“Not all d*ckheads drive BMWs – some ride them instead” is the observation road.cc reader Richard made after this shocking incident while he was out for a group ride at the weekend.
“A small group of us were out on a social ride on Sunday (15th August) on the quiet Essex roads and some motorbikes went past,” he said.
“One, riding a BMW, decided it would be fun to try and force us off the road, going particularly close to the 20 year old lady we had in our group.
“It just goes to show that not all d*ckheads drive BMWs – some ride them instead.
“It might be time for a rear facing camera so we can get the registration number in future,” he added.
We should point out, of course, that not everyone who drives or indeed rides a BMW is a d*ckhead – but it’s a marque that has developed something of a reputation among cyclists over the years given the behaviour of some people who drive its cars, and one that features regularly in our Near Miss of the Day series.
> 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
55 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 625: “Not all d*ckheads drive BMWs – some ride them instead””
That’s fucking appalling,
That’s fucking appalling, makes me ashamed to be a motorbike rider too.
What an utter spanner – all
What an utter spanner – all it would take is a bit more gravel down the middle and he’d have slid into several riders.
That was awful riding – what
That was awful riding – what happened to “two wheels good, four wheels bad”?
It was consigned to the
It was consigned to the scrapheap – at least by people who have either read animal farm, or understands that their chosen form of transport has no bearing on whether somebody behaves like an idiot or not
hawkinspeter wrote:
I always like to think we are on the same side, seeing as we’re vulnerable road users. This is just poor riding….a weekend away doing Bikesafe is in order methinks. Something that can benefit all motorcyclists.
That’s just embarrasing, not
That’s just embarrasing, not being able to take a corner like that properly.
The first motorbike goes past
The first motorbike goes past and I’m thinking “Nothing wrong with that.” then the twat appears. That was undoubtedly deliberate, malicious intimidation by a nasty little bully.
Since there was no rear facing camera (I always ride with one) it might be worth posting the footage on local motorbiker sites, see if anyone recognises the moron.
Hard to tell if that’s
Hard to tell if that’s deliberate or just a shit rider. Most bikers would avoid any potential collision for their own safety, even a rabbit can send you chewing gravel and ruining your bike and subsequent insurance premiums.
Muddy Ford wrote:
Like eburti take that to be deliberate
I initially erred on the side
I initially erred on the side of it being deliberate, however, I am now virtually certain it is deliberate.
As a rider, if I am going round a corner I am looking where I am going, what the road surface is like to make sure that I am not going to bin it in the corner.
If you run the video at 1/4 speed the BMWanker is not looking where he is going but actively looking at the cyclists which IMHO means he was aiming to see how close he could get to the cyclists.
Christ! Even watching that
Christ! Even watching that at normal speed I would put money on that being entirely deliberate
Very poor riding by the
Very poor riding by the motorcyclist – think it was incompetence rather than maliciousness but it’s no excuse really.
Although it didn’t make a difference in the case of the near miss, the cyclists should be riding in single file on this road (see the start of the video). These kind of lanes often have bits of gravel in the middle and if they had to quickly go back in line round that bend due to a car, van or tractor they might be in trouble. I’ve had to take evasive action riding in the opposite direction with groups like this, and there are also dog walkers and pedestrians/joggers who might be in the road.
jog on you c@!$
jog on you c@!$
Thank you for your
Thank you for your intelligent contribution.
Don’t worry the professional
Don’t worry the professional forum moderator will be here in a minute to delete the abuse.
Only jokin’
Agreed, the positioning of
Agreed, the positioning of the bike rider on the right is simply asking for trouble.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
…I’m still going to bring it up anyway because I’ve found some part of a video showing horrendous behaviour towards cyclists where I can criticise some possibly poor choices by cyclists and trolling this site with my anti-cyclist nonsense is very much my thing.
Gosh you must have been bouncing off the walls during your fortnight’s suspension!
Rendel Harris wrote:
Aw, you’re welcome. Glad I could help.
Look everyone, Nige has found
Look everyone, Nige has found the strikethrough button! Isn’t he clever? Entirely delusional and staggeringly arrogant, but jolly clever. Have a house point young man and tell matron you can stay up half an hour later this evening.
Thanks – I got the idea from
Thanks – I got the idea from Captain Badger! Would be rude to claim it as my own.
Sorry Nige, but you are wrong
Sorry Nige, but you are wrong. By the time the BMW rider came into view the riders had already moved into the left hand side of the road. Or did you just watch up until the first bike? With the exception of the camera rider who is half wheeling the BMW rider wouldn’t have had any issue with any of the other riders.
Essentially what you are saying is what a lot of motorists seem to think. That just because some time in the past they have been wronged by a random cyclist that they can try and take out their potentially fatal revenge on a random cyclist.
TriTaxMan wrote:
He hasn’t argued that the road position was a factor in this near miss, only pointed out that riders should be single file in this location.
However I don’t see cyclists riding two abreast, one cylist overtakes the other, we do no know whether or not they were travelling together.
