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Near Miss of the Day 409: Motorist incensed by cyclist filtering at traffic lights intimidates him with his car and calls him an ‘imbecile’ (and more besides)

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country – today it's Slough...

Today’s near miss features a motorist so enraged by a cyclist (legally) filtering past him at traffic lights that he is moved to call him an ‘imbecile’, a ‘dickhead’ and a ‘cunt’ while intimidating him with his car.

The confrontation began at the junction of High Street and Wellington Street in Slough on Friday.

Lyndon said: “As I filtered to the front of the line of traffic at a red light, the driver of a green Mercedes clearly thought I was breaking some sort of law.

“I didn't realise at the time how close he came to driving into the back of me, and only noticed when I watched the footage when I got home.

“I turned right and figured the one honk from the driver was the end of it, but he soon pulled beside me when I entered the bus lane and shouted some obscenities as he pulled in front of me in the left lane.

“He indicated left, and I could see he was going to pinch me into the kerb, so I figured it was best to go around him in the right lane to simply get out of his space, which according to the driver made me a ‘fucking dickhead.’”

In the video, you can see that having almost come to a stop, the driver then sets off again, changes to the right hand lane and honks a bit more.

He shouts for Lyndon to pull over and calls him an ‘imbecile’.

“I shouted back that he was the idiot, and the driver slammed his brakes on and opened his door in moving traffic, getting out and shouting at me again. At this point I just wanted to leave the situation and headed for the junction.

“I saw a pedestrian and shouted at her to, ‘get your phone out and record this, this guy behind me is nuts’ – but she probably assumed I was the crazy one.

“He pulled up beside me at the lights and shouted, ‘You want to pull up? You fucking cunt,’ and continued with a tirade to that effect.

“He was wished a nice day and I headed into Windsor where I flagged down an officer and reported the incident, making a formal complaint with the footage when I got home.

“Piecing it all together, it appears the man was angry at the fact I filtered to the front of the line. Angry may he be, but it is not acceptable to use a vehicle to threaten and intimidate other road users.

“I just hope Thames Valley Police see it the same, and have the resources to prosecute this driver.”

> 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

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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39 comments

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chrisbarltrop9 | 3 years ago
0 likes

It seems most of the comments here support the rider's right to filter to the front - the issue is the lack of an ASL which means he has to cross the stop line and, for the police, may cloud their decision (Thames Valley Police are not regarded for supporting cyclists) to prosecute the driver, even though he clearly behaves in an unnecessarily aggressive way. 
Given that the transport secretary has urged councils to look at ways in which they can reclaim road space from drivers, perhaps there is an opportunity here at this junction. It needs imagination and a desire/understanding on the part of planners to avoid placing drivers and the pinnacle of an assumed road hierarchy. 

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LetsBePartOfThe... replied to chrisbarltrop9 | 3 years ago
1 like

Yes "rights", road improvements etc to protect cyclists are part of the discussion. And are to be welcomed

...but there's something more fundamental here.

In life there are categories of people who are more vulnerable than others. In any other situation we as humans make allowance to protect them, and show tolerance, and recognise we need to be careful and give them space or time.

Yet somehow for ( some small minority of ) motorists, a cyclist is seen as a rival for road territory that must be intimidated. And they seem detached from the fact that they are being aggressive in a vehicle of some tonnage, which can kill and maim.

We all need to drive ( and cycle ) calmly, and remember it's real people and real lives that get affected by our actions.

Have the discussion in words on this forum.

Not by using your throttle and steering wheel to make a point on the road 

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hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
0 likes

I always prefer to filter if I think I can get to the front before the lights change (I hate it when the lights change just as you about to filter past the last vehicle and you have to tuck in behind them instead). I think it's safest to get in front where hopefully you should be more visible and ideally accelerate away before the cars so you're most of the way over the junction. It lessens the chance of being left hooked by them and I'd rather annoy drivers and be seen rather than appease them and be ignored.

The thing to watch out for is the road just after the junction if there's a pinch point. Depending on the relative speeds of me and other vehicles, I either aim to take primary to prevent an overtake or slow after the junction to let them go first.

