A cyclist from Wales has filmed the moment the driver of a large vehicle made an extremely close pass as he overtook him on a country road – and shockingly, the vehicle involved was the Team Sky bus (Caution: video contains strong language).
Team sky’s bus almost taking me out, sorry about the language, but this needs to go viral for the safety of cyclists pic.twitter.com/nmojiJnoXf
— Andy Rolfe (@AndyRolfe65) September 8, 2016
The video was posted to Twitter by Andy Rolfe from Rhosllannerchrugog, near Wrexham – an area which the Tour of Britain passed through on yesterday’s Stage 4 from Denbigh to Builth Wells.
Just before the Team Sky bus overtakes the rider, a fuel tanker can be seen coming in the opposite direction, with its driver stopping to let the coach pass – and with the cyclist making clear his feelings on the way the driver overtook him.
Mr Rolfe’s tweet has so far attracted more than 3,000 retweets, plus a number of replies criticising the driving.
David Kernohan’s comment was typical of the responses. He said: “Of all the people in the UK who should know how to pass a cyclist properly – Very, very poor @TeamSky.”
Under Rule 163, motorists are told that they should “give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.”
Team Sky have apologised to Mr Rolfe via Twitter, and they released a statement to us, saying “What is shown in the video is unacceptable and we are sorry. We’ve already spoken to the driver and we’ll be discussing this with him again in more detail.
“We will also be speaking to all staff and reminding them of their responsibilities.
“Encouraging people to get out and on their bikes is a huge part of what we stand for as a team.
“We are a team of cyclists and we all know how important it is for us as a team to set an example when it comes to ensuring cyclists are able to use the roads safely.”
51 thoughts on “Video: Team Sky bus driver makes extremely close pass on cyclist”
“”Under Rule 163, motorists
“”Under Rule 163, motorists are told that they should “give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.”
I have never liked the wording of this because you can overtake a car and not leave a lot of room (a lot less than 3 feet) because there is no danger of anyone getting hurt.
DrJDog wrote:
Cars are wider than 3 feet so I must give them more room that that.
wycombewheeler wrote:
“”Under Rule 163, motorists are told that they should “give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.”
I have never liked the wording of this because you can overtake a car and not leave a lot of room (a lot less than 3 feet) because there is no danger of anyone getting hurt.
— wycombewheeler Cars are wider than 3 feet so I must give them more room that that.— DrJDog
True, but I agree with the argument that the wording is bad because it is ambiguous. Does “give as much room as you would a car” mean same distance from the kerb or from the car/cyclist? It means the former, but you can only be sure by consulting the illustrative photo, which I expect has no legal weight.
Totally unforgivable – what
Totally unforgivable – what hope is there of improving the stadards of your average Arriva bus driver, when Sky behave like this? I hope Sky get in touch with this chap and shower him with appologies and bike gear in equal measure.
marginal life
marginal life 🙁
Nothing less than immediate
Nothing less than immediate dismissal will suffice. This constitutes gross negligence in anyone’s book. I couldn’t give a monkey’s how nice a person the driver is, or how clean their licence, or how many kids they have to feed. NOTHING excuses this pointless, deliberate act of aggressive driving that came within inches of killing someone.
He called it right. Proper
He called it right. Proper fuckin’ idiot that driver. Should not be licensed to drive on the roads. Needs a retest and awareness course.
Looked close as hell in the vid, must have felt way worse in person.
Using all the road, thats not
Using all the road, thats not marginal gains…
lro0001 wrote:
By passing that closely the driver was able to gain 1 second. Imagine if he then passes 120 cyclists like that , not so marginal any more.
Personally I’d like to see him marginally told off.
That wasn’t clever by the
That wasn’t clever by the coach driver. Not sure how close the team car was to the coach. Though the driver demonstrated how to pass correctly. Heres hoping that action was already being taken before social media kicked in.
In the words of Stephen
In the words of Stephen Mulhearn….Unbelievable….