I disagree with him a lot, but on this thread, he has criticised the motorcyclist, and not blamed the cyclist for the incident in any way.
Usual excuse of of being two
Usual excuse of of being two abreast isn’t even relevant here, as they were in single file. The near miss rider was pretty much in the verge…
Yep, I would be surprised if
Yep, I would be surprised if anyone would complain about that…..
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Indeed. Only a complete arsehole would be that dim, right ?
Eton Rifle wrote:
Simply impossible. No one’s that stupid
Captain Badger wrote:
Oh ……
Could just be incompetence. A
Could just be incompetence. A lot of these motorcycles seem to be bought by middle-aged men, who pass the test but simply don’t ride them often enough to get any good at bike handling.
Steady with the ageism; not
Steady with the ageism; not appropriate
cbrndc wrote:
Not ageism. A simple observation. When was the last time you saw someone under 50 on a high-powered motorcycle?
It’s worse than cycling. ?
Eton Rifle wrote:
Steady with the ageism; not appropriate
— Eton Rifle Not ageism. A simple observation. When was the last time you saw someone under 50 on a high-powered motorcycle? It’s worse than cycling. ?— cbrndc
Since lockdown last year I’ve noticed a definite increase in ‘overweight men of a certain age’ riding huge Harley type motorcycles. Spending their furlough money, or just an epidemic of mid-life crisis…?
EDITED: possible confirmation bias IAF. Once you notice one, you begin to notice more and more.
Eton Rifle wrote:
Steady with the ageism; not appropriate
— Eton Rifle Not ageism. A simple observation. When was the last time you saw someone under 50 on a high-powered motorcycle? It’s worse than cycling. ?— cbrndc
A lot of young guys round where I live in S London ride high powered sportsbikes. You can get an early Suzuki GSXR1000 or Yamaha R1 for just a few grand. Those bikes will do nearly 180mph. Insuring them though is another matter! I looked very seriously at a GSXR1000 but the insurance cost, despite my age and no claims bonus, put me off. I do wonder how many of the lads in their 20s in my area actually have insurance for their sports bikes.
I’ve been insurable on pretty
I’ve been insurable on pretty much anything since I passed my 30s. I’ve found motorbike insurance stupidly cheap for the performance you get. I was only paying £96 for a zx6r. I think I looked at a blade and it was £240. More but nothing terrible for very silly speeds.
As for that video, the motorcyclist needs to learn how to read a corner and the cyclists need to stop riding across the entire width of the road.
Living in South London,
Living in South London, vehicle insurance is very expensive.
On balance I think the BMW rider did that deliberately.
So cyclists can’t pass now?
So cyclists can’t pass now?
I mean the bend might look blind to the camera but as that is two feet below the cyclists heads and once apart from the tree the sight lines are very clear. Plus other cyclists ahead would alert people of something around the bend I’m sure.
Not on a blind bend, no.
Not on a single track road with a blind bend, no.
Eton Rifle wrote:
Would that be a simple observation like all cyclists RLJ?
Sounds more like anecdata to me…
Eton Rifle wrote:
Steady with the ageism; not appropriate
— Eton Rifle Not ageism. A simple observation.— cbrndcAnd sadly backed up by crash statistics.
Facts have no emotion. Your
Facts have no emotion. Your comment, however, IS ageist.
That’s terrible motorbike
That’s terrible motorbike riding. As a motorcyclist (as well as cyclist) myself, I’d say that looked deliberate rather than a case of poor cornering. Mind you, there are some pretty unskilled riders on large capacity motorcycles out there.
Had the motorcyclist and cyclist actually collided, I reckon both would’ve ended up on the ground, though the cyclist would’ve likely have come off worse. You have to be pretty stupid to do something like that on a motorbike.
When riding a motorbike it’s a custom to wave and acknowledge other motorcycle riders. I’ve noted over the years when I’ve been riding the various (European and Japanese) motorbikes I’ve owned that BMW and Harley Davidson riders rarely wave back. I’m not a fan of either marque.
I reckon it’s an R1200RS SE
I reckon it’s an R1200RS SE only 300 are currently registered with the DVLA. If spotted again with same helmet, leather and boots (or with those other two motorcycles), you can be pretty sure it’s the same rider. Police *might* have a chat if given the reg.
I’d have said it was
I’d have said it was incompetence, purely because unlike the car brand,the BMW motorbike brand is no where near as fashionable and doesnt attract the crazy adrenalin junkie style riders, theres always an exception of course, buts that’s 12k of sports touring bike designed for cruising across Europe on motorways in comfort, it’s a rich middle aged sort of rider for leisure style thing, not trying to reenact the Isle of Man TT.
I reckon he was just following the rider ahead and relying on their rear brake light to tell if the road was clear and because they didnt pause,stop or react to anything assumed there was nothing there and took a wider line which was a mistake.
