Most cyclists, I’m sure, have heard that well-worn and tattered phrase, “get off the road!”, at some point or another, usually uttered with spiteful venom out of a passing car’s window. However, I doubt many have heard it coming from a passenger stood smack bang in the middle of the road themselves.
Well, that’s the bizarre situation road.cc reader Gareth found himself in while out on his bike in October.
While stopped at the junction of Brynteg road and Pontardulais Road in Penyrheol, Swansea, Gareth is almost struck head on by a driver who – clearly oblivious to the cyclist’s presence – attempted to cut the corner, before hitting the brakes just in time.
> Near Miss of the Day 841: Impatient drivers squeeze past cyclists on dark country lane
But unlike most of our near misses, that close call only marks the start of this particular story. After Gareth expresses his discontent with the motorist’s questionable turning method, the driver proceeds to pass him… on the wrong side of the road.
With the vehicle still moving, the car’s passenger – clearly unhappy that the cyclist made a note of the driver’s dangerous manoeuvre – jumps out for a round of detailed analysis, prompting one of the more bizarre exchanges witnessed on Near Miss of the Day.
“Listen now, I saw you, she wasn’t cutting [the corner],” the passenger, now standing in the road in front of the cyclist, says.
“What do you mean, she wasn’t cutting the corner?” comes Gareth’s baffled reply.
Then, delivered with a startling lack of self-awareness, the woman shouts at the cyclist to “get off the road” before he’s on the receiving end of yet more dodgy driving.
After Gareth, understandably, asks why he’s the recipient of a verbal lashing after a motorist cut the corner of a junction, almost hitting him, our protective passenger replies: “Because you’re standing still there and there’s other traffic, and you’ll cause an accident.”
As the cyclist, presumably shaking his head, finally rides off, strains of “we said sorry!” – and a few other things – fade away into the distance.
Blimey.
Speaking to road.cc, Gareth reckons that his close call, and the rather baffling stand-off that followed, provide an indication of “just how ‘anti-cyclist’ people have become”.
Or maybe it just tells us not to get on the wrong side of a Swansea mum…
> Near Miss of the Day turns 100 —a 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.
67 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 842: Passenger jumps out of car to remonstrate with cyclist… after driver cuts corner and almost hits him”
Wow. Question is was the
Wow. Question is was the passenger the mum with a shitly taught daughter, or a daughter with a doddering driving mother?
As it is not a yellow picanto
As it is not a yellow picanto I am going to bet on the former.
Ride On wrote:
I thought a Honda Jazz was the old dear murder machine of choice?
I thought a Honda Jazz was
I thought a Honda Jazz was the old dear murder machine of choice?
I’m a Jazz owner myself! I have no data on the above, but I do know that Jazz owners and Honda owners in general have a very low rate of VED and MOT/ insurance evasion- the largest probability such offenders per vehicle in North Lancashire are VW, Mercedes, BMW, Audi
You can’t reason or have a
You can’t reason or have a rational conversation with people like that.
Stopped at a give way line is now dangerous – how do you start ?
Positively surreal. Just
Positively surreal. Just when you thought you’d heard every possible way for the cyclist to be wrong in any situation, this lady invents another; it’s now our fault for being exactly where we are supposed to be on the road. Not only did the driver monumentally cut the corner, they then passed Gareth on completely the wrong side of the road at a junction.
Please, please, please tell me that he reported this to the police. That driver needs taking off the road now.
Also, the passenger needs to
Also, the passenger needs to lose her passenger licence.
Her shotgun license you mean?
Her shotgun license you mean?
Exceptional (ish).
Exceptional (ish).
I must remember to never stop at a junction in case I cause an accident. Sounds like cracking advice.
When did they say sorry?
When did they say sorry?
ktache wrote:
You didn’t hear the apology.. well I suppose it’s understandable she was speaking Welsh.
peted76 wrote:
You know she was speaking English, right?
Sorry in Welsh is usually
Sorry in Welsh is usually Sori, anyway!
I hope that it was reported;
I hope that it was reported; it is an open and shut case with testimony of careless driving.
I admit I enjoyed that In a Mrs Charlie Chaplin sort of way.
Am I allowed to anoint Swansea as the fishwife capital of Wales?
.
.
Certainly you can nomimate it, but you would be challenged hard by the good wives of Rhyl.
.
Flintshire Boy wrote:
And Newport and don’t get me started on Merthyr!
Yours
Jack
It’s even worse when the
It’s even worse when the police also think this way. I admit, that when someone in a Freelander hit me when I was in the same position as the cyclist in the incident, the police didn’t actually say it was my own fault for being there on the R side of the lane. However, they clearly didn’t think the driver was much at fault either: the decision was that it was ‘only a momentary loss of concentration so NFA’
You’d think that a momentary
You’d think that a momentary loss of concentration is still a loss of concentration, making it either careless or dangerous, and especially if that loss of concentration led you to drive into someone…
but momentary
but momentary
David9694 wrote:
As long as, afterwards, the cyclist is only momentarily dead.