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bikeman01 | 3 years ago
2 likes

Arsehole in a shitty old merc gets the hump when a cyclist nips in front of him and sparks a massive debate about the semantics of filtering and ASL lines by pedantic cyclists.

And you wonder why they hate you. Get a grip.

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sg37409 | 3 years ago
0 likes

X5 KUA does not appear to be insured.  https://www.ownvehicle.askmid.com/#

Maybe private plates are not covered by this.

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iandusud | 3 years ago
7 likes

Whatever your opinion of the wisdom or legality of the cyclist crossing the solid white line having filtered to the front, this driver should not be allowed behind the wheel of a car. He is clearly a danger to other road users. 

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Crazyhorse | 3 years ago
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Filtering was a debatable decision there, but the driver definitely was an aggressive idiot. Cyclist then effectively blocked the car’s path. Junction opened into a wide lane which would have allowed the vehicle to pass safely if he had not been blocked. That is inconsiderate cycling which might be understandable given motorist’s earlier response to filtering - but do you really want to deliberately get in the way of an aggressive driver? Driver then deliberately blocked cyclist, but could have ended much worse for the cyclist... Avoid getting in the way of aggressive drivers where it is safe and reasonable for you to do so.

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OldRidgeback replied to Crazyhorse | 3 years ago
7 likes

Filtering was fine. Crossing the white line was a very minor point. The cyclist took the lane after the corner, no problem there.

All in all, the driver is a prat, getting angry about being held up, but prepared to get out of his car and hold everyone else up.

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PRSboy | 3 years ago
6 likes

A frustrated wannabe X5 owner who can only afford the vanity plate but not the car, but compensated by driving like a proper SUV owner. 

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Gary's bike channel | 3 years ago
0 likes

i wouldnt have gone to the front there, its a hard one, it looks as though it would be difficult to get across to that lane if you were keeping left, but if you don't keep right, you'd never get where you wanted to go, ie, to the right where that lane heads. I think i would have sat on the far right hand side maybe three cars back and let them accelerate past me, then moved back over to the left in the bus lane once we'd all made the turn. Not excusing the driver, had i been driving where he was and saw a cyclist filter in front, id just pull away slowly, wait until we'd turned right, then gone past him, or in this case, gone left as the cyclist went straight ahead. He's just an arse in a mercedes. I like the riders accent btw. We sound so stupid compared to americans. 

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Hirsute replied to Gary's bike channel | 3 years ago
1 like

No, we really don't!

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Gary's bike channel replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
0 likes

we do! any time i watch an american movie, then hear a british person, we sound awfully posh. I love the american accent. But the way they mirror is weird. MERAH. My rear view meerah. 

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Hirsute replied to Gary's bike channel | 3 years ago
2 likes

I'm not sure films are your best standard. For example, the Brit is always the baddie.

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Cargobike | 3 years ago
2 likes

Funny how the driver got out of his car when he was behind the cyclist, but not when he was in front. Having lived and worked for a time in Slough in the past, it's full of irate twats who have plenty of mouth, but never back it up.

Personally, I wouldn't have filtered in that scenario, the cyclist was close enough to the lights to ensure he'd have got through on the green anyway while just being part of the normal traffic.

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P3t3 replied to Cargobike | 3 years ago
5 likes

Difficult because if you don't filter then you end up caught up in the midst of 3 lanes of traffic with potentially passing traffic on both sides where you really are very vulnerable. If you take the lane to prevent that then you still get this sort of moron putting you under pressure.

I often don't filter on single carriageway if the are about 5 or less cars at the lights though because firstly I have to have the cars I've filtered past all try to overtake a put me at risk and secondly I don't think it's worth winding the drivers up by making them overtake multiple times which they themselves find stressful.

It's not one size fits all and there certainly isn't one single right answer.

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OldRidgeback replied to Cargobike | 3 years ago
0 likes

I'd have filtered as well. I wouldn't have wanted to be caught up in traffic. I see why the rider crossed the line to keep himself safe in the absence of an ASL.

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LetsBePartOfThe... replied to OldRidgeback | 3 years ago
3 likes

Cyclist: I filter to the front and central - where I am safest from traffic, and the fumes of idling engines ( not to gain advantage of a few car lengths ). Ideally there is already an ASL, but if there isn't  one yet, the reasoning is still the same: safety.  I may need to slightly transgress the stop line to take this position. Thank you for understanding that I am a vulnerable road user ( normally protected by an ASL as you see elsewhere) and also for your patience as we complete the turn, and it becomes safe for you to then overtake on the straight.

