Not so Near Miss of the Day 640: Hot chocolate thrown over cyclist from moving car

In today's video a passenger leans out of a van window and throws a cup of hot chocolate over a cyclist. 

Simon, who submitted the clip, was out riding in the Peak District near Chatsworth on the A619 between Baslow and Chestfield, when he was attacked by the passenger of a grey Transit van.

He said the police were unable to prosecute the driver of the van for anything other than a Fixed Penalty Notice for littering. 

Explaining what happened, he said: "I thought I was being hit by sand falling from a builder's truck, such was the force on my back, before realising I was soaked all over and my bike was covered in sticky chocolate.

"Then I saw the offender drop the McDonald's cup into the road. Good shot mind - but it could have knocked me into the kerb.

"The police were unable to find the driver (who was not the registered keeper, although they know his name).

"The driver (of no fixed address) took the vehicle off the road and crunched it, no doubt to prevent him being stopped in the future by the police who might then uncover other nefarious activities.

"Odd thing, the law does not allow the keeper nor the driver to be charged with the assault carried out by the passenger but they can be charged on his behalf with the minor offence of his littering.

"So, the keeper got a Fixed Penalty Notice for littering. Hey ho, a result of sorts and the driver's down one van."

Simon pointed out that if this had happened in the street while he was walking along, he might have had a better chance of getting a prosecution.

He said: "It was malicious. It left me shocked, shaking and bewildered as to why anyone would do that to a cyclist simply minding his own business.

"I was cold too as my jersey and shorts were wet through. I still had to get home for another 40 minutes. 

"Can you imagine if he had walked up to me in the high street, a complete stranger,  and poured a hot chocolate over a 60 year old just going about their business? I reckon the police would not have let it go.  

"But, he got away with it. So what does he hit the next cyclist with, in revenge for having had the police enquiring after him?"

> 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