Today’s Near Miss of the Day comes courtesy of a road.cc reader who was on the receiving end of some impatient must get in front driving from… a police officer driving a British Transport Police vehicle. At least it was easy to work out where to send the complaint…
The reader was riding a tandem through York when the police vehicle rushed ahead — despite oncoming traffic — resulting in “an unnecessary and uncomfortably close pass” at the narrowest point of the bridge.
“Nothing is gained, because it has to stop for lights. It’s no surprise that it’s almost impossible to get the police interested in dangerous driving in York,” he told us.
But that’s not where this story ends because, as we would recommend all cyclists who have recorded clips of close passes, they reported it to the police, making an official complaint via the British Transport Police website.
He received the following reply:
I am in receipt of your complaint regarding the BTP vehicle passing too close to you in York. I have watched the video that you supplied and concur that the decision to pass you at that point should have been given more thought as to possible repercussions of such action. Please accept my apologies on behalf of the British Transport Police for this lapse in judgement by the officers.
It is my intention to ascertain who the officers are and ask their supervision to have a reflective practice meeting with them to review the footage and identify any learning that is to be had and reflect on findings moving forward, so that a repeat does not happen.
> 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
69 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 788: British Transport Police apologises for “lapse in judgement” from impatient officer”
Quote:
Am I being picky, or is that a really mangled piece of English?
The proofreader in me is
The proofreader in me is crying out for that sentence to have some more punctuation.
Not sure it’s mangled. It’s
Not sure it’s mangled. It’s jargon-filled, and has rather a lot of clauses. Splitting it into a couple of sentences would probably have added clarity.
Also, the passive ‘it is my intention to’ would have been better as ‘I intend to’, or even just ‘I will’.
“It is my intention” = I am
“It is my intention” = I am two degrees removed from actually doing anything and you can’t hold me to it. “Identify any learning…” also suggests “we won’t find any” and adding “reflect on findings” means “not on your nelly”.
My favourite was an ancient typo apparently of military vintage – “it is mot necessary …” leaving you a choice between the opposing meanings of “most” or “not”.
My favourite part is the use
My favourite part is the use of ‘supervision’ as a noun – as if it’s some abstract mystical force, with no actual people involved.
In this case I bet it is!
In this case I bet it is!
It reads like on of those
It reads like on of those comedy sketches with a police officer reading from his notebook in court.
As any fule kno, sentences
As any fule kno, sentences like that should always begin with ‘As such…’
It’s someone desperately
It’s someone desperately trying to sound professional, but instead sounding evasive and incompetent
That reads like the main
That reads like the main concern is to ensure that they’re not filmed again
Translation: “It was a
Translation: “It was a dangerous / close pass. Sorry for the inconsiderate driving. The officers will receive a warning.”
“…..Have to buy cake” I
“…..Have to buy cake” I thought according to Mark Hodsons reply when the unmarked car hit the cyclist the other day.
The reply from British
The reply from British Transport Police means: Get stuffed. We’re doing nothing!
There will be no warning. If the driver did it again, there would be a claim that his driving record was exemplary. Bent police are a great problem in this country. This is the driver of MV57 GXO pictured yesterday, June 20th, driving on the B6430 southbound in Catterall while uninsured in a vehicle with no MOT for over18 months and no VED for over a year. This has been reported to Lancashire Constabulary twice over the last month and is about to be reported for the third time. There has been no response from the abject failure that is OpSnapLancs. The car is occasionally pictured on the private drive of the Old Garstang Police Station
I mentioned the other day,
I mentioned the other day, send the Reg and location details to DVLA directly via Report an untaxed vehicle – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
I mentioned the other day,
I mentioned the other day, send the Reg and location details to DVLA directly via Report an untaxed vehicle – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Waste of time- they don’t do anything either. I have seen HY66 ZZB twice on the roads recently- no VED since 4.6.19, but has MOT until 7.10.22. Reported to DVLA weeks ago. The important point for my purposes is the long term absence of MOT where Lancashire Constabulary do nothing about an uninsured driver on the roads in an illegal vehicle
yep, DVLA would be a waste of
yep, DVLA would be a waste of time. They can only clamp/lift the vehicle if it’s parked on a public road. Can’t touch it if it’s on a private drive.
They will not accept 3rd party video evidence of a vehicle being used on the public roads whilst being untaxed either (I tried!).
Probably best off seeing if there’s a local ‘Tyre Extinguishers’ group, or print off a sign that says ‘Untaxed Vehicle – DVLA AWARE’ and slap it on next time you’re passing!
