Near Miss of the Day 809: “Just doesn’t get closer than this” – Cyclist squeezed between van and kerb at bike lane pinch point

pockstone wrote:

This was 100% deliberate in my view. All this talk about 'taking the racing line' and MGIF 'reckless' cycling is nonsense.

Look at the change of angle of the van's front wheel at 24-27 seconds in. Then look at the line the van takes across the cycle lane white line at 38-40 seconds in. This is not a case of absent- minded lane drifting.

I agree, it's impossible to be 100% sure but the cyclist was level with the passenger window (at least, if not actually partially in front of the van, it depends whether you look at the front or rear camera) before the van decided to move over, looks like a deliberate punishment for having the temerity to undertake, even though given the presence of the cycle lane it is completely legal and would have been completely safe without the driver's reaction.

IanMSpencer wrote:

Here is a "pavement" using a solid white line in a kerb. If someone was walking along that, would anyone blame a pedestrian for being in the way of a van who decided they wanted to ignore the line?

Martin73 would, "Nobody's denying the van shouldn't have been driving on the pavement but if the pedestrian had bowed down to them and walked on tiptoe on the kerb this wouldn't have happened. Was it worth the pedestrian trying to assert their right to walk in their designated area?"

Best to ignore socraticyclist - they are only here to bait people.

Cyclist needs to understand that the segregation is only a white line not a concrete barrier.
Poor driving from the van driver but very risky move from the cyclist. I think most would have adjusted their speed a little rather than storming up the inside of a white van. Its not like you don't know about the reputation of a white van driver. Old saying that if you go looking for trouble then you will generally find it.
Impressive save though.

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Why on earth didn't the cyclist brake?  Van drivers fault but defensive riding would avoided the incident entirely. 

Being in the right doesn't make you any less injured/ dead.

looks to me like he was thinking he'd get ahead of the van before the pinch point but then realised it would probably accelerate into the growing gap so coasted instead, assuming he'd fit in behind. He was also watching the lady with the open car door, the junction he was approaching and the pedestrian. Then when the van driver didn't accelerate as expected and moved left it was an instant fight or flight decision and 'hit the van/steady myself' won out over 'hit the brakes'.

I'd like to think I would have slowed more in advance or hit the brakes just before but I might just as easily have ended up under the wheels of the van or crashing into the lamp post, or worse, the ped.

He did brake, as he mentioned in the text and can be seen from the front view (Right hand appears to clench on tops). However van driver came over a lot more into the lane and he then had to use the braking hand to alert van driver of proximity. I suppose he could have emergency braked but tight place to do that by that point.

Clear thinking doesn't come when you're watching your life flash before your eyes..
The solution is proper infra (and a driving ban) not victim-blaming.

Car Delenda Est wrote:

Clear thinking doesn't come when you're watching your life flash before your eyes.. The solution is proper infra (and a driving ban) not victim-blaming.

100% agree that proper infra and punishment for the van driver are both warranted.    What you call victim blaming I call learning a lesson to make sure my family dont get a call from the hospital or the police.  Recommending defensive riding in a certain scenario in no way equates to victim blaming, and its a copout and gross oversimplification for you to say so.  But you savour the feeling of being right from a hospital bed or worse - I'd rather be overly defensive than dead (whilst still reporting morons like the van driver).

I think looking at that guy's other videos he is more than a little reckless with some of his roadcraft. And incredibly arrogant on twitter. 

joe9090 wrote:

I think looking at that guy's other videos he is more than a little reckless with some of his roadcraft. And incredibly arrogant on twitter. 

Not sure I agree tbh having done some scrolling.  He's obviously a very fast commuter on a repeated familiar route - but most of his videos and responses are more than reasonable.  Theres a potential argument that he could take the edge off slightly but not one I'd make, and plenty of drivers are worse.  For me this particular video of his is the exception - not the rule.

joe9090 wrote:

I think looking at that guy's other videos he is more than a little reckless with some of his roadcraft. And incredibly arrogant on twitter. 

I started watching the video expecting to see similar to some of his previous videos, however in this instance he is coasting up the mandatory lane past traffic that is stopped at the lights and then moves forward as the lights change.  The van quite simply should not have cut the corner.  You can hear how startled RTBI is in his conversation at the end, not his usual tone of voice.

I've just rewatched that and agree.  If you knew about the left turn just after the lights I guess you might have been careful and e.g. tucked in behind a vehicle before that point.  However the van just made a rapid shift left before the turn and into a "manatory" lane.  I can't see any sign of signalling so there's no evidence that they were trying to turn left.  Plus the rider appears to have been up at about the level of the cab so might have felt the driver "saw" them.  Yeah, I know, that's no guarantee...

If only there were some way of building junctions so that reduced the chances of this kind of incident.

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Why on earth didn't the cyclist brake?  Van drivers fault but defensive riding would avoided the incident entirely. 

Being in the right doesn't make you any less injured/ dead.

I like to think I would have let the van have that space; that I was behind the van but could see the traffic was accelerating, and would know how it was going to end if I had kept going for the gap.

However, the cyclist was level with passenger door of the van.  The driver should have known he was there, but did NOTHING to help the rider.  Is it just me that can see this?