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news
Near Miss of the Day 317: Cyclist asks, “is it silly season again?” after two close passes
A road.cc reader is wondering “is it silly season again” after experiencing two very close passes on his past two rides, shown in the latest videos in our Near Miss of the Day series.
Jon, who submitted the footage, said: “We seem to go there periods of time when I don't get may bad passes then a spell where I get quite a few like now.”
The first one, shown above, happened in Preston going south over the River Ribble. “The van driver did a close pass then pulled across me even more,” Jon said. “The driver though he had done no wrong. I've not reported it, as it takes so long to do in Lancashire.”
“The second one was when I was with a group ride with Chorley CC and had a poor pass when the driver just pulled right in front of me coming to a tight right hand corner. Luckily I had a shout from my fellow riders that a van was overtaking in a bad place.
“I’ve not reported this one either, but I think I will email the company. I have had a bad pass there before,” Jon added (see below).
> 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.
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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22 comments
Jon, don't waste your time reporting it to Lancashire Police, they are a complete waste of space. Time and time again I have reported drivers and supplied footage, only for them to squirm out of doing anything. I reported a driver for texting behind the wheel, I supplied clear video footage where the driver admitted texting whilst driving before telling me to fuck off, and continuing to text. The police response? Why was I doing a U turn in order to confront her? And also, it isn't in the public interest to prosecute her as she isn't going too fast so wouldn't hurt anyone. No mention of the footage showing her driving whilst texting. I then reported a Stagecoach driver for close passing me and cutting me up before braking sharply to teach me a lesson. The response from the police was that it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute as the poor driver was braking for the speed hump, no mention of the close pass, the angle he turned in, the brake test, nor the footage I supplied which showed the driver telling me to use the cycle path. https://road.cc/content/news/265532-near-miss-day-297-bus-driver-cuts-cy...
Last week I reported a dangerous close pass by a Stagecoach driver who very close passed me through a pedestrian traffic island outside Red Scar industrial estate. The police haven't bothered to reply, the bus inspector hasn't bothered to get back to me and the CEO of Stagecoach, martin.griffith [at] stagecoachgroup.com hasn't had the decency to reply, just a stock reply from his PA, just take primary and fuck the lot of them.
Huh. Forgive me. What's it doing alongside the other two then?
Edit: ah, I see.
Derp.
To Clarify there are 2 levels of driving offences. These include normal and then injury and death.
It's helpful and interesting that you've quoted the definitions, but they don't match your summary at all.
There is no mention of injury and death in either. It is simply 'below what would be expected' and 'far below what would be expected' of a competent and careful driver.
Ride more central, It will reduce passes and those who will pass most likely do it on the other side of the road
no it wont
Yes it does from my experience, and others on here confirm. Riding more central has benefits of reducing passes where driver tries to stay left of the centre line. It reduces overtake speeds in busy traffic by creating a rolling road block. It offers the rider more escape space to their left in the event of the odd nutter wanting to do a punishment pass.
Most drivers are inattentive and generally follow the vehicle in front at the speed they are traveling. Having a cyclist occupy the central part of the road, like a slow moving tractor or horse and rider, drivers invariably have to slow and plan an overtake
This is very much my experience and made the biggest change to my enjoyment of commuting by bike.
The bit in bold is the important bit. Anything you can do to force drivers to take note then think and plan ahead is important.
and I dont agree based on my experiences of it, unless Im just plain unlucky and attract all the odd nutters that inhabit the roads I ride on
Riding central only gives me escape space to the left, none of the other suggested benefits,fwiw I feel it often increases speed of overtakes (drivers are encouraged to get ahead before the pinch points or be blocked) and punishment passes then off those who feel I've held them up by blocking as a result.
It's not a magic shield,your roads maybe very different to mine, but i dont agree it alleviates the issue of close passes
Op: sort out the date and time on your camera. If it came to it you may find yourself on shaky ground d presenting the footage as evidence with a date from 2013 in the corner.
Do you mean the 3rd video that was filmed and uploaded to Youtube in erm 2013?
The one that was to show it isn't the first bad pass on that corner. Although if it is a regular ride and only had two in over 6 years.....you have been lucky OP.
Vlad, I'm not sure the legislation you've quoted supports that distinction. The legislation simply requires that the driving falls far below the standard of a careful and competent driver, and that the careful and competent driver would appreciate it was dangerous. While a continued course of action may make it easier to make out the offence, I don't think it's a legal pre-requisite, and a one-off deliberate close pass could definitely amount to dangerous driving. See e.g. CPS charging guidance: "Dangerous driving includes situations where the driver has adopted a particular way of driving, and where there is a substantial error of judgement, that, even if only for a short time, amounts to driving falling far below the required standard." Whether the CPS would prosecute a one off close pass as dangerous rather than careless is, I agree, another matter.
Gents,
To Clarify there are 2 levels of driving offences. These include normal and then injury and death.