So how actually does one go
So how actually does one go about getting done for no VED/ MOT/ insurance/ licence, or correct plates? I’m beginning to feel a bit of a mug for being so punctilious about these matters.
From my watching of channel 5
From my watching of channel 5’s cop shows, it would be a traffic car with built in anpr camera set up and police inside that can be bothered.
Being pulled for speeding or obvious drink or drugged driving seems to be a good way of exposing drivers other forms of illegal driving too.
Police interceptors with John “wrong’uns” Thompson is still the best one. Whoever comes up with his lines is a star.
I think the only way of
I think the only way of getting caught for no road tax / MOT is if you pass one of the DVLA ANPR enforcement cameras.
Police aren’t interested unless they are having a slow day and want a reason to stop you.
So, park your vehicle on private land and make sure you know where the local ANPR cameras are and you can pretty much avoid these troublesome legalities.
I think the police are more interested in cloned number plates though and have an automatic system that flags up potentially cloned vehicles to patrol cars.
At some point in the last
At some point in the last couple of years, streets near me had obviously been patrolled by DVLA, as they had clamped and put warnings on a number of untaxed cars parked on the road. I would guess this sort of enforcement is happening regularly, but with limited resources.
HoarseMann wrote:
They do fairly regular roadside pulls round here, there was one on the Clapham Road just last week, four or five police cars at a set point with, I think, a mobile ANPR unit further back up the road radioing them whom they should stop; they had at least half a dozen very disgruntled-looking drivers pulled over when I passed.
They used to do this annually
They used to do this annually in our town, a spotter up the top of the High Street, then a coned off area they were directing vehicles into for a chat with the driver. Not seen it been done for several years now.
HoarseMann wrote:
The DVLA will send out fines to registered keepers whose vehicle is SORN or taxed. Years ago, I got an £80 fine after I’d SORN’d a car and not renewed it (I hadn’t realised it was a yearly thing) – not sure why I took so long scrapping it, emotional attachment I guess. The DVLA ANPR enforcement cameras would probably come in to play if it is SORN’d and spotted on the road.
But if some is driving a car without VED, MOT and insurance it probably isn’t registered to them either or they probably just ignore the brown envelopes.
Excuse me while I go check if
Excuse me while I go check if I re-SORN’d my old Alfa…. Thanks.
Edit: I did, but I also noticed it states that like vehicle tax itslef the SORN is non-transferrable, so if you buy a SORN’d vehicle you have to SORN it yourself.
But do they ? Because it
But do they ? Because it should all be automatic now its held on a computer system, simply issue a fine when it runs out, yet I’ll often check the reg of a close passer/driver acting like a moron, and you’ll find the VED ran out months ago, and ok let’s say they ignore the fines/reminders or accidentally forgot to update their address when they moved, that’s what debt collection agencies,bailiffs,ccjs are for. Yet you never hear of the DVLA pursuing people like that in the way say the TV licence is.
It gives the impression it’s just one of those things no-one really cares that much about,
The DfT stats, and like unlicensed drivers is probably conservatively low so as to give the impression theres not a big issue here they are ignoring, is about 719,000 untaxed vehicles in use on the roads, 2 in every 100 vehicles basically, but that’s over 100million in lost revenue each year.
yep, DVLA would be a waste of
yep, DVLA would be a waste of time. They can only clamp/lift the vehicle if it’s parked on a public road. Can’t touch it if it’s on a private drive.
They will not accept 3rd party video evidence of a vehicle being used on the public roads whilst being untaxed either (I tried!)
This is all incorrect, although partially correct in practice. DVLA provide no facility to provide them with still or video evidence of untaxed or SORN-ed vehicles being driven on public roads. They already have the powers to fine/ prosecute the owners of non-SORN-ed vehicles which are untaxed- they just don’t do it even when informed (see HY66 ZZB below) of a ‘Highways Maintenance’ vehicle seen and filmed twice being driven on public roads- and that’s a vehicle with no VED for over 3 years. They just can’t be bothered, the police are completely uninterested in untaxed vehicles and can’t be bothered either with long term No MOT vehicles which are therefore uninsured. So you’re completely safe in Lancashire at least without either MOT or VED or both (this is the new fashion here even with very recent and very expensive cars- go completely Off-Grid) if you’re just a standard crim, as long as you’re not one of the people the police really hate- they would certainly throw the book at me!
no mention of crossing a
no mention of crossing a solid white line.
legal.. the more pressing
legal.. the more pressing point was the oncoming vehicle which meant the police driver had to squeeze the cyclist alongside.
grOg wrote:
How so?