Looks to me like the tanker
Looks to me like the tanker HAD to stop because Bus Wanker was overtaking unsighted, making it even worse.
Nice to see Sky taking the Professional out of ‘Professional Cycling Team’
Is that why it’s called the
Is that why it’s called the death Star?
Interesting that a lot of
Interesting that a lot of people who probably subscribe to the “actions of one bad cyclist doesn’t give us all a bad name” theory are slating Sky for the actions of one bloke.
How about maybe giving them a chance to react to this (given the tweet is approx 2h15 old at the moment) before lighhting the pitchforks?
VeloPeo wrote:
Your first point is absurd – since when are ‘all cyclists’ employers of all other cyclists? Can we fire bad cyclists or issue a formal reprimand? Are we somehow responsible for ‘hiring’ them in the first place?
Obviously, though, it depends on how Sky respond to the event.
VeloPeo wrote:
What difference wil SKY’s ‘reaction’ make? What could they possibly say that would make this driving anything other than reckless and life threatening?
It’s totally indefensible for any vehicle to do this. It is a PR disaster for SKY, and quite rightly too.
Hipshot wrote:
Well they could have responsed in a much more proactive way and done something about the driver.
My first post was pointing out that they should be given a chance to respond to the incident before lighting the pitchforks. Now they’ve shat the bed with that response, I’ll light one myself.
Similar thing happen to me on
Similar thing happened to me on last years ToB. BMC team bus almost wiped out me and my mates as we cycled through Edinburgh. Had to laugh at the irony.
I wouldn’t be surprised if
I wouldn’t be surprised if their permanent drivers are on the Vuelta, with temporary or agency staff covering the ToB. I don’t know how Sky recruit them, but I doubt it is by placing an ad in Cycling Weekly, or Sustainable Transport Monthly.
On another note, “Rhosllannerchrugog” is now what I am going to scream at the next HGV driver who overtakes me too closely.
Credit has to be given to the
Credit has to be given to the tanker driver for his skill on the brakes. He’s managed to save a potentially catastrophic disaster there, unless it was full of milk?
Cyclist clearly should’ve
Cyclist clearly should’ve made more use of the slipstream after the pass. Poor.
One hopes that a Pro cycling
One hopes that a Pro cycling team would go out of their way to make sure that their drivers always show full respect and awareness of vulnerable road users like cyclists, as required by the highway code. I hope that this incident doesn’t reflect a lack of proactive training of their drivers in this regard.
That’s pretty shabby. Sat in
That’s pretty shabby. Sat in an ASB at a red light on Palatine Road last year, who should come up alongside me but a Team Sky car… not nearly as dangerous as that pass though. The “reminding them of their responsibilities” line is particularly poor, and more something I’d expect of Stagecoach than the transport operators for a professional cycling team.
Argos74 wrote:
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Sounds to me more like a politically correct way of saying a “right proper bollocking”.
Whether that ticking off would have happened solely on the insitgation of the team car behind, and without the footage being made public, would be the true test of their attitude on this matter.
It always amazes me that
It always amazes me that drivers who are so obviously identifiable by their sign written vehicle and are reliant on their driving for making a living are so lax with their driving standards.
If I were in such a position I’d be driving like a nun.
DrG82 wrote:
Pretty much all the legal precedent for these matters would lead one to believe that they can do as they wish. would it not?
Well – they’ve’ ‘apologised’:
Well – they’ve’ ‘apologised’:
Sky said the driving was “unacceptable” and that drivers will be “reminded of their responsibilities”.
Hmm. Hopefully that reminder comes with a baseball bat to the face. Repeatedly.
Oh just Fuck Right Off Team
Oh just Fuck Right Off Team Sky management with your weasel words.
What you should have said was this:
“We are deeply concerned that any road user should drive in this manner. It is utterly unacceptable, and especially so given the sport that is the reason for our existence and the number of its participants maimed and killed each year on UK roads through the fault of drivers.