Autonomous Vehicle: I do not keep old ( or new ) scores, but I assess each manoeuvre on its immediate merits. There is a vulnerable road user ahead at these traffic lights. I will pull away gently, following at a safe distance until such time as I can overtake considerately. 

Early Homo Sapien: There is an intruder in my territory. This constitutes a threat to my food supply, my shelter, and my potential to mate. The sudden surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins suspends my rationality and humanity. I will use the weapon I happen to have to hand to intimidate and force away the weak intruder at any disproportionate cost. Afterwards I go home to my family. They are all remarkably similar to that intruder I despatched earlier. I don't look them in the eye for a while.

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Legin | 3 years ago
0 likes

Unfortunately two wrongs don't make a right, as my mother used to say. In his warped mind you breaking the law by crossing the white line justifies his behaviour; it doesn't, but you should have stopped at the white line.

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes

"Today’s near miss features a motorist so enraged by a cyclist (legally) filtering past him at traffic lights ..."
I doubt that is what enraged him. I suspect he was enraged by having the cyclist (illegally) crossing the stop line to place himself in front of his car.

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Hirsute replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
5 likes

If someone got to the point of being enraged, then I suggest they might not be suitable to be in charge of a vehicle.

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Sriracha replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
0 likes

oh sure. I was merely taking issue with the partial headline.

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IanGlasgow replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
5 likes

Sriracha wrote:

"Today’s near miss features a motorist so enraged by a cyclist (legally) filtering past him at traffic lights ..." I doubt that is what enraged him. I suspect he was enraged by having the cyclist (illegally) crossing the stop line to place himself in front of his car.

I've had a driver that enraged because I filtered to the front and stopped behind an ASL. No laws were broken (by me). It wasn't some technicality of the law he was enraged by, it was the cyclist being in front of him.

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Hirsute | 3 years ago
2 likes

Did the driver actually stop in the road to jump out and have a go ?
"I am really hard when I can threaten you from inside my 1.6 T cage".

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
10 likes

Actually, the filter may have been legal but crossing the white stop line wasn't.  That said, I would have justified it because it was for my own safety, and therefore acceptable according to some long gone minister of transport.

I sincerely hope the police have rather more than a word with the driver and he gets banned.  I wouldn't mind betting he already has points on his licence.

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ClubSmed replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
9 likes

The problem is that there are not ASLs at every set of lights but you won't know until you get to the front, by which time it's too late and you're forced to wait across the white line. This needs to change, either every traffic lights should have an ASL or none should

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Sriracha replied to ClubSmed | 3 years ago
0 likes

But it's not too late until you cross the stop line, which is your choice.

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hawkinspeter replied to ClubSmed | 3 years ago
1 like

Or just make it legal for cyclists to cross the white stop line whether there's an ASL or not. That would cost literally nothing to implement.

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eburtthebike replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
2 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Or just make it legal for cyclists to cross the white stop line whether there's an ASL or not. That would cost literally nothing to implement.

But would lead to a legal quagmire of who was too blame in any collision at traffic lights.

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hawkinspeter replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
5 likes

eburtthebike wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

Or just make it legal for cyclists to cross the white stop line whether there's an ASL or not. That would cost literally nothing to implement.

But would lead to a legal quagmire of who was too blame in any collision at traffic lights.

Not if we had presumed liability - it'd be the car driver's fault without any other evidence. Also, I don't think drivers are allowed to hit cyclists even if the cyclist is in the wrong place (e.g. consider cyclists hitting pedestrians that cross the road incorrectly).

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Sriracha replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
4 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

Or just make it legal for cyclists to cross the white stop line whether there's an ASL or not. That would cost literally nothing to implement.

But that's the point - nobody, not even cyclists, is allowed to cross stop line, whether there is an ASL or not. It's there for a reason, like pedestrians crossing at the lights. The ASL holds cars further back from the stop line, it does not allow cyclists to cross in front of it.

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