What goes through a lorry driver’s mind when they make a close pass on a cyclist such as the one featured in today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day series?
Given the length of the trailer, there’s clearly no way of executing a safe overtake given the pinch point ahead caused by the traffic island, yet the driver goes ahead and attempts the manoeuvre regardless – forcing the cyclist to brake to avoid being hit.
Martin, the road.cc reader who filmed the incident in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said in the description to the video on YouTube: “Cycling to work this morning along one of my usual routes (coming in to Dewsbury).
“This lorry had been behind me for a few hundred yards. We hit the short uphill section and the driver clearly saw it as an opportunity to speed up and pass me, but I tend not to slow down at all on this section of road and just power up the hundred yard short climb.
“I had to slow down considerably when I realised they were passing, and it just about gave me enough room as the back end of the lorry swung past me,” he added.
Highway Code Rule 163 says: “Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake. You should give cyclists at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car. As a guide you should wait behind the cyclist and not overtake if it is unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances.”
And Rule 167 specifically addresses the issue of pinch points, telling road users: “DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example where the road narrows, when you would force another road user to swerve or slow down, approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road.”
> 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
32 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 822: Cyclist squeezed by overtaking HGV driver at pinch point”
Not to victim blame but it
Not to victim blame but it seems to me from the video that the rider is holding quite tightly to the kerb in a way that signals they are trying to cooperate with being passed.
Given the width of the road and the obstacles a much stronger position is justified – though I am well aware it takes a certain amount of nerve when “in negotiation” with a lorry.
Yep. Also, having a vehicle
Yep. Also, having a vehicle like that behind you for a few hundred yards, I’d be getting twitchy about them making a rash pass and would be looking for somewhere to pull over to let them by.
I would be right in the middle of the lane there if I didn’t want them to pass, but have bail-out options if they forced their way past.
Still, terrible driving.
I’m the cyclist. I had
I’m the cyclist. I had actually given the driver ample opportunity to overtake me just before this section of road, where it was safe to do so (but it is on a gentle curve, so maybe they didn’t know what was round the bend, like I do).
I was wondering why they hadn’t sped up to pass me, then was surprised to hear the lorry revving as we approached the hill, knowing there were islands just up ahead.
The haulier is based in
The haulier is based in Cumbria, so I suspect the driver didn’t know the road well at all, but that is all the more reason to be cautious and observe carefully the road ahead.
These are the kind of incidents where I regret getting a camera. In real time it is scary, but over in a couple of seconds, but when you have it on video and you can see just how close it was to a life changing/ending incident it does make me think about my choice of hobby and preferred mode of transport. Ultimately I will keep on doing what I enjoy, and hopefully this driver will see the video and realise the error of their ways.
it is interesting the way you
it is interesting the way you describe the minutes leading up to this, I have observed an increased willingness from some drivers (who have been patient behind me and maybe even missed a passing opportunity) to take stupid risks the longer they have been behind me. Its almost like they think there is a time limit for being behind a bike and after that all rules and risk assessments go out the window becaue the just have to get past
I think that is the case.
I think that is the case. Certainly, in my mind when I am being followed is to create events to trigger them to pass, dramatically moving to the side where I think it is safe, and deliberately moving back where the opportunity has passed.
There is one section after my local High Street where there is a long hatched area before it enters a single lane dual carriageway with parking where I will take primary. By clearly moving off the road and shoulder checking, it is a clear invitation to pass but then I make sure I can retake primary – I think it then helps any following driver accept that I’ve been cooperative, though WVM tends not to accept any obstruction (which often includes pesky speed limits, and obstruction to communicating with customers), the building trade seem to be the worst.
Ride central when there are
Ride central when there are islands. Do not cede position until the road widens out to allow a safe pass
I’m sure you will get
I’m sure you will get agreement o nthat but as IanMSpencer above says
“I am well aware it takes a certain amount of nerve when “in negotiation” with a lorry.”
I do this, but I would never
I do this, but I would never have taken primary position early enough to avoid this – he was a long way from the island when the lorry began its maneuver.
CXR94Di2 wrote:
Good advice, but our roads and drivers should be fit for purpose so that it wouldn’t matter if a cyclist is hugging the kerb or not. That driver needs some serious re-education or a different job.
What makes the road unfit for
What makes the road unfit for purpose in this case? I don’t think road design contributed to the incident at all. The cyclist is somewhere they are allowed and entitled to be, and the lorry driver makes a dangerous overtake where there is insufficient room to pass safely. The lorry driver is 100% at fault.
ShutTheFrontDawes wrote:
I agree, the driver is totally to blame. I meant that the road could be improved to reduce the chances of this kind of driver error e.g. segregated infrastructure or one-way motor traffic to remove the pinch point, or possibly speed humps before the pinch point.