We will of course co-operate fully with the police, and have already made the driver’s logbooks and tachygraph information available to the constabulary concerned.
Furthermore the driver concerned has been suspended from duties pending an independent investigation by a traffic safety engineer into the event, and a full understanding of their reason for behaving in this manner. After that the Sky team board will decide the driver’s employment futre with Team Sky according to employment regulations and the driver’s contract.
All other Sky team staff will be briefed on their obligations, and further measures will be put in place to ensure all Sky drivers are aware that safety of other road users, our staff andf vehicles must never be trumped by any sense of urgency on the public highway”.
There Dave, fixed that for you. Away you go.
Piss weak response. Basically
Piss weak response. Basically, riders inside are precious, rest of you can buy the merchandise and get stuffed for all we care.
Would have wanted a really convincing response from a largely UK based cycling team given that they know dangerous driving is a barrier to uptake in the UK. They could have used this as an opportunity to highlight the issue and show that they take it seriously. If that was my missus, she’d have panicked being so new to road cycling. Totally would have shaken her, maybe even swerved or reacted badly, no joke.
The bus driver’s actions didn’t put me off the team – they can’t control the guy day in, day out, and actually started to warm to them after this Tour as I was saying in previous topics, but their response to this has definitely irked me. Screw them, not up for that at all.
Love how he half attempted to
Love how he half attempted to chase the bus… no mate, don’t.
Well, given the proliferation
Well, given the proliferation of Team Sky kit seen being pedalled along the road these days, who’s to say it actually was a Team Sky bus and not a liveried up wannabe?
Although I do like the idea that the driver should make his log book / performance indicators available for scrutiny to ensure there are no discrepancies in performance…
Team Sky’s somewhat-not
Team Sky’s somewhat-not-cutting-the-mustard ‘we’re sorry and have/will speak to the driver’ is pretty much what I’ve had in response to complaints I’ve made to local bus/HGV companies for dangerously close passes. You’d expect more from a large professional cycling team.
This is the same Team Sky who
This is the same Team Sky who employed Geert Leinders to look after the health of their riders.
I really don’t think they pay much attention to who they employ.
I’m guessing he’s no longer a
I’m guessing he’s no longer a Sky fan?
Marginal maiming
Marginal maiming
Are the team busses and cars
Are the team busses and cars left hand drive?
I’ve had close passes with people in left hand drive cars before. They feel that the are passing safely because they can see just how close they are to you but, ironically, they are closer than those in right hand drive cars who ‘usualy’ give more room as they can’t tell how close they actually are.
I’m not excusing the behaviour of the driver, he’s an idiot overtaking where there is on coming traffic I’m just trying to ‘guess’ why he thought it was a reasonable manoeuvre.
As a former HGV driver it’s
As a former HGV driver it’s obvious that the tanker driver could see the cyclist being overtaken dangerously and stopped to avoid a collision with the death star. What a tit! He just didn’t want to waste a few seconds to make a safe pass. The mentality of these drivers is beyond belief, but please don’t tar us all with the same brush as these pricks .
mudplugga wrote:
I generally find hgv drivers the best. But when you get a bad one it’s terrifying. The shear size of the vehicle makes it souch worse than a car and it’s easier to miss judge how soon the can pull in due to the length.
Marginal lanes.
Marginal lanes.
I know it’s a fool’s errand
I know it’s a fool’s errand to seek sense among the comments after any cycling story in the mainstream press, but this gem from the Evening Standard poleaxed me, stupid layered on stupid. I want this guy arrested.
“To be honest this is pretty innocuous stuff. (1) A pro cyclist wouldn’t have any issue with this (bearing in mind its a pro team bus.) (2) Especially on rural roads you’re expected to slow down and if necessary stop to allow a faster moving vehicle past. Education required, not vitriol.”
It is terrible driving. But
It is terrible driving, But more of a misjudgment than anything. Initially, the bus is giving enough room, but then veers left far too early. What it looks like to me is that they started a safe overtake, then realised the tanker was coming and rather than brake and drop in behind, they chanced it. Which is wholely unforgivable & dangerous.
