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westham4719

Near Miss of the Day 287: Police van in close pass

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country - today it's London...
by Simon_MacMichael
Fri, Jul 05, 2019 12:38
22

The latest video in our Near Miss of the Day feature shows the driver of a police van making a close pass on a cyclist - not the first tine we've had such a submission - remember close this one from last year or this one from just a fortnight or so ago?

The latest one was filmed in West Ham, London, by road.cc reader Sundeep, who told us: "This happened to me on my journey home yesterday.

"An awful stretch of road covered in pot holes that make it hard to maintain a constant line and the bend makes overtaking challenging.

"I haven’t formally contacted the police about it, as I don’t believe I will make any significant difference.Not that it should matter but I was wearing a yellow luminescent t shirt, helmet and had a rear light on." 

> 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

> What to do next if you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision

Near Miss of the Daay
NMotD police van
NMotD London
Simon MacMichael

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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22 comments

Avatar
CygnusX1 | 5 years ago
1 like

The two minutes rule used by most police forces is to check the incident you're reporting isn't e.g. some escalation of an altercation between you and the driver.

Not that this should matter, but the police/CPS would have a harder time getting a conviction because, you know, bloody argumentative cyclists.

Presumably the footage you do have makes it clear that you had just started your journey and therefore no such prior incident could have occurred?

Even if it doesn't, the police should be held to a higher standard and will probably have their own footage of the two minutes prior to the incident. You could probably demand that under a GDPR subject access request.

Avatar
ktache | 5 years ago
4 likes

Err...

Avatar
CygnusX1 replied to ktache | 5 years ago
3 likes
ktache wrote:

Err...

Indeed, and ... //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/One_of_the_LFB%27s_New_Appliances.png)

Avatar
jthef | 5 years ago
0 likes

because the camra is not straigt it dose not look close. but then llok at where the vans tyres are on the road and he was closes.

Avatar
nicmason | 5 years ago
0 likes

Not that close IMO

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giff77 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Regardless of not having the ‘2min’ report it. Hopefully driving privileges will be removed for a while at the very least. 

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grumpyoldcyclist | 5 years ago
1 like

Report it, those following this driver are being given a lesson in how to overtake cyclists 'properly'

Avatar
ktache | 5 years ago
2 likes

Submit it mate, this is not a member of the public driving in a dangerous manner, it is a representative of Her Majesty's constabulary, they need to be enforcing the rules not breaking them.  It's not a normal case, let them try and say that you did someting to justify this.

Avatar
Sunnyd1 | 5 years ago
0 likes

I don’t have two minutes of footage beforehand as it’s at the start of my journey, so I don’t think I can submit it via the Met website.
It’s an awful road to cycle on, but the only link between the Greenway and West Ham station. I’ve had way worst close passes from cars thinking they can overtake then suddenly having to pull in to avoid a car travelling the opposite way on the bend. It’s just I happened to have my helmet cam switched on yesterday.
I’ve tried taking primary position along the road, however that just seems to anger drivers and place me in a more dangerous position.

Avatar
Sriracha | 5 years ago
0 likes

Um, the centre white lines... solid outline, with diagonal stripes:

"Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road ... If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you MUST NOT enter it except in an emergency."

Didn't seem much of an emergency to me.

Avatar
flobble | 5 years ago
4 likes

I don't know what the fuss is about.

The police van clearly couldn't have moved any further to the right, as there was oncoming traffic and do so would have been unsafe, risking a collision with the approaching car.

Er... Um... That is how it works isn't it?

Avatar
IanGlasgow | 5 years ago
0 likes

Please report it. Not so that anybody is charged, but the police officer responsible needs to be made aware that was unacceptable. They'll need to know the date n time to identify the office who was driving, but you should definitely do it.

Avatar
ktache | 5 years ago
5 likes

The two following civilian drivers showed the forces of law and order how to do it better.

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Legs_Eleven_Wor... | 5 years ago
3 likes

https://www.met.police.uk/ro/report/rti/report-a-road-traffic-incident/

Please report it.  