That was a double solid white
That was a double solid white line the driver crossed he needs to visit Specsavers again! By the way is there a list of Police email addresses or some other way of reporting these close pacing of us cyclists?
I think if you want to report
I think if you want to report close pacing of cyclists you should google “sticky bottle” on this forum or “closely followed by team car with a full rack of bikes”!
As a cyclist myself, a close
As a cyclist myself, a close pass is scary, especially at speed. However, that is very much to be interpreted by the specific rider on the receiving end. Also a driver can cross a solid white line to pass a slow moving / stationary vehicle (highway code) – just saying. In all though, a very bad example to be setting as a police driver?
Jas david wrote:
[I]129 … You may cross the line
[B]if necessary,[/b] (it wasn’t)
[B]provided the road is clear,[/b] (it wasn’t)
to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle,
[B]if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.[/b] (he wasn’t) [/i]
– just saying.
129 … You may cross the
129 … You may cross the line
if necessary, (it wasn’t)
provided the road is clear, (it wasn’t)
Enforcement of single and double unbroken white lines has long been completely abandoned by Lancashire Constabulary
It seems like a large number
It seems like a large number of drivers are joining your long crusade to get the Police to actually do something about all the illegal drivers on the road . . . . . .
Motorists want speed cameras to check tax, insurance and MOT
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/norfolk-speed-cameras-motorists-back-insurance-checks-9051842
Try this one- no MOT for 8
Try this one- no MOT for 8 months, and therefore uninsured. There will be no response and no action whatsoever from Lancashire Constabulary. A bit different from the dynamic police you see on the motorway programs on the telly?! Total Indolence Policing- I’ll think up a better acronym
Do you check the status of
Do you check the status of everything you pass on the road, or did this one do something else to warrant your attention? Just asking, not judging.
Neil Greig, director of
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, said the survey findings showed that “law-abiding citizens are totally in favour of a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to catching those who are a menace to other motorists on UK roads”
My crusade has had no effect on the hardened idlers at Lancashire Filth- they have a Total-Tolerance approach to all motoring offences
The law in Australia to cross
The law in Australia to cross solid white lines.. ‘drivers must consider if they have a clear view of oncoming traffic, if it is necessary and reasonable in all circumstances to cross the dividing line, and if it is safe to do so.’ Much better than the ridiculous ‘if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less’.
In the US it varies by state.
In the US it varies by state. Where I live, it’s legal to pass a vehicle over double yellow (equivalent of solid white) lines when the vehicle is going 15 MPH or more below the speed limit. As a lot of our back roads are posted 45 MPH, that means it’s almost always permitted to cross into the opposite lane when safe to pass a cyclist, tractor, or horse & buggy, regardless of the road markings.
As a lot of our back roads
As a lot of our back roads are posted 45 MPH, that means it’s almost always permitted to cross into the opposite lane when safe to pass a cyclist, tractor, or horse & buggy, regardless of the road markings
It’s different in the Red Rose County: here, it’s always permitted to cross into the opposite lane to pass a cyclist regardless of how safe it is
Thing is a lot of our roads
Thing is a lot of our roads are 60 mph speed limits, so a similar rule here would make it legal to overtake Dorris who’s still driving at 40 mph.
More of a mystery is the ones who then carry on doing 40 mph when the speed limit drops to 30.
I can take a car trip of
I can take a car trip of about 6 miles behind someone going at 35 where the speed limit will go 40/60/40/60/30/60/40/30
hirsute wrote:
I’ve noticed the single-speed 35mph drivers are quite a significant sized group. I suspect it probably has a pretty large overlap with middle laners.
Get that here too, one road
Get that here too, one road in particlar has a stretch that is 60 between two villages and the number of times a car in front pulls away as we come through the village after dawdling through the 60.
Is the officer replying also
Is the officer replying also a Methodist Lay Preacher?
“I am in receipt of your
“I am in receipt of your complaint”
Which was immediately filed… in the bin.
We all know only too well that the police will always protect their own. Even well-meaning ‘honest’ officers end up being dragged down into the pit. It’s a central part of the culture. Corruption can flourish because there is no real way of stopping it.
Its a police car – most
Its a police car – most people slow down to let them pass.
I d have slowed down anyway – common sense
They have sirens and pretty
They have sirens and pretty blue flashy lights if they are in a hurry, to let you know they need you to get out of the way. Even then, they are trained to an extremely high standard so as to avoid risk to the public.
