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news
Near Miss of the Day 313: "How many offences?" - but driver escapes with warning
The latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a motorist committing a series of offences – but she escaped with a warning from police.
It was filmed by road.cc reader Uphill Freewheeler, who said: “The driver drove out of the pub car park straight at me.
“You can see at 1:29 she has both hands off the wheel rummaging in her bag, presumably distracted by a mobile device.
“Two minutes and 30 seconds later I encountered her again, this time stopped in the mandatory cycle lane once again presumably having been distracted by a mobile device.
“She drove off straddling the pavement. There are 3 clear and obvious offences all caught on video: careless driving, entering a mandatory cycle lane, and driving on the footway.
“Given that she left a pub car park it would be interesting to have seen the result of a breath test. I made an on-line report to Thames Valley Police which I was informed was reviewed by a supervisor.”
Police told him: The driver of RO15OCK has been established and the incident has been dealt with by way of written warning issued to this driver. This event is now formally recorded on the computer system against this driver/vehicle should further reports be linked to either.
“This begs the question just how many offences a driver has to commit in the space of three minutes before being prosecuted by Thames Valley Police,” Uphill Freewheeler 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.
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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27 comments
Indicators, eh? What are they for? I know where I'm going, who cares about anyone else?
aerEgm5_460s.jpg
Jeez... this is Hurst opposite Dinton Pastures, outside that pub is possibly the quietest junction I've ever used, how you coud pull out of there and cause any issues is beyond me... unless you are an entitled pillock who just pulls out while looking into your handbag!
I think she'd have got some serious, and entirely warranted, verbal education from me if I'd have encountered her, illegally in the cycle lane, shortly after.
No doubt that written warning will see that she gets a proper punishment when she runs someone over!
Maybe that was why she decided to drive out without looking on her mobile device.
MOT history suggests it's now a second car for pootling down the shops. But, hey, it's based on the Pius so she's doing her bit for the environment too.
Unofrtunately I would say the police response is the same in most parts of the country.
I had a car hit me in a SMIDSY a couple of weeks ago, no damage to me or the bike or the car but I reported it to the Police the same day, with the associated helmet camera footage. Been a deafening silence since.
Even now I still can't understand how the driver failed to see me. It was 6.30am, I was wearing a Trespass Zig Reflective Jacket (Think Proviz 360 jacket), had a 600 lumen front light on, and was stopped waiting to turn right across traffic. In the helmet camera video she came into my field of vision 5 seconds before she cut the corner and collided with my bike.
For me the particular junction in question is a danger to cyclists because the primary road (that I was cycling along) turns 90 degrees to the left, and to turn right (which is essentially going straight on) you need to wait in the middle of the road where drivers have a tendancy to cut the corner.
I am hoping that the report will at least add to statistics for road safety for that particular point in the road.
https://www.google.com/maps/@55.0800901,-3.6275134,3a,75y,160.65h,70.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKRKfAFcYgw-l9vMH-Nl4nQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
This is what bothers me quite a lot lately, the number of drivers who massively cut the corner on a junction when they don't even slow down, I've had to hit the brakes hard both when riding and driving lately because of it and then the driver just looks at you with complete incomprehension as to why you might be pissed off at them.
I've had drivers cutting the corner so comprehensively that all four wheels are on the wrong side of the road. Again, if only we had the police to book these dangerous drivers.
To be fair, she actually did spot you ( albeit a bit late) and didn't really squeeze you there, at the start. Parking in a cycle lane isn't an offence anymore, but I'd be surprised if she wasn't close to ( or over ) the drink drive limit, and I'd have been less than happy about her pulling out the way she did, from the cycle lane.
What about Rule 140 of Highway Code?
She also seemed incapable of using indicators which really grinds my gears, especially when pulling away from stationary or turning into a road. What always puzzles me about drivers who don't indicate is whether they are extremely lazy (can't be bothered to flick a lever) or extremely busy (no time to flick a lever) or just utterly incompetent. Maybe it's just sociopathy - they really don't care about anyone else.
What about Rule 140 of Highway Code?
