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news
Near Miss of the Day 242: Cyclist almost doored in Glasgow
The latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows the moment a car passenger opened their door in the path of a cyclist filtering up the inside of a lane of traffic.
It was filmed in the East End of Glasgow by road.cc reader Dougie, who said: “A wee reminder both to car users, to look before opening doors, and cyclists to stay alert whilst filtering!”
He added: “Luckily, I wasn’t going faster!”
In October last year, transport minister Jesse Norman confirmed that the Dutch Reach technique, which is aimed at preventing doorings, would be among revisions planned to the Highway Code.
Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns at Cycling UK, said at the time: “Close overtakes and people opening car doors in front of cyclists are not only dangerous, they also put people off riding a bike.
“That’s why Cycling UK has been campaigning for changes to the Highway Code rules for many years, to make the requirements to give enough space when overtaking a cyclist, wait if you can’t, and look before you open your car door crystal clear.
“We’re delighted the government has listened and we hope to contribute to the discussions regarding the amendments required to prioritise the safety of cyclists and other vulnerable road users,” 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
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.
Latest Comments
- chrisonabike 32 min 31 sec ago
I'd agree there are a lot people who want no change whatsoever (or rather just don't think about change, busy getting on with life). Until...
- David9694 1 hour 34 min ago
I like how drivers make the case for making monitoring covert, not overt.
- andystow 1 hour 46 min ago
She seemed a bit upset about a minor misjudgement that could have killed someone and is going to cause months of stress and inconvenience.
- Backladder 1 hour 52 min ago
No we don't agree, personally I would take primary, even if only for a short period although I can understand why some riders might not want to...
- brooksby 2 hours 13 min ago
And which looks very like the bag produced by indy bag manufacturer Wizard Works…...
- HoarseMann 2 hours 24 min ago
If it was a 'no vehicles' sign (all white circle centre), it would mean cyclists could ride in the hours that HGVs and disabled drivers are allowed...
- stonojnr 3 hours 54 min ago
The bit at the start and end looks like a cycle lane, but the bit they drive on looks just like a patched filter lane for traffic lights.
- JOHN5880 3 hours 55 min ago
Hey, you 4 execs helped run a company into the ground and have no jobs anymore... Come work for us because you have great experience in the...
- Oakhambike 4 hours 39 min ago
£11.5k for a bike weighing over 8kg that's 2 fingers to customers let alone UCI
- Dnnnnnn 4 hours 55 min ago
I'm going to show my bike a picture of this shed and tell it, "If you don't behave..."
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16 comments
Ye, that’s not a good thing to do. That’s not filtering, and I suspect would be seen as negligent or at least contributing to any incident. I can’t imagine that it would be easy for the driver to see the cyclist even if they did look. The gap is quite tight and passing between parked cars and stationary traffic is not going to go down well in the event that something goes wrong.
Presumably, except when the council has decided to paint a lane there because that's where they think cyclists should ride...?
Example: https://goo.gl/maps/2JWbZvCk92H2
When I see markings like that, I treat it as a reminder of where not to cycle. My local council painted some lines like that and I think it took less than a week before people explained how stupid it was. To their credit, the council rapidly painted over the white lines with black paint - unfortunately the white paint has adhered to the road surface much better than the black paint adhered to the white paint, so they are now white lines again.
Yes, in that case it is an additional lane on the road. A stupidly designed lane put in without thought for safety, but still a lane, making the situation rather different in the case of a crash. If there were a cycle lane in the video I’d be blaming the council for the stupid “infrastructure” (otherwise known as paint to claim they are supporting active transport).
Contributory negligence........
https://www.cyclistsdefencefund.org.uk/the-law-for-cyclists-hit-by-vehicle-doors
Yeah, but contributory negligence affects damages in a civil case.
Doesn't change or affect that it's 'opening the door in such a way as to harm and to endanger someone' which is a criminal offence (admittedly, according to the link you've provided, a pretty rubbish offence - maximum £1,000 fine and no points ).
I do remember reading about someone receiving the maximum fine, I seem to recall it was a lady who opened her car door into the path of a man on a bicycle - sending him into the path of an oncoming van. She got £1000 fine and he died.
Thank you, a fascinating article, not least because of this quote "The police also seem to sympathise with drivers who cause injury by momentary inattention, particularly where it is seen as a trivial lapse." So at least some people in the legal trade recognise the bias in the system.
The bias exists even if the cyclist dies, as has been demonstrated so many times on this site. And the opposite of course, any infraction by a cyclist is treated more seriously by the very same police.
It's actually against the law to open a car door in that manner: Motor Vehicle (Construction and Use Regulations) so whilst it is sensible to anticipate it happening the person opening the car door is the one in the wrong, not the cyclist.
Why would you filter on left, with parked cars as well, always filter on the right, especially here as it seems there is no oncoming traffic!
Why would you filter on left, with parked cars as well, always filter on the right, especially here as it seems there is no oncoming traffic!
Highway Code Rule 67:
"Leave plenty of room when passing parked vehicles and watch out for doors being opened or pedestrians stepping into your path."
So cyclists in these circumstances getting doored won't get much sympathy in law. In this case the rider was obviously aware of the risk and was (just) able to stop. Waiting with the rest of the traffic isn't going to cut it, so options in my view are to go dead slow, or down the outside of hte traffic depending on how much space there is.
Expecting car drivers to all flawlessly execute a Dutch Reach every time they get out is expecting a bit much I reckon.
Are you sure about that?
Car dooring is illegal under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, which states that “No person shall open, or cause or permit to be opened, any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person”.
Oh, FFS....
I know a man, can do you a good deal on some paving slabs...
This is even more common than close passing, and I couldn't count the number of times this has happened to me.
The bike has a bright flashing front light, and it is clear that the driver didn't bother looking. The rider was sensible, riding slow enough to stop for idiots like this, but what happens when they open the door as you're opposite?
It is a criminal offence, and there have been prosecutions, but that doesn't reduce the pain of broken bones.