You’d think that a momentary
You’d think that a momentary loss of concentration is still a loss of concentration, making it either careless or dangerous, and especially if that loss of concentration led you to drive into someone…
You are definitely now on Lancashire Constabulary Traffic’s Need not Apply list
brooksby wrote:
Classic examples for the arguement that the offenses need changing to below test standard for careless and “in a way that would cause an examiner to halt a driving test” for dangerous.
I don’t see the deliberate
I don’t see the deliberate shortcutting of a corner is a lack of concentration, it was a deliberate choice causing an unnecessary conflict with a road user that they had not noticed due to carelessness. The failure to adjust to the correct side of the road after the incident, or wait for the cyclist to clear the junction, points again to a deliberate act of choosing to use the road incorrectly.
With the poor visibility on that corner, cutting it so severely with the potential for conflict with an approaching vehicle was never going to be a wise move.
IanMSpencer wrote:
Agree that ‘cutting the corner’ was a deliberate choice, but ‘not seeing the cyclist waiting to come out’ was (probably) a lack of concentration (maybe having their ear talked off by the passenger…?).
Plain disgusting driving, a
Plain disgusting driving, a lot of drivers cut the junctions like that here in Warminster.
Does the woman say “Listen
Does the woman say “Listen now, I saw you, she wasn’t cutting it, she didn’t see you.”?
Does this mean the only reason the cyclist wasn’t run down by this corner cutting driver, is because her passenger told her to stop?! Flipping heck!
I have to say, watching NMotD has changed the way I approach these sort of right turns. I tend to stay a couple of feet back from the give way line and keep central in the lane. This stops vehicles turning left from cutting up my inside and gives a bit more safety room for corner cutting drivers. Although given how severely this corner was being cut, I’m not sure even that approach would work.
I’ve now adopted this same
I’ve now adopted this same approach at T-Junctions. Though I still roll up to the line as it gives me a clearer view of he main road. It still hasn’t prevented me from having to pull the bike to my left due to a motorist turning in or stoping a left turning driver mounting the pavement to get past me. I did one day take some time to watch motorists turning in off the main road at various junctions and was shocked at the numbers who never looked into the junction while turning.
I see that all the time,
I see that all the time, particularly at roundabouts. I think the culprits don’t look because they just expect to see a large presence in their side vision. If nothing large, fast moving or brightly lit doesn’t appear, I think they assume all is clear.
Unfortunately “Get off the
Unfortunately “Get off the road, you’re going to cause an accident” is the default position for far too many car users with respect to any person who, in their mind, is daft and/or antisocial enough to actually ride a bicycle on the public highway.
No matter how inept or malicious the standard of driving, the cyclist is always in the wrong.
Or a pedestrian – on the
Or a pedestrian – on the pavement. There might have been some oil or something so case closed.
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/young-launceston-driver-cleared-wrongdoing-7997662
Heddlu response?
Heddlu response?
NFA…
Normal for Ammanford
Clear-cut driving without due
Clear-cut driving without due care. I would still report this, citing the relevant legislation at them.
Here we are on 12th Night
Here we are on 12th Night (unless it’s tomorrow*) and we have a winner for NMOTY 2023.
*Apparently it’s different between Catholics and Protestants. I’m not sure which group heathens should align with.
well 12th night of Christmas
well 12th night of Christmas is tomorrow, but its clearly still just the 6th of 2023.
“Driver checks for oncoming
“Driver checks for oncoming traffic on main road before attempting to cut the corner to save themselves a couple of seconds, without looking into the side road.”
Why on earth did that woman get out of the car? She – and the driver – ought to have just pretended not to see the cyclist and just slinked away in shame and embarrassment at their utter incompetence…
Imagine being married to that
Imagine being married to that!
SHE SAID SORRY!! Although
SHE SAID SORRY!! Although must confess having watched it 3 times I can’t hear an actual apology.
I know it’s traditional to
I know it’s traditional to reach a certain age and think that things are getting worse, a tradition I generally try to resist. However, I do think corner cutting is getting worse and I don’t understand why… it’s not just younger drivers either. Surely there is nothing that screams “I’m really shit at driving” than an inability to stay on the right side of the road during a simple manouvre.
Pair of fucking morons*. Shouldn’t be allowed metal cutlery let alone be in charge of a vehicle.
*moron in English, not in Welsh though the intellect level is similar.
Absolutely bobon. The amount
Absolutely bobon. The amount of times I’ve had to slam on, when driving, because of the corner cutting moron, CCM, is beyond belief.
