You can’t win, can you? We see bogus coverage in the mainstream media that criticise cyclists for (quite legally) riding two abreast, yet when they ride single file out of consideration for other road users, something like this happens … a close pass by a lorry driver who leaves just inches between his vehicle and the riders he is overtaking.
The clip, filmed in Gloucestershire, was sent in by road.cc reader Richard, who said: “This one happened in November when out riding with a friend. We had to do a short stretch on a relatively busy road, normally we stick to the quieter roads, so I decided single file was the considerate thing to do and this was the result.
“The response from the police was that it was unacceptable and they would try to trace the driver. I managed to get the plates from a series of stills but as it was foreign, and the fact that I have heard nothing since, I assume their attempts were unsuccessful.
“Also for the record my first submission was NMOTD 461 which I submitted following the comments,” he continued.
“Because it was after the 14 day limit when I submitted, the police said they would wtite to the driver concerned.”
Richard added: “And finally, for [fellow road.cc reader] Siracha, the camera used was an Apeman A66 helmet mounted. You can see the telly tubby shadow in the video.”
> 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@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
25 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 594: Cyclists ride single file … and still get a close pass from a lorry driver”
Quote:
Cheers 🙂
Hi viz? Check.
Hi viz? Check.
Helmets? Check.
Single file? Check.
Ah I see what you did wrong in the pantheon of rules for cyclists that only exist in the heads of psycho drivers. Not diving into the hedge at the first approach of an overtaking vehicle.
Following 2 vans weren’t very clever in their timing either, both overtaking into oncoming traffic, though giving you some space.
Mungecrundle wrote:
Cos Mikey
They weren’t going about
They weren’t going about their business with politeness and a studious courtesy to other road users.
I wish I could give that
I wish I could give that extra likes !
hirsute wrote:
I wish I could give that extra likes too
Got to love the UK: rather
Got to love the UK: rather have a wide grass verge than a wider road. There really ought to be a minimum width for new roads.
There is. But more
There is. But more importantly the govt manual also notes that there’s a particular intermediate width range that should be avoided as it could encourage unsafe passing of cyclists…
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341513/pdfmanforstreets.pdf
bikeman01 wrote:
We don’t need wider roads! We need drivers to see cyclists as human: mums, dads, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters and to drive in a less entitled manner.
Driver of massive lorry is
Driver of massive lorry is guilty. This is Booths Supermarkets’ DAF articulated lorry PK11 JZG on the same mission to educate cyclists, throwing in crossing of unbroken white line for good measure. You don’t need to ask whether Lancashire Constabulary paid any attention at all to the online incident report.
LC’s very first prosecution for an unrelated close pass is on target for Monday 14th June at Preston Magistrates- lets’s see if they try to sabotage their own prosecution to keep up their proud ‘we never prosecute’ boast.
You should send this video to
You should send this video to Edwin Booth, he is a very keen cyclist, and would not fob you off. I’ve met him on a number of occaisons, he’s a decent man.
However his brother John
However his brother John Wilkes was abit of an arsehole.
Your comment must be tongue
Your comment must be tongue in cheek, if not, we are talking about a different Edwin Booth, not the American actor.
You should send this video to
You should send this video to Edwin Booth
Thanks. That lorry case was 2019- water under the bridge. I did send it to some Booths transport address and they claimed to have done something about it. The Filth just ignored it as usual.
Edwin wouldn’t have dismissed
Edwin wouldn’t have dismissed it, he’s a decent bloke. Lives locally, near Mellor, loves riding his bike.
That was atrocious driving by
That was atrocious driving by the lorry and the white van. Certainly worthy of prosecution.
But it would not have happened had they been riding either 2 abreast or centre of the their lane. The lorry and all others would have had to wait to pass. Two close passes in a few seconds, because the riders regrettably gave the vehicles just enough width to stay left of the white line. Had the riders taken the lane then it wouldn’t happen. I personally find drivers behave much better and give me far more width when I ride centrally- which I do all the time
I’m with you there, but it is
I’m with you there, but it is a toss-up between a nasty close pass and a driver giving you some abuse (or worse) because you’re ‘in the middle of the road!’.
What taking the lane in these situations does do, almost without fail, is cause the approaching vehicle to reduce their speed (whether they end up passing you nicely or not). The driver sees an obstacle rather than a gap and instinctively changes their behaviour.
I would have held primary, but having seen it was a big lorry, looked for an opportunity to pull over and let it pass. I think the riders may have been aiming to do that, as one indicates left just before a driveway. Obviously this is only really an option for a solo rider and a pair if they’re both expecting to do this.
I’d rather get ‘abuse’ than
I’d rather get ‘abuse’ than get close-passed. Drivers won’t (generally, at least) drive into you from behind, however annoyed they get. They will, on the other hand, try to squeeze past unless you make it impossible.
That said, I wouldn’t road on roads like the one in the video _at all_. The standard of driving is simply not high enough for it to be even moderately safe.
Dave Dave wrote:
For me, that is still the state of play, a bit like telling your daughter she can’t go out dressed like that. It’s not right, we should not have to trade liberty against life. I cycle for pleasure rather that out of necessity so I have that choice. For those who rely on their bicycle it worries me – hit a branch or other debris and these two would have been garibaldi.
Ultimately, it isn’t safe for
Ultimately, it isn’t safe for big metal boxes to share roads at such radically different speeds, let alone cars and bicycles. Drivers are just starting to be aware of the issue on a larger scale and slow down to appropriate speeds, but it’s not the majority, let alone near-universal.
If we as cyclists want to argue for more sensible road laws that benefit cyclists, we should be willing to compromise on this. After all, cyclists aren’t allowed on motorways. More cycle paths, and more voluntary common sense from cyclists; just because you can ride somewhere doesn’t mean you should.
Dave Dave wrote:
I don’t agree. We shouldn’t have to share the world with murderers but changing the law on the sale of kitchen knives is unlikely to help.
Time and again, changes to cars, roads et al. have just lead to drivers becoming worse and danger levels increasing! Better were the days where you were scared driving in the dark (due to headlamps) so you reduced your speed, lack of seatbelts and a-pillars meant you knew the consequences of a crash. The modern 2 tonne living room on wheels is driven at max effort with min care!
They mention in the article
They mention in the article the route couldn’t be avoided and were only on that road for a stretch to get to the quieter road they are turning onto. You might live where it is possible to cycle on ‘quiet’ roads all the time, a lot of people do not have that luxury.
Dave Dave wrote:
My preference is to control the lane and ride primary when necessary too. I have suffered abuse for it (proper getting out the car road rage abuse), but on balance, it still seems like the best choice for me.
Like the OP Richard, I would try and avoid a busy road like this, but it’s not always possible. On my old commute, there was a short stretch on a busy B-road at rush hour that was unavoidable. It was either that or drive – still preferred the bike.
I’m now the same; I’ll try to
I’m now the same; I’ll try to avoid roads like that, as it’s not worth it. Sometimes it can’t be avoided, but it tends to be for half a mile, until the junction for a ‘quieter’ road.
Yes, it shouldn’t be like this – but it is what it is – and nothing appears to being done to address it.
Both those drivers should get points, and a re-test…..
I think this is a prime
I think this is a prime example of why riding single file should actively be discouraged, might bookmark the video and throw it up to the “you must ride single file” brigade on Facebook to illustrate why riding single file is dangerous.