I think that is only true if
I think that is only true if they are trained in pursuit. Not convinced the normal drivers are that well trained.
I’m sure wtjs could provide a few examples !
I’m sure wtjs could provide a
I’m sure wtjs could provide a few examples !
Sadly, not- or I would have put them on here. Much though I despise Lancashire Constabulary for their presumed corruption and proven idleness and hypocrisy, I have never experienced a close pass or other bad driving at the hands of the police here or anywhere else that I can remember- except one illegal crossing of the unbroken white line by a police vehicle when I wasn’t carrying the camera.
Disappointed. You are clearer
Disappointed. You are clearly not going out looking for trouble as mandated by the camera code.
Hazel-13 [at] outlook.com
Welcome another first post anti-cyclist! Nobody slows down to let a police car pass if it is not on an emergency call with lights and/or sirens operating. If you did so I suspect the police would pull over themselves to check that you were sober, as it would be utterly absurd behaviour which would cause confusion and delay for all parties.
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‘Nobody slows down to let a police car pass if it is not on an emergency call’.
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There ya go again, Mr. Dogmatic, Never Wrong Trendy.
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Gawd, it must be wonderful to be omnipotent like you.
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P.S. The lady herself says that she would have slowed down. QED your statement is simply wrong.
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Oh, DO keep up, please.
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Must be hard trolling without
Must be hard trolling without your mates anymore Flint. Maybe post some discussion pieces on bikes or something instead.
Flintshire Boy wrote:
Fixed it for you
Car Delenda Est wrote:
Gawd, it must be wonderful to be omniscient like you.
— Car Delenda Est Fixed it for you— Flintshire Boy
Are you saying I’m not omnipotent? Dammit, there was me thinking that FB was regarding me as a God…
Car Delenda Est wrote:
Gawd, it must be wonderful to be omniscient like you.
— Car Delenda Est Fixed it for you— Flintshire Boy
Know-it-all.
Flintshire Boy wrote:
You really are obsessed with me now, aren’t you? I don’t mind, because nothing you say matters to me in the slightest, but it can’t be good for you to keep letting me live rent-free inside your head like this. You should take up a hobby, something that will get you out in the open air and stop you being so obsessed with complete strangers; cycling is highly recommended.
Maybe don’t use what appears
Maybe don’t use what appears to be your email address for your username here.
Was that part of your driver
Was that part of your driver training? Unless the emergency vehicle has blue/lights sirens, they are treated as normal traffic.
You should be more concerned with drivers who a) don’t notice emergency vehicles on a call b) have no idea how to let them past safely
Hazel-13 [at] outlook.com
You don’t slow down for a police car to let it past. If you do you’ll probably be booked for driving inconsiderately. The only time you let a police car past is when it has its blues and twos on. Even then you only do so when you can legally and safely. pull over. A trained TB Officer understands this. Regular station drivers not so much.
Emergency drivers are
Emergency drivers are encouraged not to drive to the speed limit if they are not on an emergency call on the motorway, it causes too much confusion as people drive in all sorts of odd ways. You’ll quite often see patrol cars driving at around 60.
The same used to apply to white Volvo’s with roof racks – an emergency responder mate, before the days of them being allowed lights, used to get calls from the motorway control centre for bumbling along at 65mph and causing havoc in his.
I’ve some vague recollection
I’ve some vague recollection of somebody pointing that fact to me. I do have a vivid memory of a sometime girlfriend screaming at me to slow drown as we drove past the police on the motorway ( they were doing 55 or so). She was deeply concerned that I would be done for speeding even though I was still under 70 at the time.
And if you watch the Blue
And if you watch the Blue Light Aware guidance, generally they don’t want you to slow down excessively to let them past. If you’re in a set of double whites for example, carry on at the speed limit. They’ll switch their siren off until they consider it’s safe to overtake. When the siren goes on start looking for the best place to let them past and indicate left to tell them you’re ready for them to go past
What we need is a pithy
What we need is a pithy phrase to express that. Maybe it could be translated into latin too, for the benefit of lawyers?
Another painted line bike
Another painted line bike lane that makes motor vehicle drivers feel entitled to use all of ‘their’ lane when passing a cyclist in the bike lane; when the bike lane ends with a car alongside, which has priority?
Spot on.
Spot on.
Officers broke the law – they
Officers broke the law – they were not blue lighted.
Send them on the public awareness safety course for some shame and then suspend their advanced one which they probably have until they redo that too.