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news
Near Miss of the Day 519: Driver tailgates cyclist then makes deliberate close pass – on Day 1 of latest lockdown
England went back into full lockdown last Wednesday, but the roads are a lot busier than they were in spring last year when restrictions aimed at containing COVID-19 were first introduced – and here we have a cyclist who, on the first day the new rules came in, was tailgated by a driver who then made a deliberate close pass on him.
The clip, filmed in Nottinghamshire, was sent in by road.cc reader Julian, who is an accredited cycling instructor.
He said: “For the 15-20 seconds preceding the video clip, this driver had been tailgating me, as I was doing my best to navigate my way thru streaks of mucky debris left on a rural road (Swabs Lane) nr Cropwell Bishop.
“The driver had also shown further signs of aggressive deliberation: revving his engine as he was tailgating me.
“The pass was so close that the side of the vehicle came into contact with my foot: if you slow down/freeze frame you will be able to see the mark my foot left on the side of the vehicle door,” Julian added.
> 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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17 comments
"...you will be able to see the mark my foot left on the side of the vehicle door,”
I can hear Plod's response now:
..."so you deliberately removed some valuable dirt from this person's vehicle... You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Are you sure you want to proceed with this complaint?"
"...you will be able to see the mark my foot left on the side of the vehicle door,”
I agree that the main aim of The Filth, on receiving a complaint of an offence against a cyclist, is to think up which of their huge arsenal of Excuses for Motorists to deploy on this occasion. However, even they wouldn't try this one on, as it was an indication of how close the pass was as opposed to a deliberate action by the cyclist- there is virtually never time to 'retaliate' at the time of a close pass. They would try and do you for any later action against the driver, though!
If the intent of the driver was simply to overtake and move on, then they would have used the full width of the road to do so safely. There certainly seems sufficient space. That they apparently tailgated for some time, used the horn in the way they did and passed deliberately close to the cyclist is a clear indication of aggression.
It would be useful context to have included 30 seconds before the incident at least for submission to the court of public opinion. Police will need (2 minutes?) either side but our attention spans are ...... covfefe
That was in no doubt an aggressive, fierce and intended to be a dangerous overtake.
The fact that this dangerous BoyGirlracer made contact with you, makes it an assault with intent to cause harm.
Certainly needs reporting and a deserving punishment that may stop them getting behind the wheel with that murderous driving attitude before he kills a minor travelling on a bike.
Agreed.
They had 'fun' at the riders expense and it should be reported.
"This is clearly dangerous, falls far below the (low) standards of even moderately competent driving, and the driver should be banned from the roads until they can prove that they're competent through an extended re-test."
Take the footage down from the internet and submit it here:-
https://dashcamupload.notts.police.uk/
That way, at least something might be done about it.
Report it please
Where are any of these drivers going in a hurry in lockdown?
Had one yesterday overseas car passed me with a few cm. No doubt they thought it was ok because LHD
No doubt it was dangerously close (especially as there was actual contact) but how do you know it was a deliberate close pass and not a dangerously aggressive and unthinking one. It looks like they were about to lose visibility and the aggressive (insert expletive) lost patience and dived through and was desperate to maintain that visibility as long as possible by moving back in fast, regardless of a cyclist still being there (not thinking of them)
I must confess the nuance is lost on me...
I don't give half these muppets the credit of actually having a brain to consider a deliberate move. Nonetheless they end up doing it out of stupid aggressiveness.
Does it make a difference if it was deliberate or merely complete callous disregard for the cyclist's life? Either way, they have proved themselves utterly incapable of driving safely and therefore should no longer be allowed to.
Not really at the end of the day; it just helps me when I am out on the bike envisaging that not everyone is out to get me (otherwise Id never go out) but there's plenty of impatience/ aggressive pr1cks out there to avoid.
[/quote] Not really at the end of the day; it just helps me when I am out on the bike envisaging that not everyone is out to get me (otherwise Id never go out) but there's plenty of impatience/ aggressive pr1cks out there to avoid.[/quote]
It's been said many times, but still true; the best way to stay safe is to think that all the drivers are out to kill you, or at least don't care if they kill you.
Whether it's dangerous through intentional malice, or dangerous purely through incompetence, is obviously hard to prove. But, thankfully, it's completely irrelavant.
This is clearly dangerous, falls far below the (low) standards of even moderately competent driving, and the driver should be banned from the roads until they can prove that they're competent through an extended re-test.
I think the article explains why he thought it was a deliberate close pass based on the behaviour prior to the move. You do generally get a feel for these things when out on the bike.
My latest experience was a driver deliberately close passing because I wasn't using a cycle path followed by him turning right from a left hand only lane and then trying to block the road to tell me I shouldn't be on it. Genius!
I get the feel for a stupid impatient/aggressive muppet who is liable to dangerously seize any opportunity without thinking rather than one who actually has the brain to think about their actions. Thankfully I've only had the latter once, about 12 years ago 130,000 miles ago when a muppet in Edinburgh chased me into a housing estate and brake checked and swerved into me repeatedly shouting 'do that again and......'. I think it was mistaken identity but I never want to experience a deliberate act again. Not that I want to experience unthinking aggressiveness either 😯