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Near Miss of the Day 668: Cyclist almost taken out by corner-cutting driver

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country

A road.cc reader says that a video he filmed showing a motorist who cut a corner nearly hitting a cyclist should serve as a warning to drivers not to undertake such a dangerous manoeuvre.

Duncan, the road.cc reader who filmed the incident, said: “I captured this near miss while out and about today, great lesson in why not to cut a corner as you never know who will be coming the other way.

“It was just luck that the cyclist wasn’t a couple of seconds earlier,” he added.

> 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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24 comments

Avatar
Jenova20 | 2 years ago
1 like

It's just great when idiots cut the corner isn't it...

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wtjs | 2 years ago
6 likes

Corner cutting and hitting me was the cause of the outbreak of The War Against Lancashire Constabulary, a conflict which has been ceaselessly exacerbated by the determination of The Filth to do nothing whatsoever about offences against, or reported by, cyclists. That first incident was promptly written off by the Idle b******s as 'merely a momentary loss of concentration' requiring NFA.

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iandusud | 2 years ago
6 likes

Par for the course these days and very annoying. It's just laziness, particularly as all cars have power steering now. 

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rjfrussell | 2 years ago
3 likes

So, driver plainly 100% in the wrong.

This is not an attempt in any way to blame the cyclist.

But... since this is such a common problem, I think it is safer, as the cyclist, to stay in the middle of the lane rather than riding at the extreme right hand edge as this cyclist did.

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Owd Big 'Ead | 2 years ago
8 likes

Happens to me literally half a dozen times a day riding round my provincial city in the Midlands and has got far, far worse since lockdown was lifted. It's almost as if motorists have forgotten the rules of the road over the last 18 months.

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bikeworcs | 2 years ago
1 like

That happens to me a lot and I had a very close shave a few weeks ago at a junction very similar to that one. A quick look on Google maps streetview confirmed its exactly the same junction between Worcester and Droitwich on a lane close to the M5! I thought it might actually be me but it wasnt. Drivers need to stop cutting corners!!

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Dicklexic | 2 years ago
16 likes

Yeah but did the cyclist ask the driver if they were okay? It must've been very scary for the driver to have such a dangerous encounter!

#seethierside

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Dicklexic replied to Dicklexic | 2 years ago
5 likes

For the avoidance of doubt, yes I am being sarcastic!

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes

I face this sceanrio leaving home out of the estate - bike and car.

In country roads I tend now to stop shy of the junction and more to the left precisely because of this risk.

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GMBasix replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
1 like

hirsute wrote:

I face this sceanrio leaving home out of the estate - bike and car.

In country roads I tend now to stop shy of the junction and more to the left precisely because of this risk.

And for that very same reason, I move as far forward and to the right as I can, to make myself visible.  not sure how stopping short and left helps, tbh; but then I guess we have different shaped junctions in mind.

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Hirsute replied to GMBasix | 2 years ago
2 likes

It avoids being hit ! Then I would listen and have a good look before moving forward.

Like I say, I experience the issue nearly every day !

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Awavey replied to GMBasix | 2 years ago
2 likes

Id have certainly kept more left , treated it just as an extension of riding prime really upto the line because of exactly what happened there, people just cant seem to turn properly into roads anymore, plus theres usually a pile of gravel build up in the center line spot you want to avoid if you can

though I more often get to the top of a junction like that and a driver will come along indicating right and then stop short of turning, and try and wave me out of their way, regardless of whether its safe for me or not to move, just so they can cut the corner.

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sensei | 2 years ago
4 likes

Yes this one is a fairly common driving habit and is born out of laziness (because it's so much effort to turn the steering wheel sufficiently to enter the road correctly at a 90 degree angle). Very similar to those that refuse to indicate due to the strain it exerts on the driver having to move their hand slightly!

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brooksby replied to sensei | 2 years ago
0 likes

Imagine!  Expecting the poor hard-pressed motorist to slow down and actually look into a junction before they turn into it...  I mean - they could have been held up.

I suspect the chain of thought was (1) that first motorist happily turned into junction so it must be clear, (2) erm, actually, that was it (there wasn't any oncoming traffic, so they were just being a Lazy Lemming).

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Rik Mayals unde... replied to sensei | 2 years ago
5 likes

BMW Indicator.

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chrisonabike replied to Rik Mayals underpants | 2 years ago
2 likes

Cheap but cheerful, that gag!

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wycombewheeler replied to Rik Mayals underpants | 2 years ago
1 like

biker phil wrote:

BMW Indicator.

Not true I often see them using the right indicator when they are in the outside lane of the motorway, and the car in front of them is not overtaking the cars in the middle lane quickly enough for their liking.

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DoomeFrog | 2 years ago
10 likes

It's ok he was wearing hi viz so was visible from a good few hundred miles away.  The driver of the car was clearly in control at all times.

And did no one see the cheery wave from the cyclist to the driver to acknowledge the wonderful driving.  Nice to see Nige's hard work is paying off.

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matt_cycles | 2 years ago
2 likes

A common thing unfortunately, the same happens to me on my bike and whilst driving my car. Not a nice thing to experience.

But I would also add, I see cyclists do this as well and end up nearly hitting cars. 

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alansmurphy replied to matt_cycles | 2 years ago
2 likes

True but lets consider the risks; one is potential death the other is a large repair bill on a carbon frame...

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Flintshire Boy replied to matt_cycles | 2 years ago
1 like

Easy, easy.

Road.cc echo-chamber. Cyclists can do no wrong. Eh verrrrr.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
4 likes

Well as  you are a cyclist, isn't that a logical fallacy?

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Hirsute replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
3 likes

Can you actually read ?

The very first post says

"But I would also add, I see cyclists do this as well and end up nearly hitting cars. "

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TriTaxMan replied to Flintshire Boy | 2 years ago
2 likes

Flintshire Boy wrote:

Easy, easy.

Road.cc echo-chamber. Cyclists can do no wrong. Eh verrrrr.

How to say you never read all of matt's post without saying you never read matt's post.

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