it was my fault for accelerating too quickly from the lights. We've got to get these people off the road.
Also insulting when they do it with bikes on the back of the motorhome...
Not a close pass, just your everyday pass.
Initially I'm with Simmo above, not great but no great biggie here, unless of course someone had to avoid a poor road surface (yes they do exist !) then there is the potential for a disaster. However there is also a risk of acceptance of poor driving standards because they are so common, a bit like speeding in the 80s or Drink driving in the 60s
I happen to drive a Motorhome as well as riding (probaly ride more miles than I drive in the van) and come across many other motorhomers. Many of the bikes on the back are used to travel along paths for a Max of 4-5 miles to get to a pub of choice or do a little bit of shopping, it astounds me how many people can park up for a week or so and never actually take them off the back, it's almost like they are for emergency use only.
On a different (victim blaming) note, 3 riders in line with gaps about 4 bike lengths long, making a total of 11 bike lengths does not make an easy convoy to pass, either tighten up (preferably) or leave gaps big enough that you can be overtaken individually please.
That's one of the worst victim blaming notes I've ever seen!
How do you know the 3 were riding together, who was accelerating or slowing, who'd got dropped on a hill or less confident at speed, leaving a gap to look for the road surface.
I mean we have a pop at cars for travelling too close but rarely have i seen anyone have a go because they left a 'reasonable' gap...
But what I'm saying is that the gap is not reasonable it is the worst of both worlds as it forces a motorised overtake to be all or nothing as there is not a suitable gab for the vehicle to pass the bikes one at a time, a bit like the cliche caravaners driving in a convoy of 3 nose to tail. Not that any of that excuses a close pass.
I think it is a bad pass. It feels worse when it happens for real than when you're at home watching it on video. The size of the vehicle and the speed it is going and the air it displaces mean that it would be shocking to be passed like that.
Not a good pass by any means but hardly shocking. If I was to invest my energy everytime that happened I wouldn't get anything else done.
Fair point, but as the road seems straight and wide (I hope it is, driving at that speed), why not give the cyclists a few more feet gap?
Similar thing happened to me Sunday morning. Nice and early, roads very quiet and on the straightest, widest section of road of my route, a car overtakes me doing 40-50mph, nothing excessive for the road. They drove straight down the middle of the white line, decent gap but so easy to have made it a massive gap. Inconsiderate, then and above.
It's the speed and size of the vehicle, the draft alone never mind the size of it makes that more than just a 'not good pass'. The rider makes a few choice remarks and posts up the video of a selfish cunt, hardly "investing energy" is it!