1. Careless, and inconsiderate, driving.
If a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, he is guilty of an offence.
2. Dangerous driving.
A person who drives a mechanically propelled vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place is guilty of an offence.
They are 2 completely different offences.....
Their descriptions are listed below - read them carefully are you will see the difference.
Meaning of careless, or inconsiderate, driving
(1)This section has effect for the purposes of sections 2B and 3 above and section 3A below.
(2)A person is to be regarded as driving without due care and attention if (and only if) the way he drives falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.
(3)In determining for the purposes of subsection (2) above what would be expected of a careful and competent driver in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused.
(4)A person is to be regarded as driving without reasonable consideration for other persons only if those persons are inconvenienced by his driving.]
Meaning of dangerous driving.
(1)For the purposes of sections 1 [F2, 1A] and 2 above a person is to be regarded as driving dangerously if (and, subject to subsection (2) below, only if)—
(a)the way he drives falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver, and
(b)it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way would be dangerous.
(2)A person is also to be regarded as driving dangerously for the purposes of sections 1 [F2, 1A] and 2 above if it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving the vehicle in its current state would be dangerous.
(3)In subsections (1) and (2) above “dangerous” refers to danger either of injury to any person or of serious damage to property; and in determining for the purposes of those subsections what would be expected of, or obvious to, a competent and careful driver in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused.
(4)In determining for the purposes of subsection (2) above the state of a vehicle, regard may be had to anything attached to or carried on or in it and to the manner in which it is attached or carried.]
The differences between the 2 is the .... FAR BELOW level of driving.
Near misses are just Careless and not Dangerous unless there is a continued course of action by the driver towards the victim and or others.
ie... if the driver deliberatley rams you head on or from the side or rear then that is a good case for Dangerous Drive.
If the driver gives you a close pass - that is carless.
If the driver gives you a close pass and then does the same to the next 7 cyclists in a row on same stratch of road the standard of driving then falls way below and its a continued course of action by the driver - hence Dangerous.
You can also then throw in Drunk and or drugs to the Offence if the Police can catch them at the scene and prove that part of the offence.
I'd assumed 'dangerous driving' might include driving WAY beyond the speed limit, on tthe wrong side of the road, that sort of thing.
I'm pretty sure that "if the driver deliberatley rams you head on or from the side or rear then that is a good case for Dangerous Drive." would move it beyond even 'dangerous driving', surely?
"Do not double-click the 'post' button! Do not double-click the 'post' button!"
The issue with that is - who is doing the expecting? Whose expectations are we talking about with that 'expected level of driving'? The trouble seems to be that it's referring to the expectations of the average selfish irresponsible moton. It's a completely subjective standard.
If a driver deliberately rams you, that ought to be assault or attempted murder.
I really wonder, would this guy have gotten 12 years if he'd deliberately driven into his victim rather than stabbing him?
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-hunt-man-sentenced-to-12-ye...
The van looks like a punishment pass. The driver had plenty of space but chose to pull in and squeeze the cyclist; definitely needs educating. You don't explain how you know the driver thought he had done no wrong, so did you catch him up and have words? Mind you, I've had plenty of chats with drivers who have passed me dangerously close, and every one of them swore that they'd given me plenty of room.
I know what you mean about interminable reporting systems, but worth doing if you have the time. The next cyclist might not be so lucky.
People should stop normalising this behaviour by giving it names such as Punishment Pass, call it what it is, dangerous driving. The more we give it terms, descriptions and justification the more it will be accepted as behaviour which is acceptable on the road.
Not sure about this; calling racism racism works, if you called it inappropriate discourse to cover more scenarios it may lose power.
It's pointing out that it's not just bad or dangerous (you can drive dangerously unintentionally), someone has maliciously endangered the life of another due to perceived offence.
I agree; a punishment pass is deliberate, and deliberate dangerous driving is of a higher order than the unintentional sort - it's an aggravating feature in the offence. I would say that if anything, grouping punishment passes together with all other forms of dangerous driving is more likely to normalises them.
I've had two absolutely ridiculous overtakes (one with contact) in the last week. Though both were around 8.30 in the morning, I'm wondering if the change of seasons has something to do with people's idiocy...
Jon, don't you understand, you prevented them from pulling away quite as quickly as they desired. They just had to get you back.
I fear the SLOW big letters on the road (well, what some drivers do when the "read" them), especially when prior to a "blind" right hand turn.
The third one, proper nasty. Some may say take the lane, but that stripey paint is designed to try and slow motor vehicles and people on bicycles, especially those on skinny tyres, are just not considered when it gets planned and painted.
It's always going to be silly season - because of the number of drivers who are either incompetent, impatient, reckless, distracted, under the influence, angry with life, prejudiced to point of malevolence, or any combination of these. If cyclists were properly protected in law, and police forces came under significant pressure to act more consistently, and enforce the law effectively things may begin to change...