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news
Near Miss of the Day 554: Cyclist “surprised” after police officer who pulled out in front of him does u-turn to lecture him (includes swearing)
A London cyclist says he was “surprised” after a police officer who had pulled out in front of him in a van then executed a u-turn to follow the rider and give him a lecture about his use of the road.
The bizarre episode happened on Constitution Hill as the cyclist headed from Hyde Park Corner towards Buckingham Palace on the route of Cycleway 3 – keeping to the main carriageway, as he’s allowed to do, rather than the adjacent cycle path on the south side of Green Park.
It was filmed by road.cc user lukei1, who told us: “While certainly not a particularly ‘near’ miss, I was surprised at the Officer's reaction to this whole incident.
“Coming down Constitution Hill in the rain, I could see the Met Police van slowly coming towards the road from the park and took the slow speed he was creeping behind the arches as recognition that he would stop for any traffic before pulling onto the road, especially when he nosed out into the road and came to an almost complete stop. Sadly this was incorrect.
“While using some blue language, I would describe it more as a lament, rather than directed at the driver with any sort of vitriol.
“So to say I was surprised when I turned around to see he was right behind me, having pulled a u-turn to chase me down would be an understatement.
“What followed was not a very fruitful chat, where a worrying amount of cyclist bingo items were ticked off. My personal favourites are:
– He is of course a cyclist as well (2x)
– Accelerating deliberately (downhill after an intersection on an empty road, what a surprise)
– Accusing me of going 30mph (on a steel framed Decathlon with Marathon Plus tyres ...)
– Being belligerent (having turned around to chase me for half a mile ...)
“All in all a strange experience,” he reflected.
“Here's a clip on a slightly lighter note,” he added – sending us a link to this video taken last summer a few hundred yards further east along The Mall … if you’re going to ride through a red traffic light, it’s not the best idea to shoot past a stopped police car …
> 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
- mattw 1 hour 3 min ago
The cycle path issue illustrates a really difficult problem....
- mattw 1 hour 47 min ago
It's owned by the same company. It is hyper-junk.
- mark1a 1 hour 41 min ago
Yes, I agree, and thanks for replying, what I was trying to say (badly) was that Look wasn't really a bike company back then. ...
- kingleo 4 hours 45 min ago
You never mentioned that a cyclist was stabbed to death by a pedestrian a few years ago in Richmond Park. Also when the park was left open...
- George Hill 5 hours 45 min ago
Foxcote Hill in Ilmington - it's steep, it's not too long, and once you get to the top you can see the for miles across the Cotswolds....
- stonojnr 5 hours 52 min ago
well at least they didnt go for British Racing Green as well ,as then theyd have two trademark licensing cases up against them....
- Laz 6 hours 51 min ago
I think the best solution would be to automatically charge every driver who hits a cyclist on the road with attempted murder, and plain murder in...
- David9694 8 hours 4 min ago
Car crashes into front of home in Briggs Mead, Wymondham...
- nowasps 8 hours 15 min ago
I've worked my way through a gifted box of these, and the review tallies exactly with my own experience.
- E6toSE3 8 hours 46 min ago
Quite wrong. The really interesting stuff was good goggles for under £80 - my budget and I was previously limited to Tifosi. Had to ask about...
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70 comments
I've had this d1ckhead attitude from Met police drivers as well - in my case receiving a stupidly close punishment pass by a police van (at speed with oncoming traffic) - it ended up with me apologising and them clearly being very aggressive rather than just apologising.
Aside from anything the officer's ability to recall correctly what happened in today's video is enough to warrant a complaint - if he can't remember the actions he took a few minutes before there's no way he could be a credible witness to a more serious offence.
and here's me thinking the police are over-stretched.
He's basically just admitted to breaking the speed limit by 10mph - was it really warranted for a slightly dented ego?
What a knobhead.
I like the way he was able to work out the cyclist was doing 30 but decided to pull out in front of him anyway.
There's no greater feeling than accelerating into the side of van and smashing your head on it injuring your shoulder and hip.
Some retraining required in many departments.
This officer's next job could be as a Telegraph columnist.
(He just doesn't know it yet)
If you believe another road user had sworn at you...
Rule 147:
do not allow yourself to become agitated or involved if someone is behaving badly on the road. This will only make the situation worse. Pull over, calm down and, when you feel relaxed, continue your journey.
Can't find the rule advising to chase them down the road and pull them over in a clear abuse of power just to satisfy one's ego.
Look, I'm not saying ALL police officers are ignorant of the law and base their actions on prejudice....
(mate of mine once got pulled over for 'not cycling in the designated cycle lane')
1. The cyclist was easily visible past the obstruction at the point the van stopped, before it then pulled out into the path of the cyclist.
2. "You were going 30 in a 20" and "I was having to do 30 to catch you up". Relativity sneaking in here somewhere.
3. In any case, speed limits in red circles apply to motor vehicles only, therefore exceeding one on a bike is irrelevant. The police officer should know this, especially if he's a cyclist himself.
4. Whether or not the cyclist was accelerating and, if he did so, whether or not he did so to 'prove a point' is irrelevant. There's no rule against road users accelerating. But it's clear from the video that the acceleration stopped well before the van pulled out.
5. Oh, and the good old "Why don't you use the cycle path?" and "It's you who will get hurt". A bit (or a lot) of re-education is needed for this particular officer.
What an absolute idiot
Acelerated?? oh yeah, cos we just do that at the touch of a pedal, and there's nothing we love better than accelerating into the side of a van
30mph??? that rozzer wasn't "exaggerating" for effect, that was a flat out lie as evinced by his contradicting the rider when challenged.
What an utter dishonest, disingenuous, entitled, self-important, pompous little w*nksock
Well done for keeping your cool, and also well done for pedalling off when that twat was in midsentence
My favourite line was his first 'I made the decision that it was safe to go'
Oh, alrighty then. Dickhead.
Pulling out from a Stop or Give Way road/entrance and causing someone to brake or swerve is an offence.The police's own advice is to issue a summons - see last paragraph
https://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/NPCC%20FOI/Operations/069%2015%20...
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