Near Miss of the Day 461: Very dangerous overtake in the rain

A road.cc reader who has been using his bike to get around during lockdown in line with guidance from the government found himself on the receiving end of a particularly dangerous close pass, with a motorist coming the other way forced to stop while the driver, who cut across the cyclist, completed the risky overtake.

It was filmed by road.cc reader Bungle_52, who lives in Gloucestershire and who told us: "This was not a recreational ride I was trying to get from A to B a distance of just over 5 miles, just the type of cycling the government is encouraging us to do.

"I haven't used the car since lock down other than to attend a funeral 60 miles away and visits to the local recycling centre where only cars are allowed at the moment and was the only practical solution in any event due to the amount I had to carry.

"I was tempted to use the car in view of the weather conditions but I convinced myself all would be well. The wind picked up about 5 minutes into the ride and then the thunderstorm hit. I put on my hi viz jacket and helmet and turned on my bike lights in a bus shelter then carried on.

"By the time of the close pass I was close to my destination and the rain had eased off a little but I was completely soaked.

"Feeling good that I'd passed the little challenge I'd set myself and then this happened," he added. "Just what you need to encourage you to do it again, NOT."

> 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