All the calls for the driver to be sacked are a bit OTT – it was a very dangerous misjudgement but hopefully the driver will learn.
Sky’s response was far & away better than most bus company’s response of ‘go forth & multiply’. The wording is much stronger than the platitudes from other companies, and read like they are genuine.
a post from bauchlebastart earlier criticised BMC for a close pass. I’d just like to share my positive experience from Monday on BMC. I was filtering past stationary traffic approaching lights through Kendal. About 30m before the lights is a traffic island. (about here https://goo.gl/maps/6xxg72iei3J2) The bus was a couple of car lengths away from the island. As I was alongside the middle of the bus, the lights changed and the traffic started moving – I was a little stuck in no-mans land. The BMC driver held back and let me move across. That’s how every driver should be. 😀
Yes because there aren’t
Yes because there aren’t enough people who ended up killing people with a history of dangerous driving.
Screw up so dangerously in many workplaces and it’s a sacking. With driving it’s a case of ‘don’t be so serious’. Says it all about driving culture and British attitudes. Pathetic.
unconstituted wrote:
It’s habituation. Cars are bloody dangerous and inefficient but people are so used to them that they’ve learned to ignore their extreme disadvantages.
If cars had never existed and someone proposed to introduce them now the outcry would be immense:
* licenses to operate are available easily … including to criminals, especially paedophiles (makes child abduction much easier) (usually paired with a iOS encrypted phone)
* recidivism is nearly unmonitorable
* terrorists can use them to deliver bombs to urban areas
* big corporations can privatize transportation with them
Tattooine wasn’t going to
Tattooine wasn’t going to blow itself up…
I dont agree the bus is
I dont agree the bus is starting from anywhere near giving enough room to the cyclist to pass at the speed it was going, compare it to the team car following who obviously saw what happened clearly enough and reacted to it by completely crossing the white line and giving a full lane width to make their pass.
that kind of move by the coach is just a standard Ill pass you close enough hope not to hit you move, and yes the tanker driver had to stop to avoid a collision as well,so how much more of a totally unsuitable way to overtake someone on a bike do you want, at speed, too close, causes other traffic to take avoiding action. The draft of the bus would have been enough to have unsettled the rider, even before it tried to make a close encounter contact.
so sorry Team Sky just because Joe Public coaches gets away with that kind of thing, we do and should expect a higher driving standard for a pro cycling team and more than a slightly embarrassed sounding apology.
According to Eurosport, Team
According to Eurosport, Team Sky are “standing by the driver Claudio Lucchini, who is reported to be deeply upset about his error of judgement.” So the driver recognises he made an error and in future he promises he will give a fuck. Well that’s OK then.
This is in no way by means of
This is in no way by means of excusing this ridiculous pass, but how much pressure are these drivers under. I was a VIP guest (by means of winning a competition) last year at the TOB and the speed at which they all try and do PR, clear kit, and get on the road for transition to next stage is ridiculous…
Team car should definitely
Team car should definitely have stopped, apologised and taken details. Not as a way of keeping this from the mainstream but to show that as a team they “love cycling” and had recognised the stupid actions of their coach driver…
Only tangentially related,
Only tangentially related, but driving down from the Lake District after stage 2 I ended up sharing the M6 with two Sky cars. Once the traffic cleared I tried to stay with them. Got to 85mph before giving up as they were still pulling away…
Sky bus drivers worrying
Sky bus drivers worrying tweets ;
‘Had the best fun ever driving the bus flat out on the closed roads ahead of the race today #awesome’
uhhmm?
400km in to a 1200km transfer in the @TeamSky bus. That’ll be the rest day gone then 🙂 #VivaLaVuelta ;
(driving 1200km in one go,um sensible?)
14 hour drive back to the Service Course now. Thanks Poland
Well i guess il be fully alert for that one then?
nothing wrong with that – guy
nothing wrong with that – guy needs to cycle more!