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Near Miss of the Day 573: Close pass van driver asks cyclist, “Two feet is enough, isn't it?”

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country - today it's Buckinghamshire...

“Two feet is enough, isn't it?” That was the question a van driver put to a cyclist when challenged following a close pass on a bend in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Alex, the road.cc reader who submitted the footage for our Near Miss of the Day series, said in a caption to the video that “he came within 50cm of my bars” – so around one and a half feet.

Unlike some other jurisdictions, in the UK there is no minimum legal passing distance when overtaking a cyclist, with Rule 163 of the Highway Code stating only that motorists should “give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car,” accompanied by this picture.

Highway Code Rule 163

However, under the close pass initiative developed several years ago by West Midlands Police and subsequently adopted by police forces across the country, 1.5 metres is generally considered the minimum space motorists should give to avoid being pulled over by police conducting such operations.

In this case, Alex told us that with the overtake happening on a bend, the driver “inevitably cut the corner (with me on it). 

“I caught up with him a minute later as he'd pulled over.  His opinion was that 2 feet is enough room to leave cyclists.  Thames Valley Police disagree and have issued him with an 'official warning' with a reminder of safe passing distances.”

Alex also sent in another clip filmed on the same road, saying: “A few things in this one. 

“Driver lets another vehicle out of a side road – no problem there – but seemingly mainly because it then allows him to cut the corner onto the wrong side of the road. 

“However, I'm already turning and so this puts him in conflict with me – even if I had been going straight on, he'd have cut right across my path.  To make matters worse, he then immediately turns left. 

“I haven't yet had a response from TVP regarding this incident.”

> 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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11 comments

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wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

I have to support DPD around here- in my experience it's always the same driver. The delivery times are pretty reliable and the driver told me he sets the schedule and is happy with the system. Last time I had a delivery from them, you were able to follow the van's progress online, which is also handy. I haven't witnessed any traffic incidents with them.

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alexls replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

I didn't see a smiley, so I have to check that this is irony, right?
(Although on second look I note that's not a DPD van)

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wtjs replied to alexls | 2 years ago
3 likes

No, it's genuine, not irony. APC, not DPD, committed the gross offences on this shot, but this was the case where Lancashire Constabulary came up with the bent-and-barmy excuse for taking no action at all: they wanted my immaculate video confirmed by footage from the offending vehicle. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't any. The most charitable interpretation of LC's inaction is that they just can't be bothered, and the worst is that officers enter into private arrangements with the offenders. My evidence was impeccable.

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TriTaxMan replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

I am in the process of waiting for a reply from Northumbria police for a similar but much more squeaky bum moment I had last week.  A contract Driver for a national tipper firm decided to overtake me on double white lines into the face of oncoming traffic.

I had to almost take to the verge, and the oncoming driver had to take evasive action to avoid the collision.   The lanes on the road in question are just wide enough for the wagon.  I can't upload the image of the overtake (because of the fact I am waiting for the police), but this is a picture of another wagon that overtook me just a few seconds prior,  roughly at the point of the overtake, as an illustration of how little room there was for a bike, car and lorry to be 3 abreast

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Jenova20 | 2 years ago
1 like

No surprise it's a DPD driver. I've had my fair share of issues with their "drivers". Let me know if you actually manage to get them to reply to you, as their contact details are impossible to find.

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AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

I think we have mentioned that alot of the Couriers firms are working with "independent" contractors, even if they happen to have branded vans. I'm not sure if DPD is one of these but their drivers seem to be one of the worst examples. I had one overtake me and imediately left hook whilst I was doing 23 down a 30 side road here. (I had just reached the last cottage garden when he overtook). 

I did some hand signals indicating the pass distance etc and carreid on and was then was close passed by the following jag on the bridge straight after. Unfortunately it appeared the Camera hadn't turned on at the start of the ride so both drivers were not reported.

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EK Spinner replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
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I have a nieghbour who drives for DPD, not sure if he is independant or not, we were talking about driving standards the other day (he is very good, the guy who does his run of a weekend is not).

He told me something I found interesting as I always though that the drivers were keen to be quick in order to finish or get more parcels etc, however thier rounds have predicted times on them and they cannot scan a parcel to record it's delivery before the start of it's predicted delivery window.

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mdavidford replied to EK Spinner | 2 years ago
3 likes

Yeah - I've had the bizarre situation where the same driver was delivering two seperate parcels to me on the same run, and had to wait after the first was delivered while the scanner thing counted down for a minute or so before they were allowed to deliver the second. 

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Jenova20 replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
1 like

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

I think we have mentioned that alot of the Couriers firms are working with "independent" contractors, even if they happen to have branded vans. I'm not sure if DPD is one of these but their drivers seem to be one of the worst examples. I had one overtake me and imediately left hook whilst I was doing 23 down a 30 side road here. (I had just reached the last cottage garden when he overtook). 

I did some hand signals indicating the pass distance etc and carreid on and was then was close passed by the following jag on the bridge straight after. Unfortunately it appeared the Camera hadn't turned on at the start of the ride so both drivers were not reported.

The only hand signal DPD drivers understand involves a closed fist and a single finger.

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CXR94Di2 | 2 years ago
5 likes

Ride more central, reduces silly overtakes, slows down traffic, gives you more of an left side escape space, less chance of potholes more central too.

 

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Awavey replied to CXR94Di2 | 2 years ago
1 like

I'm not sure that necessarily contributed to either of these though. If the van driver believes 2ft is adequate & I'd be willing to bet he wouldnt if the roles were reversed, it doesnt matter how central you ride does it,he's still only giving you 2ft ?

On the 2nd one it's a lousy position the DPD van puts you in, but I dont like riding into gaps like that, as you can run out of space real quick, so I'd have been tempted however annoying or wrong the situation was to ease off and let the van go through at least a car length or two ahead.

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