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news
Near Miss of the Day 430: Close pass ... from a police officer
"Even the police don’t seem to understand how to pass," says road.cc reader Adrian, who sent us this clip from a recent ride for our Near Miss of the Day series.
He filmed it on the A40 in Gloucestershire at Over, a village on the west bank of the River Severn two miles to the west of Gloucester.
Gloucestershire Police have in the past run close pass operations targeting drivers who overtake cyclists without leaving enough room.
One such operation took place in 2017, when PC Charlie McMaster took to his bike in normal clothes to catch motorists who made close passes on him.
At the time , he said: "People do get too close. It happens quite regularly.“Main roads tend to be a bit better. On country roads, with blind bends and poor views, people overtake too quickly and not safely enough.”
In this part of the world, other than a motorway the A40 is as main as main roads get, and in our book that's definitely a far too quick and far too close overtake.
Last year, an officer from Gloucestershire Police told a cyclist reporting a close pass from a coach driver: "Maybe you should consider trading in your bike for a Hummer."
The force subsequently apologised for the comments and the coach driver was fined and had six penalty points put on his licence.
> 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.
Latest Comments
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Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
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31 comments
Cyclist's lives matter.
I'm sure this wasn't a punishment pass for not using the shared use path alongside the road. No, of course it wasn't.
I'm sure you're all forgetting that the cyclist probably wasn't wearing a helmet, hi-viz and didn't have day time lights on. Obviously his own fault.
Please tell me it's been reported
Also confirm when they tell you that it inadvertenly missed the 14 day deadline for issuing a NiP.....
There isn't any hope. I was passed (safely) by two drivers in fully liveried police vehicles on the weekend, one double cab and one patrol car travelling one behind the other. Touble is they both crossed solid double white lines to do so while I was doing circa 20mph, and of course so did the half dozen or so cars behind them. If they'd waited as as they should have done, just maybe the other drivers would have wondered why and learned something.
Not an acceptable standard for any driver. Would be interested to hear what the head of Road Policing for this area has to say.
Not sure what the answer is, but mixing vehicles with approx 50mph+ speed differential on the same carriageway is not sensisible.
Speed Limit there is 50mph so unless the cyclist was standing still.....
Oh. I assumed it was 70. The copper seemed to be shifting then. No lights, just late for tea?
Whilst it was a liveried Police vehicle, it may equally have been the spanner monkey from the contracted garage services thinking they could take liberties in it and do a Sweeney.
Regardless of which it needs notifying to the road team.
I completely agree. I, personally, would never cycle on a road like that. I realise that in some parts of the country it's unavoidable, although I always take much longer circuitous routes to ensure I don't mix with A roads. Before anyone overreacts, of course the cyclist is legally entitled and motorists should drive to the conditions etc, but by definition it's more risky for cyclists on that sort of road. The vast majority of us are also motorists, and we all know that people travel along at 50+mph on this sort of road. In all likelihood if you slammed on the anchors from 55mph to 20mph on a free dual carriageway you'd get someone crashing into the back of you. The cyclist might be in the right, but that won't do you much good when a Transit's gone through the back of you at 60mph. I honestly don't know what the solution is, segregated infrastructure is the only safe option I think, but is it realistic to expect councils to spend millions segregating fast roads? I think we all know that that will never happen. With all the post-Covid increase in cycling encourage local government to build separate safe cycle lanes on busy routes? Will it fook.
You do realise that most of the lovely little country roads so beloved of cyclists are National speed limit, 60mph. Dual carriageways have specific overtaking lanes, great sight lines and no blind bends.
Yes, I know the UK limits. Of course the "lovely little country roads so beloved of cyclists" are so lovely and beloved of cyclists precisely because cars are not, in the main, doing 60mph along them, despite the speed limit. That is what makes them so lovely.
Just like motorways.
It's not necessary or appropriate to drive at the posted limit. Always, always drive to the conditions.
Cyclist was well over to the left of the lane, almost on the white line, riding through a set of lights at a junction (might be worth easing off?) on an empty dual carriageway and the the cunty plod couldn't be arsed to pull out another metre.
And which bit of HC rule 163 - "Give vulnerable road users at least as much space as you would a car" do you not understand, Jeremy?
Some "answers" that come to my mind - for such motorists who might have come to a complete mental block of any alternative options - are:
1. Move fully into the empty outside lane - like if overtaking a car
2. If outside is not yet free, hold station in your current lane at a safe stopping distance behind, until outside lane is free - like if overtaking a car
3. Modulate your approach speed so that you do arrive for the overtake at a suitable moment when the outside lane is free - like if overtaking a car
4. Use the outside lane - yes that one
I'm sure I can think of further options if needed.
Next week we can do: How to get through a doorway that somebody else is already entering. Spoiler alert - it's not by climbing over their shoulders
Honestly, I don't think it's safe to drive at 15-20mph on a dual carriageway, with other traffic flowing at 70mph. The very rare occasions I have witnessed it - some jalloppy struggling along barely making headway - it's bloody dangerous. All your mock-ironic pontificating won't change that.
As a counter-point, I've frequently cycled on stretches of dual-carriageway and whereas the cars are quicker than me over a small section, I often catch them up at traffic lights/roundabouts. What is the advantage of trying to go 60-70mph on one stretch if other cars are going to hold you up at the junctions? Slowing to 20mph for a few seconds is not going to impact your journey other than making it safer.
Sure. But this isn't about journey time or reflecting on the futility of driving at 70 only to have to slow down again at roundabouts. It's about one vehicle doing 20mph when all the others are doing 70mph - futile or not. No, slowing to 20mph on a dual carriageway does not make you safer.
Slowing to 20mph makes everyone safer.
why only slow to 20mph? Walking pace would be even safer.
Yes, but then you might as well be walking and getting some exercise.
There's times and places for going quickly and if you're on a 'fast' A road and see a cyclist ahead, then slowing down or pulling into the other lane is probably appropriate. I'm not saying that cars shouldn't then overtake safely and speed up again. I just don't subscribe to the "cars will smash into the back of me if I slow down a bit" philosophy.
Your logic is flawed again. Crashes at 70mph are better than crashes at 20mph?!
Please yourself - go drive your car at 20mph up a 70 dual carriageway or motorway. I'm sure all will thank you for making the roads safer.
The point being made is that it isn't somehow preordained that two road users end up on the same small piece of tarmac with a significant speed differential. And that simple reasonable adjustments would lead to a perfectly safe pass, and would not cause a pile up behind either. It is so difficult to understand how events - like this one in the video - keep happening. I think it is a lack of empathy by certain motorists, who fail to understand the risk they are creating towards an unprotected cyclist. Segregated infrastructure is an excellent mitigation. But it will never cover every route and journey. It is high time that this small minority of inconsiderate motorists took responsibility for their driving decisions. It is completely solvable. Today.
You are very confused and have got it completely backwards.
It's not safe to travel at 70mph with other traffic flowing at 15-20mph and it's the approaching traffic's responsibility to ensure it is safe.
Yes, of course dear.
You are confusing responsibility with danger.
Not how the police see it
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/pensioner-on-mobility-scooter-causes-chaos-o...
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/a12-driver-describes-moment-p...
Maybe the answer is for the faster vehicle behind to slow the f*ck down?!
keep saying the same thing.
Setting a fine example for the van behind, that chose to pass while alongside another vehicle. Well if it's good enough for the police...
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