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news
Near Miss of the Day 433: Police tell cyclist “We all have to share the road” after very close pass from lorry driver
A cyclist who was on the receiving end of a very close pass by a lorry driver was told by police, “We all have to share the road” when he submitted footage of the incident to them.
The incident happened on the A6 in Derbyshire as road.cc reader Anthony was heading south.
He told us: “At around the 25-second mark in the video, a massive lorry wants my part of the road and not sure how it didn’t take me out.
“This was a couple of months after a 92 year old hospitalised me at an island by turning left across three lanes, so I was not happy with the adrenalin rush I was given.
“I contacted police who asked if I had braked as ‘We all have to share the road’
“Having pointed out that braking was the last thing on my mind as it could have made things worse, they were very dismissive and wouldn’t view the footage I offered.
“I contacted the company who seemed slight more receptive and ‘would speak to the driver’.
“Derbyshire police now have a way to upload footage, but at this point were useless,” Anthony added.
“I should have pushed it further but felt I would get nowhere.”
> 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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30 comments
Most of the NMotD seem pretty tame compared to the routine passing in Lancashire, which is laughed off by the Polizei. However, this one is the real thing- an almost terminal event. My commiserations to the victim.
Make cycling on similar roads part of police training.
Better still, have plain clothes police cycling on similar roads as part of their duties and educate/fine more drivers.
They did that where I live.
When an article appeared on the local news site, people complained of 'entrapment ' !!
Surely it was only entrapment if they were being encouraged to do something bad.
If they were doing something bad anyway and it happened to be a plain-clothed policeman on a bike instead of a Genuine Bl00dy Cyclist then how is that 'entrapment'?
C'mon brooksby, you read the Bristol Post site, you know what these local news posters are like !
[Where is ktache ?]
CYCLISTS LIFES MATTERS TOO !
Tho, not to these ANTI-CYLIST CALLOUS COPS.
As well as, these discriminating cops evidently believe motorists lifes and their entitlement matters most.
So, why would we even consider police lifes matters when they don't give a dam about vulnerable groups and, all along, wrongly and unlawfully protecting cowardice dangerous drivers, emboldening them further into life threatening menance on our roads ?!
Tipper drivers behave equally without regard for any form of other road user IME. Remember that old B&W film Hell Drivers with Sean Connery & Patrick McGoohan in it? A very accurate portrayal even today - esp. the McGoohan character. Psychos the lot of them.
1957? How old are you?
Anyhow, thanks for mentioning that film as I'm a bit of McGoohan fan and wasn't aware of it. I'll see if I can track down a copy of it. (Edit: it's easy to find on YouTube)
Appalling attitude from the police - please complain. Also, worth contacting the company - http://www.kandh-ltd.co.uk/
‘We all have to share the road’
Indeed we do. But this conventionally means either: each using different parts of it at the same time; or each using the same part of it but at different times.
Maybe the police think concurrent sharing is appropriate
I'm not totally sure I would have the confidence on a road like that, but this looks a strong case for taking the primary position, and making the following drivers overtake proficiently and safely. If some of them don't implode with frustration and their own self-importance first.
"The argument for more assertive ‘primary’ positioning that lies at the heart of much Cyclecraft advice is that it removes the temptation to overtake a cyclist in places where it would be unsafe – in the face of oncoming traffic, for instance, or at pinch points, or junctions. The cyclist simply prevents the overtake by putting themselves in a position where they would have to be driven over for the motorist to get past."
Tipper driver off the local quarries, probably Cromford. Absolute knobheads at the best of times. It'll be a local driving it. They seem to think the rules apply to everyone else, but themselves. A bit like yesterdays article about the cyclist being punched near Ashbourne, they are a funny breed around there.
I should know, I live just up the road
And the lorry driver was sharing the road by trying to run you off it. Thye didn't even cross the central line.
Were the police busy flying drones?
Will Luxie tell us the response was ok ?
Cheap pop at Luxie?
I notice the flashing indicator. Clearly the lorry driver actually thought that they'd passed and done a good job of it...
Yes I'm not sure if I'd be more insulted the police considered that was ok,or that the lorry driver actually used their indicator to make that kind of pass
I wonder if it is possible to sue the police for a dereliction of duty? That was clearly unlawful and their response was appalling.
Maybe if they are held to account then they will start holding unsafe drivers to account.
Next time you get asked if you braked, say Yes.
If Police Scotland are anything to go by, there is no real interest if you are not forced to take avoiding action.
Not even then. I had footage of me swerving to avoid a collision and the constable wasn't interested. In fact the 'plastic peeler' at the desk threatened me that my phone would be taken as evidence as a means of dissuading me. He soon shut up when I said I would provide a link to drop box or give them a SD card.
To be fair it depends on the PC you wind up as I've had a couple who have paid the driver a visit to give them a rollicking as they know the Fiscal isn't bothered with close passes.
Sadly Police Scotland don't have a central portal to report these incidents.
I am interested to see that they use this same threat elsewhere, not just Lancashire. They threatened to take my GoPro, having failed to realise that about 450 MB per minute means that the card had been reformatted several times since the incident concerned. They have about as much idea about headcams and phones as they do about cycles and cyclists.
In the context of their misguided comments about 'sharing the road', I interpreted their question about braking differently - I thought they were querying whether the rider had followed Rule 168 - "If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass". Just to be absolutely clear, I'm not suggesting the rider should have done that (even if you had thinking time, the best to do in these situations is often, but not always, to just keep pedalling), and clearly the driver hasn't followed the overtaking rules.
Institutionally anti-cyclist
I suspect the police person that made the comment about sharing the road has never ridden a bike on the road. That was a disgustingly dangerous close pass, I hope you get somewhere with the police and the company concerned.
Several of the preceeding passes were too close already; the lorry one was just ludicrously dangerous.
Definitely worth following up with a complaint to the police at least. Maybe the Police and Crime Commissioner, too?
Please raise a complaint against that police force.
If the police aren't interested in doing their job, they should be sacked.
http://willcycle.blogspot.com/2017/12/when-police-fail-you.html
JHC, that was close. Appalling response from the police. Anthony doesn't say how long ago this occurred and whether it would still be possible to get some action.
I had a similar response from A&S some time ago, when a telecoms engineer decided it was better to undertake me on the pavement on a blind bend than wait for me to turn right. Police weren't interested but the company was.
Well I've tweeted about it aimed at @DerbysPolice, feel free to join in.
https://twitter.com/TomLittlehales/status/1278290793011314690
Good shout going to do same.
Just followed your excellent example