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Near Miss of the Day 181: Driver undertakes cyclist ... then turns right

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

Today's video in our Near Miss of the Day series certainly isn't the closest we've seen - but it is an excellent example of the kind of poor driving that at times leaves you shaking your head while out on the bike.

It happened at the Seagoe lights in Portadown, County Armagh to road.cc reader Paul.

He told us: "Not so much a near miss but some bad driving by a woman who didn’t have the patience to wait for me to turn right at a junction.

"As I’d taken the lane on approach to prevent a car passing on my right she proceeded to pass on my left!."

> 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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18 comments

Avatar
IanGlasgow | 5 years ago
4 likes

I had a driver overtake and then attempt to turn left while still overtaking. Apparently she "forgot" I was there.
Luckily her passenger's screaming saved me.

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Kadinkski | 5 years ago
2 likes

There is nothing dangerous about this at all - driver was in another lane FFS.

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mike the bike | 5 years ago
2 likes

 

Is it just me or are other riders less than upset by this manoeuvre?  When passing in a separate lane the car was not too close and, despite a poor-ish approach lane position, turned briskly and safely into the side road.  Job jobbed, nobody inconvenienced and the world keeps turning.

I can't remember a ride when something much, much worse hasn't happened.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to mike the bike | 5 years ago
4 likes

mike the bike wrote:

 

Is it just me or are other riders less than upset by this manoeuvre?  When passing in a separate lane the car was not too close and, despite a poor-ish approach lane position, turned briskly and safely into the side road.  Job jobbed, nobody inconvenienced and the world keeps turning.

I can't remember a ride when something much, much worse hasn't happened.

You're right, except that if and when a cyclist does it, it's a hanging offence.

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atgni | 5 years ago
0 likes

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to atgni | 5 years ago
3 likes

atgni wrote:

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

road.cc, you need to update your site so that we can dislike something as well as like things.

Avatar
atgni replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
0 likes
burtthebike wrote:

atgni wrote:

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

road.cc, you need to update your site so that we can dislike something as well as like things.

Like really offensive comments. LOL.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to atgni | 5 years ago
2 likes

atgni wrote:
burtthebike wrote:

atgni wrote:

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

road.cc, you need to update your site so that we can dislike something as well as like things.

Like really offensive comments. LOL.

Bolox.

Avatar
atgni replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
1 like
burtthebike wrote:

atgni wrote:
burtthebike wrote:

atgni wrote:

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

road.cc, you need to update your site so that we can dislike something as well as like things.

Like really offensive comments. LOL.

Bolox.

What's your point?

Avatar
pockstone replied to atgni | 5 years ago
5 likes

atgni wrote:

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

Probably to considerately avoid obstructing faster moving traffic wanting to go straight ahead, and to avoid muppets doing the obverse of the manoeuvre in the video, i.e. overtaking in the hatches when he wants to turn right.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesnt.

Avatar
atgni replied to pockstone | 5 years ago
1 like
pockstone wrote:

atgni wrote:

Video starting a couple of seconds earlier would be interesting as bike appears to be on hatching.

Probably to considerately avoid obstructing faster moving traffic wanting to go straight ahead, and to avoid muppets doing the obverse of the manoeuvre in the video, i.e. overtaking in the hatches when he wants to turn right.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesnt.

True.
Nice to see the full picture before judging though.

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EK Spinner | 5 years ago
5 likes

Brooksby, I think you give the driver far too much creit if you think there was a thought process

 

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brooksby replied to EK Spinner | 5 years ago
1 like

EK Spinner wrote:

Brooksby, I think you give the driver far too much creit if you think there was a thought process

 

In hindsight, you may have a point there...

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brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

IMO, the train of thought passing through the driver's mind was something like, "Ah, I can't overtake because of the junction, but I can't possibly wait behind that cyclist so I'll pass them on the other side cos that's safer... Yup, that'll do fine."  Burt's right - I'd bet we all see this pretty much every day.

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stonojnr replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

IMO, the train of thought passing through the driver's mind was something like, "Ah, I can't overtake because of the junction, but I can't possibly wait behind that cyclist so I'll pass them on the other side cos that's safer... Yup, that'll do fine."  Burt's right - I'd bet we all see this pretty much every day.

 

everday when I commute, there are two roundabouts on my route, that go straight on at, the first everyone usually overtakes in the turn right lane to jump past me, the second the straight on lane is actually on the right, so they head around me by taking the left turn only lane instead.no

its ok most of the time assuming they havent timed so badly we are on the roundabout at the same time, but they get very confused when theres traffic already on the roundabout and they have to stop,,and then you have to watch them closely because theyll still be coming through as in their mind theyve overtaken you so how dare you jump ahead again, and now they also look stupid in the wrong lane, so its usually a wheelspin getaway and they aim for the exit corner apex to block pass you, thats when its annoying and dangerous.

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LastBoyScout replied to stonojnr | 5 years ago
0 likes

stonojnr wrote:

everday when I commute, there are two roundabouts on my route, that I go straight on at, ... , the second the straight on lane is actually on the right, so they head around me by taking the left turn only lane instead.no

Same problem on my commute.

Road splits into 2 lanes at previous set of traffic lights, left lane goes left or straight on to go left at the next roundabout, right goes straight on at both. I use the protection of a handy traffic island to get into the right lane before the lights, as that's the lane I want and should be in, almost invariably I have someone undertake me. Mucks them right up if someone triggers the pedestrian crossing between the junctions, but they usually bully their way through anyway.

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Master Bean | 5 years ago
0 likes

OMG it's the end of the world! No it isn't.

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burtthebike | 5 years ago
9 likes

And I bet Paul didn't report it, because basically, drivers do that everwhere everday, and unless someone is killed/injured, nothing will be done.  But if a cyclist does something wrong, it's pretty much the end of civilisation as we know it.

I'd love to set up a study which had several cyclists using video to record incidents like this, and then finding out where the drivers lived and visiting them with the footage and interview them.  I'd suggest the BBC does it, but there's less chance of that than them having a factual article about cycle helmets.

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