VIPcyclist wrote:
I watched the video thinking ‘this is normal driving’, why the fuss?
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
^Very much this.
I agree, it’s not just corner
I agree, it’s not just corner-cutting – I think general driving standards have got a lot worse. It’s most likely because you never see police cars out now, they seem to just rely on fixed speed cameras, rather than officers pulling people up for general bad driving that isn’t speeding.
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
You must not have got the memo. There are two scenarios where it’s OK to drive like a tosser:
1. If it saves you two seconds but you are happy to stop for a minute to rant or abuse another road user.
2. If it saves you the effort of moving your foot from the gas to the brake pedal.
Attack is the best means of
Attack is the best means of defence. The human capacity for twisting things around completely never ceases to amaze me.
I’ve just watched it with the
I’ve just watched it with the sound on. Absolute madness. I cannot believe that woman thought that there was any way she could justify the driver’s actions or attack the cyclist… Unbelievable
I always thought Welsh
I always thought Welsh dragons were mythical, apparently not
Looking at it from a glass
Looking at it from a glass half full perspective, maybe she was trying to be helpful in that she felt compelled to warn the cyclist that the driver is as blind as a bat, totally incompetent and was warning him that it was best in his own interest not to be on the road while she was driving around ! ?
Browsie wrote:
HA this is ace.. I can actually hear her going home and telling her whole family about how she had to get out of the car because a cyclist was in the middle of the road and how she told him he needed to be more careful. Brilliant!
I thought I recognised the
I thought I recognised the look of those houses… I love Swansea, this is just perfect.
Gareth if you’re reading this
Gareth if you’re reading this, and you haven’t already done so, please submit to OpSnap! Judging by the angry passenger’s comments, it was her that prevented the driver from plouging into you. Clear incompetence, and a total disregard for other road users. Only a matter of time until they hurt someone.
Never mind, I just noticed
Never mind, I just noticed that it happened in October last year. Clearly too late for a submission.
This is just a reminder that
This is just a reminder that we could spend trillions on education but the belligerently dumb will always be with us. Thousands of years from now, if the human race survives that long, a segment of society that is terminally/willfully stupid will remain. We might have spread throughout the galaxy, but there will still be people who insist that, despite the clear rule set by the Interstellar Transportation Council in the year 10,191 that you must go clockwise around a black hole, it is their right to go anti-clockwise, if it’ll get them home in time to watch Coronation Planet or X³-Factor.
Nice rant but seriously we’re
Nice rant but seriously we’re already half way there you’ve seen idiocracy right? Am guessing that specific passenger is just ahead of the curve in terms of stupidity ?
Brawndo’s got what motorists
Brawndo’s got what motorists crave!
The problem is clearly that
The problem is clearly that they aren’t being taught enough maths.
(No subject)
ffwcwit
ffwcwit
I still cannot beleive that the welsh word for fuckwit is…….ffwcwit!
Mae’r Sais yn dda iawn am eu
Mae’r Sais yn dda iawn am eu wneud nhw. Felly mae’n mwy hawdd i fenthyg y geiriau Saesneg.
Karlt wrote:
Google translate renders that as “The English are very good at making them. So it is easier to borrow the English words”.
Like tacsi and sgriwdreifer
Like tacsi and sgriwdreifer
brooksby wrote:
Without wanting to be disrespectful to Welsh speakers there is an amusing line in Kingsley Amis’ The Old Devils (set in Swansea where he taught for over a decade): something like “They joined the line waiting at the sign reading ‘Taxi/Tacsi’ for the benefit of any Welsh people who had never encountered the letter X before.”
Quite. Since 100% of adult
Quite. Since 100% of adult Welsh speakers in the UK are bilingual, it’s natural enough that English words are borrowed a lot. Unlike English though Welsh respells borrowings so the reader only needs to know one spelling system. Welsh is phonetic so words that aren’t pronounced how they’re spelt really stick out. In English they’re par for the course ?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Google translate renders that as “The English are very good at making them. So it is easier to borrow the English words”.— Karlt
Yeah that. English has so many swear words there’s no need to invent new ones. Mind you, call your mate a cont in Caernarfon and he’ll buy you a pint. Don’t try it with a complete stranger…
Unbelievably bad driving.
Unbelievably bad driving.
And not that it would have helped here – such was the extent of corner cutting – but I’ve started stopping about 4 feet away from the centre of the road if I’m turning right – after having a few too many cars cut the corner off the lane.
Just sloppy driving. Muppets.
I can’t believe that someone
I can’t believe that someone hasn’t recognised Rhonda and published her name yet. Surely she wants to be as famous as Ronnie?
She is one of the Swansea
She is one of the Swansea Tafia family!
if you dont know how drive,
if you dont know how drive, send a cow to argue for you….