She also seemed incapable of using indicators which really grinds my gears, especially when pulling away from stationary or turning into a road. What always puzzles me about drivers who don't indicate is whether they are extremely lazy (can't be bothered to flick a lever) or extremely busy (no time to flick a lever) or just utterly incompetent. Maybe it's just sociopathy - they really don't care about anyone else.
Indicators, an optional extra when ordering a BMW or Audi.
Were we watching the same video?
I'd hope a driver would spot a cyclist centimetres from their vehicle. Also she may have heard the shouting from the cyclist which was the alert to her
The cycle lane parking is just an unintended consequence of a revised wording. It is still an offence to drive in a mandatory lane and to drive on the pavement.
Perhaps you missed the bit where she drove along the pavement and in the cycle lane?
I suppose she arrived on the pavement and in the cycle lane by forklift.
If this isn't worth escalating through the complaints process I don't know what is. That driver should not be allowed to drive for at least a year so they realise being allowed out in a car is not a right, its a priveledge, and one you have to keep working at.
Should be able to make a request to the police for the driver's details and initiate a private prosecution under Section 3 of the RTA 1988. Looks like the rider has more than enough video evidence to secure a prosectution.
Put me down for £50 for the crowdfunder.
what a crappy experience. Did she not at least attempt to do the right thing by pulling over and stopping, later on if she really needed to answer her 'phone? staggering in the slo-mo, the car clearly in motion, the driver reaching across to the passenger seat.
As an interesting barometer of public attitudes, the moderator of my village Facebook group requires that any pictures of inconsiderate parking have the number plate scratched out, no naming and shaming because "you don't know what was going on in the life of the person at the time". Quite so: nearly all the worst moments in my life have involved an awkwardly parked car.
In France, the Police charge for each offence observed, against a strict scale. If you can understand French, then watching the French equivalent of "Police, Camera, Action!" is quite entertaining as to UK watchers, it looks as though the Police literally throw the book at drivers.
Seeing drivers of high powered cars caught speeding have their drivers' license immediately withdrawn and being forced to arrange the car to be towed and another driver to collect them is very entertaining.
Now that is talking. Can you imagine the first couple of weeks if that policy came in, followed by years of eerie calm, considerate driving.
Emergency services often talk about how harrowing it can be to attend car accidents. Here they have an opportunity to really take a driver to task about the standard of their driving and possibly prevent a more serious accident down the line but they ignore it. Do they not connect the dots ?
As she pulls out of the pub, it appears she has no hands on the steering wheel, placing something on the passenger seat? Look at 1min27secs in the slow mo.
How can all these offences add up only to a warning when there is blatant video evidence? Surely a complaint about the handling of this incident would be in order?
PP
The driving is shocking but then so is the police response. Just shows how entrenched the views are that you can do anything you like behind the wheel of a killing machine.
Yeah it's not really a problem, but if you open a cafe for cyclists and you allow cyclists to meet up outside your business premises you could be threatened with prison.
RO15OCK should be 1M A COCK
Written warning? She should be up in court and banned for a year at least, as she's clearly not capable of driving safely.
That's a good one, she's got it all going on! Entitled much?
I found the speed with which she drove off along the footway more worrying than the coming out of the car park, tbh.
(btw the video says it won't play on road.cc - you have to follow a link through to youtube to watch it).
I was frightened of the burly cyclist m'lud, he had a dlock and I only had a 1.5 tonne vehicle to defend myself with.
It was the blatant disregard rather than speed per se - she saw him and decided to pull out, then screeched off down the wrong side of the road. Whilst on the pavement, she again decided to pull out on the cyclist or more worryingly just didn't bother to check this time!
She'll be a danger to any road user, pedestrian, child or passenger until such time that she kills someone. Then she will get her deserved 6 month ban and £300 fine!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2kmVgtW79E&feature=player_embedded
To view the video
I can't believe there is no NIP. I'd make a complaint.
Bet she was over the limit too.
What was she doing at the beginning when she overtook you and turned right? Didn't seem as though she allowed for traffic on the main road.