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
4 likes

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

Avatar
nicmason replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
0 likes

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to nicmason | 5 years ago
1 like

nicmason wrote:

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

Can't they just turn off the emergency lights when it's not an emergency? Why would they have to go back to the station?

(I don't think the term "jobsworth" applies when it's not someone's job, but merely a concerned member of the public being suitably vigilant).

Avatar
nicmason replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

nicmason wrote:

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

Can't they just turn off the emergency lights when it's not an emergency? Why would they have to go back to the station?

(I don't think the term "jobsworth" applies when it's not someone's job, but merely a concerned member of the public being suitably vigilant).

While police vehicles have red and blue lights, ambulances and fire engines only have red lights. This lighting is called emergency vehicle lighting. It can also be used to make other drivers aware of a hazard when stationary. ... Blue lights are only used by vehicles that have the authority to pull you over.

Avatar
CygnusX1 replied to nicmason | 5 years ago
3 likes
nicmason wrote:
hawkinspeter wrote:

nicmason wrote:

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

Can't they just turn off the emergency lights when it's not an emergency? Why would they have to go back to the station?

(I don't think the term "jobsworth" applies when it's not someone's job, but merely a concerned member of the public being suitably vigilant).

While police vehicles have red and blue lights, ambulances and fire engines only have red lights. This lighting is called emergency vehicle lighting. It can also be used to make other drivers aware of a hazard when stationary. ... Blue lights are only used by vehicles that have the authority to pull you over.

That may be the case in your country, here in the UK all 3 emergency services use blue lights.

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to nicmason | 5 years ago
1 like

nicmason wrote:
hawkinspeter wrote:

nicmason wrote:

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

Can't they just turn off the emergency lights when it's not an emergency? Why would they have to go back to the station?

(I don't think the term "jobsworth" applies when it's not someone's job, but merely a concerned member of the public being suitably vigilant).

While police vehicles have red and blue lights, ambulances and fire engines only have red lights. This lighting is called emergency vehicle lighting. It can also be used to make other drivers aware of a hazard when stationary. ... Blue lights are only used by vehicles that have the authority to pull you over.

 

Where are you getting this from?  Are you in a country outside the UK?

 

You completely misuse the term 'jobsworth' (it relates to someone doing their job in an over-officious way, the clue's in the word!), then you post misinformation about lights.  Are you one of those "Russian trolls" we hear so much about?  Haven't you strayed wildly off-piste?  Shouldn't you be praising Trump or going on about vaccines?

 

In any case, 'catching up' isn't an emergency, ergo if that's all it is the police should just find a legal parking place like anyeone else.

 

News to me that we have any police left, mind you.

Avatar
giff77 replied to nicmason | 5 years ago
1 like

nicmason wrote:

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

i think the paperwork in question here is the sports page of the Sun or Star

Avatar
brooksby replied to nicmason | 5 years ago
1 like

nicmason wrote:

brooksby wrote:

The police response would be "But we're the police!" or "The van was on its way somewhere important" (without blues and sirens) or some such, followed by "Now go away and don't bother us!".

I generally respect the police and the work they do, but I think individual officers do sometimes take the p***. 

Anecdote alert!:

This morning I watched a marked police car with lights flashing red (?) - the blues weren't flashing, and no sirens - pull up at the side of the road opposite my office. On top of double yellow lines.  On top of a painted advisory cycle lane.  With kerbs marked with yellow 'no loading/stopping' markings.  The officers swapped places (the passenger got out and went to the driver's side and vice versa).  They then sat there for a **half an hour** with their lights going before pulling away.  Didn't look like any particular emergency going on, so whether it was a coffee break or a 'catching up on paperwork' break or what, I don't know...

 

So do you think they should continually return to a police station to "catch up" so jobsworths aren't upset.

So I'm a jobsworth for complaining about a police car sitting on double yellows on a busy inner city road, in a no stopping zone, on a cycle lane, for half an hour? OK then... Good to know...

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