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news
Cheshire Police close pass compilation.PNGNear Miss of the Day 415: Cheshire Police issue close pass compilation
When we launched our Near Miss of the Day feature back in June 2017 to highlight the dangers UK cyclists face each day, the issue of close passes and other dangerous incidents was already receiving national attention, with West Midlands Police having launched its award-winning initiative targeting drivers who put cyclists at risk the previous September.
That campaign was subsequently adopted by police forces across the country – and now, Cheshire Police have published a compilation video on Facebook that shows a number of examples submitted to them of poor driving around cyclists to emphasise to motorists just how vulnerable people on bikes are.
As well as a number of close passes, the video also shows one particularly frightening incident in which a tractor heads straight towards a cyclist on a country lane, forcing the rider to take refuge on the grass verge to avoid being run over.
A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: “The safety of these cyclists is put at risk by other road users.
“Being overtaken by a car can be stressful – only overtake if it will not compromise the safety of the cyclist or other road users.
> 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.
“Careless driving kills.”
While feedback from readers indicates that there is something of a postcode lottery at play in determining how seriously footage of close passes and the like will be treated, it’s good to see examples of police forces that continue to highlight the dangers to hopefully make the roads safer for all.
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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13 comments
That tractor one is the worst. Didn't even give the cyclist time to pull over safely. He wanted him in the ditch or under his wheels.
total arrogance. the tractor driver ought to have come to a complete stop and let the cyclist go round.
I had a similar experience with a tractor near High Leigh in Cheshire. The tractor was being driven by a young boy who looked about 15 and he had his eyes fixed on his phone.
What a shame the video ends on "not worth dying for". The driver would be fine in some of those cases. Surely more appropriate and a better way to drive the point home would be "not worth killing for"?
That is the big issue... most risk taking involves your own risk to a greater or lesser extent, eg skydiving, climbing. Even speeding, although part of the risk is imposed on other road users. Close passing is not a risk at all to the perpetrator and the only way it will be stopped is for the penalty to have 'teeth'.
It's not what people say it's what they do that is important. After every disaster (take Grenfell Towers) a spokesperson stands up and says "Safetey is very important to us"
I live in Cheshire and have had a few adverse comments from club members to the effect that they had sent videos to Cheshire Police that were not acted upon.
I subitted a Freedom of Information claim for 2019, here is the reply, which is better than I expected:-
Q1: 144 cyclist submissions were received in 2019
Q2: 46 were processed
Q3: Conditional Offer - Paid: 4 Course Attended: 28 Court Process: 6 Cancelled: 3 Warning Letter: 4 Outcome not held: 1
So about 1 in three submitted Videos are processed.
There are two ways to look at this data. Clearly the police require a high standard of evidence if they are to act on a video, so maybe the 98 videos that were not acted upon just were not up to the job. Alternatively this is just the tip of a large iceberg. Video cameras are quite expensive and I suspect are mainly purchased by experienced cyclists who have been on the receiving end of bad driving, and only submit the "best" of their data.
You Decide
I certainly try and submit the worst and review the footage as though I had not experienced it first hand (well I try to). Probably about 65% success.
The other thing I have learnt is to try and explain what was was happening and what I did in more detail rather than rely on the pictures speaking for themselves.
My last one I listed the 4 hazards I was avoiding and which should have be clear to the driver behind (who then went on to close pass and brake due to the bus waiting at the bus stop). Explaining eg 'I had to brake and change direction to deal with the situation' so there is no doubt about what was going on.
(edit or as the bloke who got that NIP for cycling on the pavement when submitting a close pass may well do now - "at 2:05 in, I went onto the *shared path* on south st"
I watch the near misses most days, (I don't know why they just make me angry) I totally agree that a good explanation of what actually happened must be great help. I personally feel that generally the videos don't look as bad as the real thing.
You also confirm my point of view that only the worst examples get sent to the police.
I'm amazed if those are the figures for 2019, as I've had so many incidents turned aside by Cheshire Police that I've given up submitting them. I used to cycle commute into and out of Chester most days but not so this year as now working from home. Given that a couple of those incidents posted by Cheshire Police were extremely dangerous (eg the tractor) makes you wonder how serious it has to be for them to actually deal with. If they gave the tractor driver three points for running someone off the road deliberately rather makes a joke of it.
That said, glad they are doing something but they still haven't got the full picture yet and there are loads of drivers they need to educate.
Thanks Cheshire Police for at least having a go. Sadly I suspect it won't be enough to offset the damage done by the MSM, most recently that fat idiot from the Times.
No 2 is near me (note prestige car), possibly no 4 - that looks grim.
Indeed. And the final one shows that even taking the lane in the presence of an impatient idiot does not help!
That last one really made me flinch