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2018 02 03 - Close Passes, Toyota & VW

Near Miss of the Day 91: Cyclist has two close passes while returning from ride

Our regular feature highlighting close passes caught on camera from around the country – today it’s Northern Ireland
by Simon_MacMichael
Thu, Feb 08, 2018 18:26
9

Police have told a cyclist in Northern Ireland that they will speak to the drivers of two vehicles who made close passes on him as he returned from a group ride at the weekend.

Matthew License, who submitted the footage to us, said: "This video shows the two close passes I had coming home from a group ride.

"They both happened on a fairly steep climb (between 5-7 per cent gradient) so I wasn't going particularly fast.

"With both, if I'd put my arm out (not even fully stretched) I could have clipped their wing mirrors.

"I found the second one particularly bad given that he had the entire other lane to use as all the traffic coming the other way had gone. 

"I reported them to the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) and have been told they'll have a chat with the drivers as part of their See The Cyclist campaign.

"Hopefully they'll give a bit more space going forward."

The PSNI launched its campaign last year following the death of North Down Cycling Club committee member Gavin Moore, killed when a driver crashed into the group he was riding with.

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.

 

NMotD Northern Ireland
Near Miss of the Day
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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9 comments

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Griff500 | 6 years ago
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I never understand why so many drivers think that A roads are 3 lanes wide, and that it is therefore acceptable to overtake a bike, when a car is coming the other way. Do the maths! A typical A road is 5 metres wide. We are advised to ride a metre from the kerb, and a car should give us another metre, that's 2 metres down, leaving only 3m for the 2 cars. It is however interesting to see how different cultures react to the "3 into 1 won't go" problem. Historically, most of my cycling was in Scotland, where as a cyclist, being squeezed into the ditch by an overtaking car was almost a daily occurrence.  6 months ago I moved to rural Provence, where the rule seems to be that the overtaking vehicle gives the cyclist loads of room, but forces the oncoming vehicle to brake!

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John Smith replied to Griff500 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Griff500 wrote:

I never understand why so many drivers think that A roads are 3 lanes wide, and that it is therefore acceptable to overtake a bike, when a car is coming the other way. Do the maths! A typical A road is 5 metres wide. We are advised to ride a metre from the kerb, and a car should give us another metre, that's 2 metres down, leaving only 3m for the 2 cars. It is however interesting to see how different cultures react to the "3 into 1 won't go" problem. Historically, most of my cycling was in Scotland, where as a cyclist, being squeezed into the ditch by an overtaking car was almost a daily occurrence.  6 months ago I moved to rural Provence, where the rule seems to be that the overtaking vehicle gives the cyclist loads of room, but forces the oncoming vehicle to brake!

 

Generaly because they aren’t going to fast to stop. It’s amazing how many drivers drive like they are psychic. I don’t have a slow car and I don’t drive slowly, but it’s amazing how many people I will be following that will drive round bends faster than me then get caught when it’s clear, because I drive assuming there might be anything in the road. Could be a cyclist, a broken down tractor or a twat coming the other way on the wrong side.

Avatar
John Smith | 6 years ago
2 likes

Can someone point out the two that are supposed to be bad? I may be missing something having the sound off, but non stuck out as been worse, but there was very few good passes there, but it is also difficult to tell with a rear mounted camera.

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Ush replied to John Smith | 6 years ago
0 likes

John Smith wrote:

 difficult to tell with a rear mounted camera.

True.  But even so it is fairly clear that there are two which are closer than the others.

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alansmurphy | 6 years ago
3 likes

Kind of agree as even in the speeded up bits around 50% looked pretty shite!

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BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
2 likes

as difficult as it may seem the only way to dissuade wankers like that is to ride wider out, put doubt in their minds because otherwise these types will simply squeeze past you without slowing down every single time.

You might get honked, you might get shouted at but evidence shows that not only won't you get rammed from behind as some think but it will make you safer, I'd adopt the wider position even if only doing 5 mph up a hill because that speed differential does have an impact (pardon the pun) comparative to if you are going faster, well I certainly beleive it does, so it's even more important to make drivers think they have to slow down.

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ktache | 6 years ago
0 likes

I like the speeding up of the video between the nastiness.

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Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
4 likes

TBH I'm more disappointed in the amount of littering going on in that clip. 

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Exup | 6 years ago
0 likes

Don't hold your breath.

I submitted a video to the PSNI a few years ago with a very very close pass (a few inches from my elbow) in a right turn only lane in Belfast, just as I was starting to go around the corner.

The closest pass I have ever had.

I have never heard anything back. 

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