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Run off the road by idiot in Range Rover (registration SM 57ACE)

Near Miss of the Day 161: Cyclist forced onto pavement by passing motorist

Our regular feature highlighting close passes caught on camera from around the country – today it’s Birmingham
by Alex Bowden
Sat, Jul 21, 2018 11:31
35

Today’s near miss sees a Birmingham cyclist forced off the road when a Land Rover driver sees fit to overtake where there is a parked car.

The incident occurred on Thursday at about 6.15pm on Harborne Lane (A4040) between Selly Oak and Harborne, near to the roundabout by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Leigh says he is “absolutely livid” about what happened.

“Forced off the road by this careless woman who just couldn't be patient for five seconds and wait until it was safe to overtake me.

“Had I not reacted instinctively, bunnyhopping up the kerb and onto the – thankfully empty – pavement, I could have crashed hard into the back of the parked car, or hit the kerb and gone flying over the handlebars head first into the ground.”

Leigh added that he had pulled up next to the motorist at the next set of lights, “and she wouldn't even look at me.”

The incident has been reported to police via Nextbase.

> 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

Near Miss of the Day
NMotD
Land Rover
Alex Bowden

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.

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35 comments

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TedBarnes replied to Awavey | 6 years ago
2 likes

Awavey wrote:

Joeinpoole wrote:

To me that looked like a deliberate attempt by the Land Rover to force the cyclist into the parked car. The driver even appears to slow down slightly to ensure there will be no escape route on the cyclist's right.

 

no the driver is focussing on the cars merging into the lane they wanted to then be in from the roundabout exit on their right, which is effectively behind them over their right shoulder as theres nothing ahead of them before the pinch point with the parked car,and then when the cyclist gets back on the road,there are two extra cars (a black and blue one)in the lane the Land Rover actually ends up in, so they would been totally focussing on that and had to slow else theyd have driven into the side of them, which I suspect happens alot on that road junction. I doubt they were even aware they were putting the cyclist in real danger there.

its classic rubbish road design really designed only with cars in mind, the exit from the roundabout looks very fast, so anyone in that avoiding the roundabout lane,no doubt put in to ease car congestion queuing onto the roundabout, is forced to "merge" at the same speed, which when for a cyclist using the road, the cars are always going to focus on the metal objects that might hit them, and not you.

You're probably right, but I'd emphasise none of that bad design excuses the appalling driving. It was broad daylight, the cyclist would have been clearly visible for some distance and the driver has just not been looking properly. If you can't check both what's in front of you and what's merging from the side, then slow down. 

Avatar
Hirsute | 6 years ago
5 likes

I thought the zig zagging was mainly the bike pivoting whilst the rider was out of the saddle.

Dread to think what legs11 would have done at the next set of lights !

 

Avatar
JohnnyRemo | 6 years ago
6 likes

*Hat* for the bike handling skills.

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Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
3 likes

That was a bad one but it's also apparent the dude needs to work on going in a straight line. The zig-zagging was making me sick watching.

Avatar
burtthebike | 6 years ago
15 likes

Just your normal, indifferent, callous driver.  Probably doing her makeup in the mirror, or chatting on her phone or adjusting the 12 speaker in car hi-fi, anything except looking where she was going.   She must have realised, because later, she is way over the other side of the road.

Glad it's been reported and hope the police take action.

Great reactions from Leigh, otherwise that could have been very nasty.

Graphically demonstrates why so many people are too scared to ride a bike and if that had been a novice cyclist, they'd probably never get on a bike again.  We need a much more responsive justice system, where people like this are immediately banned for a week, so that the punishment is related to the crime, not six months or a year after, so that the drivers make the connection.

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