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news
Near Miss of the Day 543: Punishment pass shot with 360-degree camera
Something a bit different in our Near Miss of the Day series today – a deliberate pass filmed from five different angles, shot with a 360-degree camera.
The footage was shot on the Bears Way Cycle Route in East Dunbartonshire by Dave Brennan, whom we’ve featured on road.cc before, and who co-founded Scottish cycle campaign group, Pedal on Parliament.
Referring to the incident, Dave said: “I didn't use the cycle lane (icy and people walking in it due to ice on the pavements) and this angers some drivers. This one in particular who, in my opinion, did a punishment pass.
“Using my new Insta 360 R Twin camera, I can view the incident from many different angles. Here I test out five. Let me know which one you think demonstrates the punishment pass the clearest.”
> 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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78 comments
Very considerate, noticing the driver looked cold and advising him to use a pullover..
I would say View 2 & 3 are clearest, followed by 5 then 4.
I really didn't think it looked that bad from View 1; then I saw it from View 2 and was horrified and had to go back and check View 1 was actually showing the same incident!
Same. Looked like nothing on the first angle.
Ditto, I didn't realise how close it was until I saw the other views.
one minute four, that shot is the best. I wouldnt use that PAVEMENT either.
The motorist was being naughty and knows it. They were trying not to encroach into the hatching and squeezing past and they assumed that the cyclist would go left a bit. So we have a driver taking what they think is a small risk and when it is actually really dangerous.
In general I do wonder how many motorists know that they are supposed to give a cyclist 1.5 m gap I know it has been in the Highway Code for some time. It is more than they might leave when passing a car where it is likely to be as little as a metre on a narrowish 2 lane road. I will ask everybody when they last read the Highway Code unless something happened to them? I am not condoning anything just saying that all should make it a policy to read the new version of the code whenever it is revised but I suspect few do.
I'm not sure that 1.5m is in the highway code or even a legal requirement. I believe it is in some European countries and it is certainly reccommended by many police forces in this country. I think the only way for the police to take action is through careless or dangerous driving. I would be delighted to be proved wrong and if you know different could you point me to the source of the information.
No, it's not yet. It's part of the consultation for the new edition of the HC, where Rule 163 will be updated to give a *guideline* of 1.5m min if doing under 30mph, or 2.0m min if doing over 30mph or for a large vehicle at all times.
It still won't be a 'legal requirement' (i.e. an offence in itself) but would presumably support a charge of another offence (driving without due care/consideration etc.)
Actually, HWC makes no mention of measured distance currently, but says drivers should give the same room as they would a car (HWC 163). If, as some people seem to maintain, this language is deemed ambiguous, there is even a helpful photograph to illustrate and remove all doubt.
Although it seems to me that the driver in that picture must have started their overtake pretty much as they exited the roundabout, which doesn't seem particularly good practice.
No, it is absolutely clear to me that drivers are only allowed to overtake just after exiting a roundabout whilst bearing blank plates, and at no other time.
Of course, if the other person hadn't been wearing a day-glo sash, they wouldn't have counted as a vulnerable road user, so they could be passed whenever and however you want.
If they hadn't been wearing the Sam Browne there is absolutely no way they would have been visible....
See I got it wrong as well and I had genuinely looked for it failed to find anything except references to it going into the highway code. Made an assumption and made an ass out of me!
What is this witch craft? How the hell does a camera do that?
Using multiple wide-angle lenses and clever software to stitch 'em together
I saw a nutter from our IT department using one, I just can't get my head round (though the camera probably can) filming something forwards and it capturing me from all angles - and yep the lens would have to be wide angled!
I've got an Insta360 for mountain biking. The stabilisation of the image is amazing, and you don't have to worry about framing the shot. You can mark a moving target later in the edit, and track it. So no more long views of my front wheel or empty sky. So it is shoot and point, rather than point and shoot.
I agree it could be challenging to use in a prosecution where distance needs to be worked out. The raw footage is two files, one each from front and back. By themselves these views are extremely distorted, only in the processing does it come back together. If you have other reference point on the road surface though that wouldn't matter.
GoPro used to sell a rig with 6 cameras, one pointing in each direction. Think this is the same sort of idea, but wide angle lenses so you don't need quite so many.
That doesn't look like something i'd enjoy recharging after use...
It was a needless close pass as there was plenty of time to move in safely after the overtake and before the oncoming car.
Was this caused by the cyclist being so far out in the road. No. The cyclist is free to choose the most appropriate road position.
Is it inconsiderate of the cyclist to choose that road position? In my opinion no. There was a parked car coming up and its more dangerous to move in and then out, there was a pedestrian and we need to be at least 2m from the pedestrian, you can't predict what part of the pavement they will choose so 2m from the kerb seems a sensible precaution and finally there looks to be a lot of debris close to the kerb and a puncture could be dangerous.
It was the motorist's fault and to suggest otherwise is victim blaming.
As for the camera. Interesting.
Views 2&3 really show how close that was (Dave actually touched the car with his hand) but even version 5 shows how close it is.
My handlebar and seapost mounted Cycliqs have wide angle lenses and tend to make close passes look like nothing much. Maybe I should've gone with a helmet cam.
The other problem with Cycliqs is that they're too low down to catch most mobile phones. When my daughter was learning to drive I used to sit in the passenger seat when she drove to work every morning. Normally I'm busy watching where Im going when driving or cycling, as a passenger I suddenly started noticing how many drivers are on their phones in traffic. It's horrific!
I know this road very well. I don't doubt the driver was too close but from his videos the cyclist is out looking for trouble every day of the week. His videos have popped up in various articles where he has distracted drivers - who may well be in the wrong - are distracted by him shouting and balling into their cars causing them to crash. There is never an excuse bang on people's cars or chasing them down at the next set of lights to shout at drivers - at that stage it is provocation.
I'm a cyclist and want to get places quickly but cyclists should lead by example in being courteous even if drivers can be terrible!
I wouldn't be airing these.
EDIT to respond to skeptics:
To the cyclist, here is one of your videos, right? Two wrongs don't make a right. All I would say is be careful out there - don't be looking for trouble as it will come even without the shouting and banging on cars.
https://youtu.be/0q-NFoEkeag
For those looking to check the veracity of my claims after only one post, here is another video. See below.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6491475/Motorist-tells-cyclist-...
I get it drivers are in general terrible, if not getting worse. They do put cyclists in danger and I don't defend them. I also don't defend cyclist that go out to make the problem worse. If talking on the phone is a distraction so is an angry cyclist (even though he has the right to be angry) shouting in the window - crash - case and point! Watch the YouTube link to see it for yourselves. Watch the whole channel and I'm sure there will be other examples of the same.
I'm a driver (as well as a cyclist) and will as a matter of courtesy to sit well behind cyclist and only less of it is safe by moving to the other side of the road.
' causing them to crash'.
You might want to supply some evidence for that claim.
Never heard of flight or fight ?
I've updated my post with evidence.
"lead by example by being courteous"??? - I don't believe there are many (or any!) motorists who'd think to themselves, " Gosh but that cyclist was courteous; I think I need to go home and review my life choices..."
I personally believe that most would think, "Now that's the sort of behaviour I bl00dy deserve! Now get off the road!"
I think there is a difference between being courteous and allowing yourself to be bullied. If cars slow down and treat me with respect I bend over backwards to be courteous. If not ........
Thanks for this insight on him.
This person has 1 post. How on earth are you assessing the veracity of their claim?
Links added in my edit, two avoidable incidents. Simply don't shout, raise voice or talk to the driver and the crashes would of likely not happened. The crash is still the drivers fault but the cyclist had a role in it.
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