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Near Miss of the Day 212: Lorry driver makes punishment pass on cyclist for “riding in the middle of the “f***ing road” (includes swearing)
The latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series is a nasty one – a cyclist coming downhill at speed who is subjected to a punishment pass from the driver of a lorry.
It was submitted by road.cc reader Phil, who told us: “Apologies for the colourful language but this was close and at around 35mph .
“I was out on a training ride in East Grinstead West Sussex in late September this year when for no reason this lorry pushed me off the road?
“The response from the driver was: ’That's what you get for riding in the middle of the f***ing road!’.”
Phil added: “I have not reported this to the police.”
> 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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66 comments
Cameras are a double edged sword. As in this incident, a cyclist is put in a position of real potential for harm, but then feels unable to forward the footage to the Police because their own reaction to the situation is not with the coolest of heads. Then others, from the safety of their armchairs, point to some questionable roadcraft from the cyclist which only came about as a perfectly understandable response to being threatened by 40 tonnes of HGV being driven with no care or consideration and draw an equivalence between the two.
I recently submitted a close encounter for NMOTD that I did not report as I gave the wing mirror of the passing car a good whack. No swearing or rude gestures though. Lesson is that if you use a camera for evidential self protection, then stay squeaky clean yourself.
I've found that using a camera encourages a calm response. When I suffer a close pass, I don't have as strong an anger response as I used to as I now have the ability to submit the footage to the police. This makes me feel less "helpless" on the bike, but also has the effect of making me ride (a little bit) more responsibly so that I can submit footage without self-incrimination.
Odd. I find that, in the split second I become aware of a close pass, I completely forget about even having a camera and become fully pre-occupied with the fear of a wanker in a two-tonne vehicle coming within inches of seriously injuring or killing me...
I also find this the case both on my bikes and when I'm driving as they are on bike and car.
Jesus, does anybody have the kittens?
That was deliberately endangering another road user. Truly appalling.
The cyclist's subsequent reaction, while unwise, is far less of an issue. I'd be having very, very strong words with the owner of that business as well as reporting it to the police.
I know this bit of road very well as it is my daily commute. It is the Beeching Way bypass on the A22 just before Sackville School, and it's a particularly dangerous piece of road for cycling on. Drivers seem to get angry because you are cycling in the "middle" of the road, however the solid white line indicates the end of the lane and is not sensible to ride in due to the potholes and flints on that side. For anyone riding on this bit of road, please be vigilant and I would suggest taking an alternative route (through the town) if you are not super confident.
Should have stayed calm instead of trying to overtake a lorry
Or pull into the lane on the left a bit. Sure report it but he’s going to look like an idiot too.
In addition to what's been mentioned:
By effing and jeffing and reacting this way, the driver got EXACTLY what he really wanted:
A reaction...in spades.
It's hard but be cooler next time.
Appaling pass; put himself in similar danger in the moments afterwards.
But don't put it on here....send it to the police!
fwiw, the driver bears more than a passing resemblance to the halauge firm's boss. check out @k2transport's tweet of 25 May
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DeDGqJJXkAA5GUO.jpg
Phil - send a copy or link of this to the haulage company.
No way would I employ a driver who did this; the liability for the company (when) if he kills somebody else would be unacceptable.
They probably don’t employ him as it is - he’s probably a self-employed contractor.
The haulage firm have now confirmed they are not impressed and will be investigating. Hopefully they will be able to retrain the monkey holding the wheel to be a better driver. If Phil reads this, can I suggest dropping them a message and offer the 5 mins or so before the clip so they can see there's no agrevating situation before what we see here.
Due to the driver's aggression and poor decision making, I'd recommend not giving him access to any more information than necessary. The police are far better placed to deal with this issue (and I've got a large side-bet on what the police will do).
I seriously doubt they will be investigatiing anything. We know from the way our government acts that internal investigations are utterly useless. They're probably hoping this will all blow over and things can carry on as normal.
I likewise have many old inner tubes and two spare front sks guards, so I’ll see your wager and raise you a set of rusty rounded hex wrenches.
Game on. OP, get submitting.
I'll see your hex wrenches with a variety of mini pumps that don't work very well. You got yourself a bet!
*shaking hands to seal the deal*
I think far more effective would be an online petition to have this knuckle dragging menace to society, fired from his job. The bad press surrounding the subsequent national coverage such an action would attract might be more effective than any points or any education - even if it got that far. This guy is a professional driver and he contributes to the escalation while in charge of a 20 tonne death machine, to the point where he seems like he is bringing the rig to a stop just before the traffic island - no doubt to trap you into a stall and I have no doubt that he fully intended to climb down from the cab and continue the conversation with his fists (which I believe he was waving just before).
Fuck this cunt.
Bad pass from the lorry initially, but there was some extra room to the left of the solid white line to use as an escape if needed - perhaps the driver mistakenly thought that was a cycle lane (looks a bit like some of the ones around here). A bad overtake for sure, but wouldn't warrant more than a "wanker" and reporting to employers for me. I can see why the rider may have been a bit aggrieved though, but the riding afterwards down wrong side of the road on the outside, not exactly clever when the lorry is still moving.
For me, the worst part of the video was when the driver of the lorry slammed the brakes on at the traffic island, knowing there was oncoming traffic and giving the cyclist nowhere to go. He knew exactly what he was doing!! ... I'd quite happily take the wrap for a "wanton and furious cycling" if it meant the driver got done for "dangerous driving" for that. Could quite easily have seen the cyclist have a head-on with an innocent motorist coming the other way. Come on, if you have a helmet cam and capture dangerous driving like this - regardless of the standard of your own cycling - what is the point in recording if you're not going to report it ??
I completely agree with the sentiment above – when the lorry slammed on the brakes it was the only thing the cyclist could do. It's callous and vindictive driving.
Please report this, that was an attempt to kill a cyclist. Would you be able to live with yourself if this driver goes on to kill someone else?!
No one attempted to kill anyone. Hyperbole isn’t going to help anyone. Someone arguably tried to scare someone and to endanger them, but that’s totally different.
Yes, the pass was terrible. No, reporting it will not achieve anything. The police don’t care at the best of tunes, and they certainly won’t care for the cycling that followed the pass, adrenaline be damned.
Some do, some don't.
Quite why there is so much disparity is hard to fathom.
I have had success with submitting video to the police, so you are clearly misinformed.
The police seem to be more interested in "intentional" bad driving and especially aggression, so I would imagine that they would be pressing for a prosecution in this case.
Ok, so shall we have a wager on whether the police do anything if the OP reports it? I say they won’t, but they will take the time to tell the cyclist off for his behaviour after the pass.
Of course, we both know the OP won’t even report it because he knows his own footage incriminates him.
FWIW my assessment that the police don’t care is coloured by the fact that my bike was written off when a driver coming the other way turned across my path sending me over the bonnet. The driver got sent on a driver improvement course, but that’s it. People expect a dangerous driving charge for an incident with no actual contact between the vehicles in question. Good luck. Never happen.
I'll take that wager. I'll happily bet some old inner tubes and bits of broken SKS mudguards on that.
For reference, here's the reply I got from Avon & Somerset Police for video that I submitted last week (the driver was going the wrong way down a single lane one-way road - Cattle Market Road for those that know Bristol):
I'm probably more annoyed by people who don't report this type of driving than I am by the incident itself. If our own don't do the right thing don't expect the police or average driver to do the right thing either.
Guarantee this is gonna end up on Mail Online/SubStandard as being the cyclist's fault
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