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news
Near Miss of the Day 660: Cyclist forced to ride in coned off section of roadworks for safety
“It is a regular thing in Cheshire and Manchester for Cadent Gas to not leave enough time for cyclists at a set of roadworks,” says road.cc reader Bob, who as a result was forced to ride in the coned off section for safety, as highlighted in the above video he sent in for our Near Miss of the Day feature.
“They cone off a long section of road, presumably for the safety of their workers, but they don't give cyclists enough time to get through,” he explained.
Contacting the company didn’t do much good, either, with Bob saying: “Last time I complained they just put up ‘Cyclist Dismount’ signs.
“Here is a video of their latest effort near Tatton Park in Cheshire, which seems unchanged since I passed it a week ago, except more cones have been demolished,” he continued.
“I seem to be only halfway through when cars start coming the other way.
“I went into the coned off section for safety.
“Note that they are not working at the site,” 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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73 comments
Clearly I’ve missed the point of the Benal comments made by the usual suspects ‘victims’ of the nasty motorist. But couldn’t really get the point of any of the comments and digs made at each other. Duck into the coned off bit, may well be safer; now you can argue that point, or cycle faster. Not really a near miss.
Who are the usual suspects and which specific posts do you refer to to support your claim of 'victims'? And who is Benal?
There's a permanent 'shuttle' section of about 300y on a steep hill between Glutton Bridge and Longnor (B5053), which has been there since a partial road collapse in 2002. I wrote to Staffordshire Council about it some years ago, and got the response quoted below. Needless to say, still nothing has been done to provide a safe way for cyclists to get through the section.
'The signals were installed in December 2002 after part of the road collapsed. The signals prime sources of detection are above ground radar units of which one each is positioned at the stop lines with a further three sensors positioned along the route. These units detect traffic approaching the signals and provide extensions for the green for traffic moving up and down the gradient. These sensors have a lower speed detection limit of 5kmp but also cycles do not present a very large �target� and can get missed. The other form of detection that can be used is loop sensors cut into the carriageway but the condition of the carriageway at this location is not suitable.
However, hopefully, all is not lost! There is a path to the side and it could be that this route may be able to be improved to provide cycle & pedestrian use which of course would not be subject to the traffic signal control. With that object in mind I have forwarded your report with our thoughts to our Transport Strategy Section for their views/consideration. '
Nearly 20 years to get a road fixed?! Even for Broken Britain, that's appalling!
Clearly the contractor wasn't making enough donations to the right people...
Actually I can name a road where exactly the same has happened.
That's nothing - the Mam Tor road (A625) was abandoned in 1977, when they gave up trying to fix it. It would be a great alternative to Winnats Pass for cyclists, being traffic-free, if only they woud at least mend it a little bit. It used to be rideable all the way up but has gradually deteriorated and now there's a stream running across at the top so you end up with wet feet.
I used to live in Derbyshire, and I haven't been there for a few years, but last time I rode it was on my MTB and it was only just passble without walking even back then! I did see they used it (and also Winnats Pass) as a filming location for the recent Apple TV series Invasion.
I think the best approach with these long roadworks with lights is just to ignore the lights and ride through the coned off section. Safer and less delays for everyone.
Of course even the drivers behind you (who are benefitting) will complain about cyclists and red lights.
The current set near me has too much going on in the coned off bit for that. Fortunately they pack it all up for the evening and w/e so no runs so far.
Driver could see the rider occupying the lane. Had they read and understood their HWC they would know that the section "Light Signals Controlling Traffic" states that "GREEN means you may go on if the way is clear. "
Driver should have waited for the rider, just the same as they would have waited for a car
I've had one of these where i was about 20m from the end of the coned section whent he oncoming lights turned green and the driver drove straight at me. I don't know where he expected me to go, perhaps I should have walked backwards all the way to the start.
Stop, blocking them, then if/when they build up traffic behind preventing them reversing as they should, reverse slowly and carefully (naturally in cleats so 1mph at best without falling over...).
Clearly the lights will change and someone else will ignore the traffic in the roadworks and pull forwards preventing you reversing further.
At which point you dive past on pavement/through cones, leaving gridlock behind
This is where a fixie comes into its own. Often means that you don't make it through the lights too. But you can happily spend the day there.
If only drivers were made to take a test to prove that they've studied and understood the Highway Code.......
And tested again, at regular intervals - perhaps every three years?
I would actually say 5, but yes, I'm in agreement that regular testing to keep the license is required and no more grandfathering of rights. For example, I've been driving for 30 odd years and never ever towed anything, yet in theory I could hook an 8 metre caravan up and just drive because towing lessons and tests came in later down the line.
I've been driving for 40 years and the vehicles I can drive (but never will) as a result is just ridiculous. Makes me laugh if somebody suggests that I should take a test to ride a bike.
I've said it here before, a simple on line portal that you have to log onto every few years, watch a video explaining any updates and /or things that they want to improve. Then a few simple questions to show you've been paying attention. Yes it's massively open to cheats but it would be so simple to implement.
things that never happened on the roads number 136
If your count is from Boos lying mouth, add another 1000. Pretty sure he is emulating his heroes in Johnson and the Orange Manatee in trying to lie as much as possible. Which are weird heroes compared to how he normally addresses people of that shape but there we go.
Stick to the accounting Nige, believable creative writing is not your thing.
As long as he doesn't have to reference a specific page from a report. That bit seems beyond him each time.
It's not as ubiquitous as people seem to think it is...
The funny thing is he says it's ubiquitous, which means happens everywhere, but in previous posts he's claimed it doesn't happen in whatever "leafy lovely" corner of Essex he infests, where all the cyclists are courteous.
Just reminded me, I must upload the video of the people carrier zooming through the red light on a pedestrian crossing.
Going home last night I saw two cars go through a red light (left turn only on the lights, so they were cutting it rather fine before the oncoming traffic - er - came on at them).
Good point.
So what is good about the point? That a van driver sees a cyclist on the road in a section and still decides to go even though they should wait until it is clear? That both the cyclist and the van driver stop in the middle of a coned off section to discuss how long lights are allowed for sections.
Or just that Boo has posted something so you automatically have to agree with it even when it is mostly a lie?
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