Near Miss of the Day 918: No further action taken for "pretty scary" close pass on cyclist

A cyclist in Essex questioned the county's police force's decision to take no further action against a driver for a "pretty scary" close pass, the rider believing a "potentially lethal driver hasn't been challenged".

road.cc reader Julian is keen to point out he's generally "really positive" about the work of Essex Police and the Extra Eyes reporting portal, which allows third-party footage of roads incidents to be submitted for an officer to assess, but "just thinks in this case they called it wrong".

"Essentially, I'm passing a parked car, keeping clear of the door zone whilst being conscious there's another parked car which is why I didn't tuck back in," he recalled. "The vehicle passed within a few centimetres of me — pretty scary!" 

Essex Police opted against taking any action against the driver in the clip, the force suggesting the prosecution would not have been secure due to the fact Julian could have moved to his left after passing the first parked vehicle. However, as he explained to us, this could have left him "boxed in".

As per Rule 67 of the Highway Code: 

Take care when passing parked vehicles, leaving enough room (a door's width or 1 metre) to avoid being hit if a car door is opened, and watch out for pedestrians stepping into your path.

Julian was keen to tell us that while this report's outcome was disappointing, "I would like it acknowledged that I'm really positive towards Essex Police and the Extra Eyes portal, which I have used in the past and have always been really happy with the positive action.

"I just think in this case they called it wrong and a potentially lethal driver hasn't been challenged, not even an advice letter, for their (in my opinion) dangerous driving."

road.cc contacted Essex Police and we were told: "We understand it is disappointing when it is decided no further action will be taken. There are a number reasons why a particular case might not be progressed, described here: saferessexroads.org/extra-eyes/results/.

"In most cases where no further action (NFA) is taken, this is due to the strength of the evidence not meeting current guidance from the Crown Prosecutions Service and Forensic Science Service, which is needed to give a good chance of successful prosecution if challenged in court.

"These standards are designed to ensure limited resources and limited court spaces are used on the cases most likely to result in a conviction. While we can't process every example of careless driving, the continued support of the public is very much appreciated as without this support, a great many drivers committing clear offences would not be held to account."

> 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