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Near Miss of the Day 393: White van man in close pass (includes swearing)

Our regular series showing close passes from around the country - today it's West Yorkshire ...

Perhaps unsurprisingly we've seen a bit of a lull in submissions to our Near Miss of the Day feature over the past week or so - but here's one that landed in our inbox today that dates back to last October and where the cyclist has just heard back from the police.

It was sent to us by road.cc reader Andy, who told us: "White van man close passed me in Menston West Yorkshire, luckily the muddy site entrance gave me a little room to manoeuvre, apologies for the language.

 

"The driver was on his phone and failed to stopped at the red light at the crossing because from the look in his mirror he knew I was going to have words with him if he stopped.

"This near miss was in October last year I heard today from the Police, who said 'the driver pleaded guilty by post, the case was withdrawn as they were disqualified from driving a few days later' for other offences, so at least in theory he isn’t still driving for a living."

> 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.

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4 comments

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brooksby | 3 years ago
3 likes

Nice parking on the footway at 26" too (admittedly, a different white van) - no pram or wheelchair would ever get past that.

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ktache | 3 years ago
4 likes

I just assumed the driving through the red light was a lack of awareness caused by distracted driving on the phone.

That might have had explained the close pass too, confirmed by Andy's report.

Shame it wasn't taken further, especially with a guilty plea, seems like an awful driver who should have been banned for longer.

Avatar
zero_trooper replied to ktache | 3 years ago
0 likes

I'm pretty sure (and like you, frustrated) that sentencing guidelines would not have extended the ban or increased the fine for the extra offence.

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CXR94Di2 | 3 years ago
0 likes

Small world, grew up in Menston

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