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news
Near Miss of the Day 122: Driver undertakes while turning right
Today’s near miss features a scarcely believable manoeuvre in which a driver undertakes a cyclist while both are turning right. Technically, this isn’t even a near miss because the motorist hit the cyclist’s handlebars.
The incident occurred on January 11 and the driver is said to have driven off again after the cyclist caught up a little further down the road.
The video uploader writes: “The driver was reported to the Thames Valley Police who interviewed her. As expected, she claimed she did not know a collision had occurred. Her excuse for making off a second time was that she was very frightened as she had been the victim of a ‘targeted attack’ the week previously by an unknown person.
“She did not place any blame whatsoever on the cyclist and was extremely apologetic. The driver could have been prosecuted for careless driving, if not dangerous driving, but instead, having accepted fault, was allowed to attend a Driver Alertness Course of one day's duration at her own expense on 28/03/18.
“Should the driver be reported for a similar incident within the next three years, the police would ordinarily refer the matter for automatic prosecution. There was no injury and the only damage was to the bar tape of the bicycle. You can see the mark left on the wheel arch of the rear door in the slow motion sequence.”
> 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
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- belugabob 4 sec ago
I had to double-take the headline... https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sandwich/news/takeaway-driver-19-who-left-e...
- Eton Rifle 8 min 3 sec ago
Well, yeah. I can imagine that linking your product in any way to the Cybertruck, the most ridiculed product in recent history, isn't a PR victory,...
- Rendel Harris 15 min 1 sec ago
Thank goodness for that. I don't suppose anyone would want you to. You certainly behave like one though.
- Eton Rifle 22 min 43 sec ago
You do see some utterly ridiculous examples of car use....
- Eton Rifle 45 min ago
Exactly. Every road death is a tragedy but this is at the "twat deserved it" end of the spectrum, looking at the state of that car.
- Rendel Harris 52 min 24 sec ago
I'm not the editor of this article, nor indeed of anything on this website. One would have thought that didn't require explaining.
- Eton Rifle 52 min 58 sec ago
I think the answer is in your question. I genuinely didn't know he was married to her. It does kinda explain it. Disappointing, nevertheless.
- Daclu Trelub 5 hours 38 min ago
In a perfect world, we'd have a measure of how easily distracted someone is, as part of their driving test....
- Sredlums 6 hours 5 min ago
These products are nothing but ridiculously expensive and superfluous, and they bring nothing but bragging rights....
Add new comment
45 comments
Yes, the police are enforcing the law according to outcomes rather than the seriousness of the offence itself. If the cyclist had been seriously injured the driver would have been prosecuted but because the cyclist was lucky and survived intact the same offence is treated less seriously. A strategy for health and safety based primarily on outcomes is very inefficient because for every accident there are many close calls.
I really wish that was true, unfortunately it is not. On May 10th last year I was hit by a van pulling out turning right straight accross my path. I broke both shoulders, 2 ribs and had a major head injury, though after the initial few minutes on unconciousness, I was never in danger of losing my life, I can only in the last few weeks ride a road bike again... I'm still not able to support my weight in a TT aero tuck. TVP have decided to not prosecute (at all, just leave it with a word at the scene [at least he stopped]), despite 6 eye witnesses and the driver accepting the situation as reported.
I'm still fighting his insurance company too.
If you don't die, the police don't care, and they almost said those words to my mother when she was beside my hospital bed.
This as terrible but I have to say I am not really surprised as it is obvious that the safety of cyclists is not a priority at all for TVP. Of course I don't know what the witnesses said. They are likely to have been motorists and unlikely to have been cyclists which is why cameras are a must.
A prosecution should have been easy and this would have made your insurance claim easier.
"she was very frightened as she had been the victim of a ‘targeted attack’ the week previously by an unknown person."
I'm calling bullshit on that one.
That said if you drive about as poorly as she obviously does it'll probably be a very regular occurrence.
Driver awareness course pah! No doubt a murder avoidance course will be next, at your own expense of course.
See the way she accelerates away; she knew exactly what she was doing. Impatient, reckless driving.
Oh yes I saw that and the wave of the hand in dismissal of any care before jumping on the accelerator. Disgraceful piece of crap should be banned from driving for life.
This is one of the scariest NMOTDs I've seen. Any close pass is scary, but I would never be expecting a pass from that direction. Absolutely zero understanding of road positioning. Hope TVP police showed the driver the video. Does anyone know whether driver education courses are tailored to the individual attendees? I.e. do they discuss what the individuals did wrong, as opposed to generic points?
This is not unusual, which is in itself an admission that the standards of driving in the UK is abysmal. While I'm not usually in favour of prosecuting if the same result, of getting an incompetent driver off the road, is acheivable by other means, in this case I think she should have been in court.
Anyone doing such a manouevre is so far below the standard required for safe driving that they should be banned for at least a year and have to pass an extremely high level of test before being allowed back in charge of a machine which kills thousands every year. There is something wrong with society if we continue to allow someone so utterly incompetent to be in charge of a lethal machine in a public place.
Times two for me, same manouvre without the hit, both speeding cars! No camera on board.
That was an ilegal manouvre and a very dangerous one. Regardless of wether or not she was aware of what she had done or even if the cyclist had been hit (which he was) she should be prosecuted. If I run a red light in my car when there's no other traffic about and therefore put no one in danger it is still an ilegal manouvre and I'm sure the police would hesitate to prosecute if they were aware of it.
They would just fine you even if you nearly run over a pedestrian. Well that's what the Met do to motorists at Christmas in my area according to hearsay.
"She did not place any blame whatsoever on the cyclist...."
For fucking real?
This is not a near Miss, this is a HIT
This is an incredable dangerous manouver from someone who obviously does not have a basic understanding of how traffic flow works. The driver awareness course possibly makes sense, but would make more sense if it was possible to fail this course, ie a ban and an extensive retest
Shocking behaviour by the driver, but not unusual. Good to see TVP taking this seriously.
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