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Near Miss of the Day 220: Van driver reverses onto shared use path

Our regular feature highlighting close passes caught on camera from around the country – today it’s Hampshire

Today's video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows the moment a cyclist riding on a shared-use path on his morning commute in Hampshire was suddenly faced with a van driver reversing onto the pavement while executing a three-point turn.

It happened earlier this month to road.cc reader Martin in Lee-on-the-Solent, who notified the incident to the police.

Martin told us: "This is the kind of idiot driver I have to put up with on my morning commute. You think you'd be safe on a shared path.

"Not only did he nearly have me, I've got good brakes but also a cyclist coming the other way. 

"He then drove alongside me trying to get a reaction because I yelled at him. He drove off after I ignored him.

"This was at 7.30 in the morning," 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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8 comments

Avatar
Shades | 6 years ago
1 like

I've just come back from 11 days cycling in N India; my 'near-miss threshold' increased massively.  Did have a GoPro recording occasionally to catch interesting bits of the ride but if I'd been running it continuously I'd have got some 'absolute belters' re close passes.

Avatar
EK Spinner | 6 years ago
1 like

Just watched this to the end, is there really a bus shelter positioned in the middle of the shared use path, unbelievable

 

Avatar
Hirsute replied to EK Spinner | 6 years ago
4 likes

EK Spinner wrote:

Just watched this to the end, is there really a bus shelter positioned in the middle of the shared use path, unbelievable

 

I think you must be new to this 'crap cycle lanes' lark!

At least this one had an indented path !

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to EK Spinner | 6 years ago
3 likes

EK Spinner wrote:

Just watched this to the end, is there really a bus shelter positioned in the middle of the shared use path, unbelievable

 

Shared use, innit? Also shared with a lamppost just as you turn into the indent.

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to EK Spinner | 6 years ago
1 like

doppio

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ktache | 6 years ago
3 likes

But of course the van driver should not have been operating his vehicle on the shared use path at all.

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Jetmans Dad | 6 years ago
0 likes

Clearly Hampshire Police are more accommodating that our local force. I have twice had officers ask me to cycle on the road rather than a shared use path because I was going too quickly ... and I wasn't travelling nearly the speed shown in the video. 

Avatar
Organon | 6 years ago
5 likes

Be careful not to devalue the brand. I like my near misses to be a little nearer.

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