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Near Miss of the Day 593: The very close to (road.cc's) home one

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country - today it's just round the corner from our office...

Some of the videos in our Near Miss of the Day series hit closer to home than others – typically because we may have experienced something similar, but quite literally so in the case of today’s offering, which happened so close to road.cc’s office in Bath that it would be quicker for us to walk to the scene, rather than unlock the bike and jump on it to go there.

“In case you want some variety, this is a dash across my path while pottering home,” said road.cc reader Adam of the footage, which shows a driver turning across his path into Little Stanhope Street as he was riding west along Upper Bristol Road.

Adam said that he had reported the incident to Avon & Somerset Police, and would let us know the outcome.

“This is a road where there are plans for a cycle lane being campaigned against strongly by a vocal minority on social media,” he added.

> 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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13 comments

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alansmurphy | 3 years ago
0 likes

I had one of these yesterday at a much higher speed (both myself and the car - car was definitely speeding). Managed to take the next left, left, right and follow the car to the primary school they pulled up to after the bell.

 

As it was a female i stayed well back, remained seated on the bike and told her she was a couple of inches off potentially killing me, she denied any knowledge of anything. I explained where, still denial.

 

I then told her I wouldn't hold her up getting her kids to school as it was very important but to please consider that I also have children, they may struggle for meals if their father was killed whilst she was trying to save 5 seconds. She then apologised.

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Hirsute replied to alansmurphy | 3 years ago
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Was she also parked on double yellows?

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brooksby | 3 years ago
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I'm not really sure I'd count that as NMOTD.  The cyclist didn't have to brake or manoeuvre or anything; the car passed in front of them and appeared to be out of their way by the time they got to the junction.  Or am I missing something?

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
3 likes

I thought they did have to brake.
If not a lesson in the dangers of blindly following the car in front and a lucky miss.

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Jetmans Dad replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

It certainly looked to me like the cyclist slowed down quite a lot as they approached the box junction. 

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Captain Badger replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

I'm not really sure I'd count that as NMOTD.  The cyclist didn't have to brake or manoeuvre or anything; the car passed in front of them and appeared to be out of their way by the time they got to the junction.  Or am I missing something?

I think they did have to slow down. This was pretty crap. Kind of "Must Turn Before The Cyclist Gets Here". MTBTCGH - I'd like to see this used more if you'd oblige me folks....

 

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wycombewheeler replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
3 likes

Captain Badger wrote:

brooksby wrote:

I'm not really sure I'd count that as NMOTD.  The cyclist didn't have to brake or manoeuvre or anything; the car passed in front of them and appeared to be out of their way by the time they got to the junction.  Or am I missing something?

I think they did have to slow down. This was pretty crap. Kind of "Must Turn Before The Cyclist Gets Here". MTBTCGH - I'd like to see this used more if you'd oblige me folks....

 

more a case of not even considering a cyclist might be there, car in front is turning > can't see anything large behind that car > going for it

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Dave Dave replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
1 like

People do that to cars all the time, expecting oncoming traffic to slow rather than have an avoidable collision. For once, a bad driver actually treated a bicycle like a car!  1

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zero_trooper replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
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Nailed it WW, nailed it. Driver NEVER SAW the cyclist  2

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Dicklexic | 3 years ago
5 likes

“This is a road where there are plans for a cycle lane being campaigned against strongly by a vocal minority on social media,”

I don't know anything about the proposals for a cycle lane, or indeed the objections, but that road could (and probably should!) easily accommodate a cycle lane. Any road that is wide enough to have a separate 'right turn' space specifically for cars in the middle of the carriageway can usually have a of cycle lane on either side instead. We really need to start moving the emphasis from saving the driver a few seconds, onto making the roads signifcantly safer for cyclists.

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fwhite181 replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
2 likes

Totally agree. I also find it insane that we have lots of legacy three-lane wide A-roads (from when they were a thing) but have now been reduced to two very wide car lanes with turn-boxes at every junction. But if anyone dares to breath a suggestion that maybe we could use that space for a fully segragated, proper two-way cycle lane "THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH SPACE". 

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Sriracha replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
2 likes

These "turn right" boxes really show that cycling infra is a question of priorities, not of money (like everything in life really). What really annoys me is that, in choosing to go with the turn right boxes, most of the available space is simply hatched off and squandered.

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Dave Dave replied to Dicklexic | 3 years ago
0 likes

"We really need to start moving the emphasis from saving the driver a few seconds, onto making the roads signifcantly safer for cyclists."

I completely agree, but simply changing priorities doesn't work for all junctions. They've reconfigured stuff round here, and mostly the traffic flow is just as high or increased - those changes are fairly uncontroversial. One junction, though, they cocked it up completely, and removed the right-turn lane where it was desperately needed - enough traffic builds up there that without it, the queue of traffic waiting a few light cycles to turn right blocks the going-straight traffic, effectively closing the (A-road) junction altogether at rush hour to everyone but cyclists. They had to put it back how it was.

I was looking at that junction, and others that haven't been redone (yet, perhaps), wondering how on earth to thread cyclists through safely without entirely closing the road. The obvious answer, given the expense of a bicycle overpass, is to remove the pavement on one side of the road. That's not a big deal with a couple of extra pedestrian crossings, but I can't see it being popular.

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