I think it’s worth examining how to prevent poor driving by looking at the road layouts as sometimes the design can make it easier to follow the rules than break them. It’s probably not economically viable in this instance, but it depends on how much we value transport safety (not very much in the UK judging by the attitudes of most of the public and police).
It’s not a guarantee that
It’s not a guarantee that things wont still attempt to pass you, I’m not saying dont do it, just be prepared for it.
I was still a way off the
I was still a way off the island though, and I had no way of knowing quite how long the vehicle was. I was leaving room for overtaking vehicles but they should be aware of the clearance they require to safely overtake.
Was this reported to the
Was this reported to the police?
Yes, submitted to West
Yes, submitted to West Yorkshire Police’s Safer Roads system.
Thank you. I know it’s a pain
Thank you. I know it’s a pain and expectations of action are low but it all adds to the evidence base being built up by road.cc and hopefullly will come in handy at some time in the future.
I look forward to hearing the outcome of this one.
Wow. I was frightened just
Wow. I was frightened just watching it. Really hope you’ve uploaded that to the WYP online portal.
Having been close passed to
Having been close passed to the extent of having to leave the road to avoid the rear end of a lorry, there are a frightening amount of hooks and projections on a lorry that bring to mind an Indiana Jones escape scene.
The police and courts should be directed to take a more severe line against drivers of vehicles which have unsafe projections (including badly loaded vehicles with projections). It doesn’t need changes to the law, simply not adjusting your driving to account for the additional risk should be sufficient for without due care, it’s implicit.
Speaking of projections from
Speaking of projections from lorries, many (okay, many, many) years ago I was cycling on the dual carriageway across Freckleton Marsh on a morning when the outside lane was coned-off due to roadworks. I was passed by an artic whose only load was a single steel beam placed across the width of the trailer, overhanging on both sides. I’ll never know precisely what minuscule fraction of a mm of the beam actually hit my elbow, but it was somehow just enough to cause excruciating pain without doing any long-term damage. If the lorry had been another 5mm to the left I’d have had a smashed elbow. Much further than that and anything could have happened. Overhanging loads, indeed!
I have submitted it now. I’ve
I have submitted it now. I’ve used the portal a few times before and usually get a generic response that they will attempt to identify and educate the driver. With a possibility of a fine, but I never hear anything back after that initial confirmation.
“What goes through a lorry
“What goes through a lorry driver’s mind” – not much, apparently.
Professional HGV drivers
Professional HGV drivers should be required to ride bicycles around heavy vehicles in tight conditions before getting their license.
Their license is already expensive to get, so adding this requirement wouldn’t make a great difference in cost and it would help them understand the vulnerability of cyclists.
Presumably a copy of the
Presumably a copy of the video has been sent to SI and S Hastings of Penrith, Cumbria, (01768) 483892 for their comment?
I hadn’t got round to it, but
I hadn’t got round to it, but I was wondering what they’d think. It was a close-call though. The driver probably did think he had space and time and maybe expected me to slow down since we were hitting an uphill section, but it’s not that steep so I usually maintain my speed here (I have the thighs of a horse, and thousands of miles of practice on these Yorkshire hills ;-)).
I wouldn’t bother contacting
I wouldn’t bother contacting the company, they’re a one man band by the looks of it.
Near enough – one man and his
Near enough – one man and his wife, looks like.
Submitted to the police and
Submitted to the police and got the usual response.
This may either be by way of
This may either be by way of an educational course, Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty, or by a Court Hearing
It appears that West Yorkshire has either not taken, or not benefitted from the ACPO Advanced Dodging Course. Firstly, they have actually responded- in Lancashire they don’t respond to troublemakers: defined as people who waste police time by submitting video to OpSnap Lancs. Secondly, West Yorkshire has committed itself by careless choice of wording to actually take some action, even though it’s only going to be the joke course if the cyclist has failed to be seriously injured or killed. Lancashire, at 7th Dan Dodging, used to state:
Once the driver has been identified then we will assess the most appropriate outcome, which could be…followed by the above options but also including ‘an advice letter’, which commits Lancashire Constabulary to nothing. You have to look carefully at communications from the police!
Some action guaranteed then.
Some action guaranteed then. Do you get a refernece number or incident number when you report? If so you may be able to make a follow up enquiry at a later date. I suspect it can take a while to go through the process.
Yes I do.. and I have
Yes I do.. and I have submitted a few before (which were far more dangerous than this encounter). Never heard anything further in the past, maybe I should chase them up and see if any action was taken.
The older emails I’m sure used to specifically state you will hear no more information unless it goes to court. This latest email I don’t think said anything like that.
The older emails I’m sure
The older emails I’m sure used to specifically state you will hear no more information unless it goes to court. This latest email I don’t think said anything like that
Doesn’t matter. You still won’t hear anything, and they’ll likely make you go through a long-winded FoI process to find out. If they do, you’ll know they didn’t do anything because …stupid excuse