Video: Caravan firm "horrified" after cyclist suffers shocking near-miss

The reason why 4 ft or 5 ft or whatever is still miserly is because in 99% of cases once the overtaking vehicle has taken part of the oncoming lane it could just as well have taken all of it at no extra cost or inconvenience. Not doing so just demonstrates the usual mix of laziness, selfishness and contempt.

I suggest that once the police have completed their efforts that this is taken up with the HSE. The HSE won't do anything until the police have completed their investigations, however if the police don't pursue it the HSE may do so subject to a lower standard of proof.
Above all else these situations must be pursued as the authirities may see a pattern arising with repeat offenders.

Driver has been sacked http://www.caravantimes.co.uk/news/people/human-interest/forest-of-dean-...$21384068.htm

Fair play to Forest of Dean Caravans, they've sacked the lunatic. Hopefully the police will be as robust when they consider the case.

http://www.caravantimes.co.uk/news/people/human-interest/forest-of-dean-...$21384068.htm

How about some people saying thank you to the company concerned in all this.
The driver has been sacked as called for.

It really would be courteous.

I'll assume the driver wasn't then until I see the proof with my own eyes.

If he has lost his job then he has got what he deserved, it should be his licence as well though.

I notice the resident HGV drivers don't seem to be saying much. No tales of poorly lit or no hi-viz.

Sad to say this is getting more and more common. The only way to stop it is to tie said drivers to a stake as their vehicle is driven at them at speed. Make them understand how it feels.

I did post this about 3;30 but can't see it so sorry if its a double post.
This company is a mile from me. their vehicles are lethal. I have been forced to a stop on bike, m/c and car plenty of times and touch twice on my bike. after I wrote this I emailed these facts to the company.
For what its worth the company owners will take this seriously I believe. I suspect its one driver .

I do hope his employer will do more than put a sticker on his mirror.

Must have watched top gear and taken the advice of giving cyclists an inch literally. The driver is clearly incompetent and or acted in complete spite and disregard of a fellow human being. In my opinion he does not deserve to keep his job and he should consider his professional future. if he gets sacked he will more likely then not end up driving trucks somewhere else. Scary

I don't think a local business should be punished for the idiocy of its employees if the company takes proper action against transgressions when they occur. We wait to see what action they will actually take. If this driver does this task for a living then there really is only one action for such negligence and I'm sorry to say that he/she should be looking for another job. As a professional aviator, we have spies in the cockpit that are downloaded after every flight. If I was to blatantly disregard the operating procedures of the company I would lose my job. I and this driver are responsible for other peoples' well being and if I decide to play roulette with their lives then I can expect the worst - no difference in this case. Forest of Dean Caravans MD...the ball is in your court.

Probably the worst piece of driving I have seen full stop!!
I feel so appalled I think that people should e-mail the company and voice there concerns as I did.
Please feel free to e-mail them at info [at] forestofdeancaravans.co.uk
Perhaps they will do something about it

I perceive this as a totally unacceptable close pass.

BUT - What is a close pass from a legal perspective?

When it comes down to it only the legal perspective matters.

Highway code 168:
You SHOULD give cyclists as much room as you would when overtaking a car.

The Met police website says (http://content.met.police.uk/Site/roadsafelondon):
Video footage:

"Occasionally, people refer us to video footage... They must not rely on a perception of distance such as a close pass as the apparent distance will vary according to the type camera and settings. There are other issues with video evidence, such as parallax error, which makes objects appear close together when they are seen in line."

This suggests that video evidence is not enough itself to prove a close pass.

As a cyclist, if you are passed too closely by another vehicle- where do you stand in terms of the law?

What space does the law entitle me to as a cyclist and how does it define and defend this?

EMail sent.

Clearly too close. But in a subsequent clip, I think the cyclist undermines his case by speeding down a hill & overtaking a car. I thought the speed limit applied to bikes as well as vehicles. Regardless, the overtake was risky and does put others at risk.

What I'd like to see is "Hi, Caravan firm here, Many apologies. We've started a drivers' Awareness of Cyclists course for all drivers, and look, here on youtube is the video that we use as part of the 1 day course that is repeated every 18 months".

On Youtube you can see one or more of Lothian Buses' dealing-with-bikes video. Having them visible to outsiders is a good move.

"Driver disciplined" doesn't do it. I'd be more worried by this guy now than before in fact.

I've had some close passes but this is far worse. Can't help but feel a bit sick, and wonder about the rider's confidence (and his family, if he dares show them this footage).

The company should sack the driver and report him to the police themselves, they'd do it readily enough if he stole company property. The bloke should not be allowed behind the wheel.

Unacceptable driving to put it mildly. He is a professional driver. He gets paid to drive. His driving should be at a higher standard than people who aren't paid to drive. He should have his licence revoked inc. his car licence. Lose his job. Be put on an anger management course. Made to sit an extended test to get his licence back and checked on at regular intervals.
But it won't happen as it was probably just a joke. Some of you have no sense of humour.

"I make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, and we need tolerance on the roads"

In a way I admire his stoicism, but this wasn't a mistake. It was intentional. And was so, so close to being fatal.

Sorry, but a driver who does this should simply not have a licence. This is like having a gun licence and firing a bullet an inch from someone's head. It is entirely indefensible.

Even if he's happy to share the road with this moron, I'm sure as hell not. Tolerance we may need, but there is no reason on this earth why I, nor anyone, should tolerate that.

I found that frightening from the safety of my sofa. I can't believe how close the truck was. Absolutely terrifying.

He should be reported and dealt with by the Police. A slap on the wrist from work won't stop him from doing it again.

Not only is the vehicle purposely too close it appears to pull in to the kerb well before the the trailer clears the cyclist indicating clear malicious intent.

Neil,

No my comment was not aimed at you. This is a perfect example of how useless lights and hi-viz are. Unfortunately such near misses happen far too often for true comfort. In cab cameras are all well and good if the impact is at the front. Will they show the cyclist being sucked under the back wheels?

Preaching to the converted is ok. However until this road user is respected by other road users, it's nothing but hot air. To be honest I couldn't careless what measues hgv drivers need to take to protect themselves if I'm dead under their wheels because they've decided that ten seconds of their time is worth more than my life. I'm still waiting to see an article that reads" driver killed from impact with cyclist. "

Maybe I should get a better job and a larger/stonger vehicle.

,The car gives ample room and lens not withstanding, the truck doesn't. They both overtake on a junction though, does this not matter if the vehicle they overtake is a bike? Are bikes counted as vehicles?