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Near Miss of the Day 273: Driver close passes one cyclist, tailgates another

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country - today it's Glasgow...

The atest video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a motorist in Glasgow who made a close pass on one cyclist then tailgated another before turning left – although the rider who shot the footage says he doesn’t believe there was any “malicious” intent, just some poor driving.

It was filmed on 2 May on the city’s West Graham Street by road.cc reader Ian, who told us: "I thought I'd already had an eventful day with a Post Office van driving straight through a pedestrian crossing while it was on red, and a Mercedes driver doing the same in order to chase after an Uber Eats cyclist who had annoyed him. Then this on the way home.

“After watching the view from the rear cam I don't think it was malicious; you can see that she drives a few centimetres from the kerb so I guess I was lucky to get as much space as I did.

“After passing me she then drove very close behind another cyclist before turning left. Again, the driver probably thought she was doing the right thing (certainly a lot better than a left hook) but she was too close to the back of the cyclist.”

> 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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4 comments

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ktache | 5 years ago
1 like

Yep, lot of bad driving out there.  Kind of worrying isn't it.

Avatar
MonkeyPuzzle | 5 years ago
4 likes

See this all the time: drivers who think if they're in the middle of the lane then the car must be as well, forgetting that they sit well to the right of the car's centreline. It's a symptom of a larger disease; passive driving, where driving is kind of a thing that's happening to you rather than that you're actually doing. See also: middle lane pootlers.

Avatar
PonteD | 5 years ago
2 likes

I'm surprised the car has a nearside wing mirror, I was even cringing as she passed the parked cars. I agree with the poster, I can't see any reason to suspect malice, just ignorance/lack of ability and I'd guess, not a very confident driver.

Avatar
giff77 | 5 years ago
2 likes

I’ve noticed of late that motorists have a tendency to hug the near side of the carriageway while driving. If you look at the footage you see the outer yellow line worn away. That, combined with inattentiveness to what’s happening around them and in some cases outright arrogance towards vulnerable road users and motorists who choose to drive more cautiously contributes to our roads being more challenging than they should.

When learning to drive my dad taught me as did my instructor that I should keep out towards the white line. The reasoning being that it made me more visible to other road users, it allowed me better sight lines of the road and thus take smoother lines for steering, it ‘deterred’ approaching traffic from making stupid overtakes and gave me more room to escape if this happened.  It also kept you out of the crap gathered up on the shoulder of the road which included potholes (have you noticed that they are always on the near side?) thus preventing punctures( again - nearside tyres are usually the ones that puncture and need balanced)

In the same way I was also taught the same when cycling  

Next time you’re out be it bike or car take a look and you will see this phenomena of hugging the shoulder which is seriously compromising the lives of vulnerable road users  

And yes a total tangent! 

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