Awavey wrote:
Dunno about that Awavey. The biggest selling bike of the last few years in this country, by a mile, was the BMW R1250GS.
but best selling is not quite
but best selling is not quite the same thing as fashionable, the biggest selling car of the last few years is usually either Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta
they are just cars that fit a function and do it extremely well and sell bucketloads as a result, just as BMWs motorbikes are the ideal “adventure tourer” bikes, they fit a function, ultra reliable,wont let you down, and anyone wanting to pretend they are Charley Boorman on a Long Way Round trip is going to snap one up.
what I was trying to say is they are understated bikes bought by sensible people, who have money because they arent cheap bikes to buy, who are usually into grand touring riding, who arent the hotheads who would be trying to get the knee down on every corner going up to the Cat & Fiddle imagining they are Barry Sheen reborn, so they arent like their BMW car driver cliches.
so Id just be surprised that any one on a BMW motorbike would ride deliberately in that manner
Hmm, my experience as a
Hmm, my experience as a motorcyclist is that BMW motorbike riders can often be affluent and arrogant. A lot of those ‘adventure’ riders go for the image but don’t ride further than the nearest bit of countryside on a Sunday. I’m not a fan of the marque in case you didn’t guess.
Regardless of whether that
Regardless of whether that was incompetence or deliberate that rider needs to stop riding their motorbike in public.
I am erring on the side of it being deliberate, possibly in retaliation to the riders initially riding 2 abreast, given that a lot of motorbike riders now seem to have comms between them. It might just be the road surface but it looks like the first rider seems to flash their lights at the rider who is on the wrong side of the road. If they have comms that could easily be relayed to the whole group and the BMWanker decides to try to run someone off the road as a result.
I’m erring on deliberate but
I’m erring on deliberate but not on the two abreast as they had gone more single file at that point. I think it is just another anti cyclist as certain motor bikers do seem to be. Look at one of the regular anti cyclist asshat commentators on youtube for example.
And point in order, I don’t think it was two abreast for the cyclists but more an over taking manouvre from blue being as he had more speed to get in front of Pink when the first biker had come into view. Whether he should have done it on that corner is a different question but being as the head height is a lot higher then camera height, they could probably see it was clear assuming they weren’t in the same group as the two ahead. And if they were in the same group those ones would be calling out hazards anyway.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
They’re just jealous!
and not just YouTube comments
and not just YouTube comments theres that guy on a motorbike who runs his own channel and seems to go round like Judge Dredd dispensing his version of the law on cyclists.
And some motorbikers seem to pathologically dislike cyclists which I’ve never understood as youd think theyd have some 2wheel kinship thing going on with us.
I just think from the time that bike comes around the corner to passing the cyclists it’s not much more than 2 seconds,its not a lot of time to see,react,and deliberately do something that has a high chance of going very wrong.
and not just YouTube comments
and not just YouTube comments theres that guy on a motorbike who runs his own channel and seems to go round like Judge Dredd dispensing his version of the law on cyclists.
Might be the same guy. Can’t think of the name of the one I remember, just that he popped up a few times on Videos linked here, even small viewed ones butn his comments would predate their appearence so now on here. He would use his poor drawing skills in paint to try to make his point and then just shout “Lalala, I’m right, your wrong as I’ve irrevocably proved” when challenged.
Not all d*ckheads drive BMWs
Not all d*ckheads drive BMWs
Agreed. It’s only most of them
The rest are in audis (of
The rest are in audis (of course)
Pretty typical of “bored”
Pretty typical of “bored” high powered MC users. On a road trip not too long ago (was showing a friend who drives my ride route to Ashbourne) one of these clowns decided to do a close enough pass on coming to force my mate to emergency brake….. As for your rear camera idea everyone needs one…. I use a broken WiFi camera drone as mine, best bit is my phone doubles up as a rear view helpful when it’s very busy ?
Looked like a classic case of
Looked like a classic case of ‘target fixation’ to me, kinda like your rabbit in the headlights scenario. He/she saw the cyclists, kept their eyes on them, so inevitably that’s where they went.
On such a short clip it is
On such a short clip it is hard to tell the sequence of events but clearly the cycle rider on the right decided to pop ahead to take the left side in good time response to realising there was oncoming traffic.
As to the motorbike riding, it is a fail because the rider is travelling at a speed above which they are able to deal with hazards within their range of vision – on a single track road their speed should allow them to stop in half their viewing distance as they might meet themselves coming the other way.
As to the track of the bike, I think the rider was a passenger. To steer a motorbike at any significant speed, as with a bicycle, you actually steer the opposite direction to the way you want to go as you steer by leaning, so the rider was travelling too fast on the bend to allow them to steer without requiring the whole road width. You see the rider enter on a much wider line than the other two bikes so his close pass was probably dictated by his initial road positioning. The first bike appears hard left so perhaps had already reacted to the oncoming bike as it is not the expected riding position for a motorcyclist who you would expect to be riding to the outside of the bend to maximise vision ahead. The second bike appears more in the wider position so I think they were committed to a wider line and pretty much unable to alter course having failed to read the road, perhaps not being attentive having the scout rider ahead.