Near Miss of the Day 155: Lorry driver in close pass then cuts in too soon

Today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day series highlights a very common type of close overtake we see involving long vehicles, whether they be buses, coaches, articulated lorries or other vehicles towing trailers.

We’ve now seen a number of videos shot by cyclists where the driver of such a vehicle will give a bit of space as they begin the overtaking manoeouvre – but then pull in before it’s safe to do so, meaning the gap between the rest of the vehicle and the kerb gets closer and closer.

If you’ve ever found yourself on the inside of a lorry or other vehicle when that’s happened – and we imagine it’s a situation most if not all regular cyclists have encountered – you’ll know how unsettling it is.

This one, compounded by the fact the vehicle was driven at speed then pulled off the road moments later – happened around six months ago to road.cc reader Pete on the A58 in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, with the lorry belonging to the haulage company, Claude Hellowell.

He told us: “I didn't report it. I couldn't upload it to the local police Facebook or to the company's.

“300 yards later he had to stop to turn right into the company yard but was still doing 40 when he passed me and had to pull in because of parked cars and an oncoming car.

“As you see the end of the trailer was probably a foot away from my shoulder and he ended up inside the bicycle lane.

“This is common with semis,” Pete continued. “The cab goes past a yard away and the trailer gradually gets closer.

“Yesterday I had to stop my car so that an oncoming truck could give an oncoming cyclist room as it passed. It was clearly going to pass at all costs,” he added.

> 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