One of the more common misconceptions that many drivers hold about cyclists is that it is illegal to ride two abreast. It isn’t.
Rule 66 of the Highway Code says that cyclists should (not must) “never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends.”
All of which ties in with today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day Series, submitted by road.cc reader Rodney, who told us: “Move over to single file to help motorists pass but does this punishment pass on us.”
Do you ever get the feeling that if you’re riding a bike on the road you just can’t win?
> 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.
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> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
11 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 246: Cyclists move into single file to let drivers past … and are rewarded with a punishment pass”
That’s totally unacceptable
That’s totally unacceptable and I hope it has been reported to the police.
Not sure that it was that
Not sure that it was that much of a punishment pass. At the very end a car is visible coming the other way, so the driver could have been avoiding that.
It’s still crap driving, overtaking on a bend without proper observation. Might have been better to stay out, preventing overtaking until it was safe, rather than singling out and inviting the overtake.
burtthebike wrote:
ah but…
“and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends.”
the Highway code really needs to be re written and written properly!
KINGHORN wrote:
Indeed. The advice to ride in single file may be taken to mean cyclists should ride in the gutter by motorists and not riding single file in primary position. 😉
aegisdesign wrote:
ah but…
“and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends.”
the Highway code really needs to be re written and written properly!
— aegisdesign Indeed. The advice to ride in single file may be taken to mean cyclists should ride in the gutter by motorists and not riding single file in primary position. 😉— KINGHORN
Exactly. I think many motorists assume that the single file thing is just to keep cyclists out of their way.
Why move into single file to
Why move into single file to let drivers past !
There is a line down the middle to seperate the two lanes, the safe place to overtake is in the other lane.
Singling out only makes it easier for a lazy/dangerous overtake. It also double s the length of the riders convoy that he is overtaking (if gaps open between the riders due to accelerations it may even triple the length)
Please just hold your line and encourage a safe overtake
EK Spinner wrote:
If only life were like that.
It is more likely to give rise to a punishment pass and a blaring horn as drivers think cyclists shouldn’t ride two abreast. This won’t change until there is a proper education campaign.
PRSboy wrote:
The HC is badly written – I think you’ll find many drivers surprised when they read it because it’s easy to miss the “no more than” bit of the two abreast advice. Certainly until I started cycling again (early 40s) I’d assumed it was illegale to ride two abreast. It’s a popular misconception that could be resolved by an education campaign.
Until a misdemeanours by
Until all misdemeanours by motor vehicles are punished by a £500 fine and one month loss of driving licence, drivers will constantly break the law. Fear of inconvenience is a great motivator of good behaviour.
The inconvenience a large
The inconvenience a large number of drivers cause for themselves every day by driving into other motorists, or driving into immovable objects doesn’t seem to be stopping them? Even though a number of those are still (after all the engineering that’s gone into protecting them) fatally inconvenienced.
Perhaps every drive should be proceeded by a quick public service advert on the binnacle of the car highlighting the risks to your own property, the health and wellbeing of the passengers or the driver?
Or should we fix ” perverse incentives” and remove some of the safety features for drivers? Perhaps they could be made as vulnerable to their own mistakes as … cyclists?
rbrtribble wrote:
I’d rather they focussed on the misdemeanours by the drivers