We’ve published a few close passes involving buses in our Near Miss of the Day series in recent weeks, one of them from road.cc reader Phil back in August who a couple of weeks ago experienced another overtake in which a Stagecoach bus driver came dangerously close.
Speaking of his most recent experience, Phil told us: “I was cycling home from a Sunday run, on 5th October, and cycling past Red Scar industrial estate in Preston, when a Stagecoach bus driver decided to overtake me as I approached a pinch point with a pedestrian crossing island.
“He was still passing me as I cycled through the pinch point, so that should tell you how close he was to me.
“I caught up with him at the next bus stop. As I stopped next to his window, he opened the window and before I could speak, he told me to get on the cycle path. It was a waste of time trying to reason with him as he kept repeating for me to get on the cycle path.
“It was done completely on purpose, to teach me a lesson. The incident was reported to the inspector at Preston bus station but I haven’t heard anything since. I emailed the police officer I’ve dealt with previously, and had no response.
“Last time I emailed the Stagecoach CEO, who didn’t get back to me, but a few days later got someone else to send me a Dear John email which addressed nothing. So he is a waste of time too.
“So basically the bus drivers can drive like idiots, use the bus as a weapon to intimidate vulnerable road users, and nobody gives a shit.”
Phil continued: “Sooner or later a Stagecoach driver will kill a cyclist, that is for sure. The downside is, my wife now worries every time I go out, and after 37 years of cycling and being a very confident rider, I am now considering altering my rides to avoid areas on a bus route.
“I am even considering taking the bike in the car to the countryside, and having a quiet ride in the country rather than a loop from home, which sort of defeats the object of riding rather than using the car,” he added.
> What to do next if you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision
> 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 has been news editor at road.cc since 2009, reporting on 10 editions and counting of pro cycling’s biggest races such as the Tour de France, stories on issues including infrastructure and campaigning, and interviewing some of the biggest names in cycling. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, his background has proved invaluable in reporting on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, and the bike industry. He splits his time between London and Cambridge, and loves taking his miniature schnauzer Elodie on adventures in the basket of her Elephant Bike.