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news
Near Miss of the Day 611: A shockingly dangerous overtake by van driver on wrong side of the road as cyclists turn right
Today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows an astonishingly dangerous overtake of a group of cyclists who are turning right off an A-road in Hampshire when a van driver on the wrong side of the road goes past them – fortunately, with no vehicles waiting at the junction they are turning into, and no motorists coming from the opposite direction.
The footage was filmed on the A287 Farnham Road at the junction with Chalky Lane, which leads to the village of Dogmersfield near Fleet, last Thursday evening by road.cc reader Peter, who told us that “It’s the weirdest and most potentially dangerous one I have been involved in as a cyclist.
“The police have asked for the original video which I have given to them now. Heard nothing since Friday.”
Here’s an image from Google Street View from where the cyclist’s were waiting to turn right, and looking back down the road in the direction the van driver came from.
And one particularly chilling thing here, is if as a cyclist you have moved to the middle of a road with this kind of layout to turn off it, after checking there is no traffic approaching from the front, and none coming from the side road, can you say hand on heart that you would then always check over your shoulder for a driver making this kind of manoeuvre? If not, we doubt that belated toot on the horn would have helped.
The vehicle is in the livery of telecommunications contractor Kelly Group, and Peter has lodged a complaint with the company, who replied to him yesterday asking for more details, although he has heard nothing further since then.
“A group of cyclists with myself leading were trying to turn right off the A287 (heading towards Odiham) on to Chalky Lane when your van (HJ17 KAX) committed to a dangerous overtake,” Peter told the company.
“He was so committed to over taking us that he had to use the slip road to Chalky Lane to complete it. Luckily no cars were waiting at the end of Chalky Lane, coming in the other direction on A287 or hitting me (or the other cyclists) during the dangerous overtake.
“One of the most dangerous overtakes I have been involved in as a cyclist which could have led to me being injured or worse.”
Peter added: “What’s ironic is looking at Kelly Group’s Facebook page they talk about having an elite drivers’ scheme and taking safety seriously.”
> 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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60 comments
That should be a clear dangerous driving charge. At least 6 months disqualificaiton.
Any updates from Peter? It would be really nice to know that the police are taking this seriously and that the company have taken robust action; or not.
Any updates from Peter? It would be really nice to know that the police are taking this seriously and that the company have taken robust action; or not
The companies take their lead from the local police- if they know the police will dodge taking any action by demanding more minutes of video than they think are available, or demanding the confirmatory video from the offending vehicle which they are certain will not now exist, then the company knows it doesn't need to bother. For instance, I know that the company operating 32 tonne 4 axle tipper lorry MV18 UJT wouldn't care about it thundering through a red light at 50+ mph because they know that Lancashire Constabulary doesn't care.
That last minute shoulder check before you commit to the turn is not called 'the lifesaver' for nothing.
Not surprised it was a Kelly Comms van, I've never had a good pass from one of them.
Driving like that should result in an instant ban. It really beggars belief, but I've seen something similar before....
Too many impatient, idiotic drivers on the road - many who seem to have got their driving licence from a cereal packet.
I can't understand why people respond to the moron. It just clutters up the pages with drivel quoted and double-quoted.
I wish I could give more than one like to that comment
absolutely agree. i enjoy reading the comments but when i see him involved i drift off elsewhere.
The time saving strategy is: if the comment is by, or in reply to, someone in your Black Book- reject immediately and ignore
Driver is guilty as sin. The police response will show how little they care about cyclists' lives, or how much (Ho! Ho!). The company will do nothing beyond claiming to have interviewed the driver.
In the pictures of HP
Shit - Kelly Communications has turned up on the driveway - just checking the car and garage now for damage !
Saw the white van at 28 seconds and thought 'what's the fuss'. Then the action started...
Staggeringly incompetent and dangerous, and I hope the police throw the book at them and the driver is banned forever, as anyone that bad should never be allowed to drive again. If another vehicle had been coming out of that junction as that idiot drove through it, there would have been at least a couple of deaths. Impossible to guess what was going through the driver's mind when they do something so blatantly dangerous.
I sincerely hope the company have instantly suspended the driver pending further enquiries, and that they will be summarily dismissed at the disciplinary hearing, and that the company will co-operate fully with the police investigation.
Sod Kelly Group. Send it to the rozzers
I've encountered Kelly Group vans driving dangerously in South London too. I'd assumed they were local. It made me laugh to read that they have an elite drivers' scheme - not sure it's working.
Perhaps an elite team responding to the "war on motorists"
Ooh, hello. Nige has picked up teh challenge to find a way that blames the rider. He's just warming up. Let's see what he comes out with next....
I was accusing you of no such thing. You're perfectly capable of that on your own.....
It's really horrible when it happens. I always run one these days, it's an imposition, but weirdly helps me keep my cool when things do happen.
I'm not great at keeping my mouth shut (no, really everyone), but as a number of other posters have hinted you ain't going to win against mouth-breathers, and they are tooled up by dint of being in their cars.
Ahh, but if he gets a camera, then he will be a vigilante like Vine and Mikey and we know how much he loves those two.
"Just out of interest" ... what the hell difference would it possibly make whether there was one cyclist here or 100? Or any number in between?
Maybe there was 20 cyclists and the van driver mistook the cyclists for cones and thought it was a diversion? Then I think driving like that is acceptable
Maybe some of them were wearing black and their invisibility fields overlapped with the riders who weren't.
Given the time between the front rider taking the absolutely correct road position for a right turn and when the van hove into view off the right side of the carriageway at some speed the van driver either lost all braking, wasn't paying attention, or comitted to a ludicrous overtake at a junction and simply didn't want to back down from a potentially fatal error of judgement.
Quite, particularly as the fatality was unlikely to be their own...
That is definitely a possibility (except for the use of the word "forced", which would suggest they had no options in the approach they took). However this in no way absolves the driver of their culpability in this circumstance.
The scenario you paint suggests that this driver didn't consider slowing down, but assumed that they could commence and complete an overtake on a country road without changing their speed. The direct result was what we saw, and it was good luck that no one (and we mean the riders here) was hurt or killed.
Me, approaching a group of cyclists I would slow to keep pace with them (leaving plenty of stopping distance) until such a time that I judge it to be safe to overtake. Simples and, ahem, safes!
Not quite relevant as no one should be overtaking at a junction and the hatched area is a big clue too.
Anyone with a modicum of hazard awareness could see that even if the cyclists were not already placed to make a right, there is a reasonable likelihood they would and hence slow for the hazards in front of them.
Another part of Nigels train of thought is that cyclists seem to act like lemmings..... one out all out.
Even in large group rides I have never once seen a cyclists at the back of a group ride just blindly stream out onto a road from a junction unless the rider in front of them has shouted clear or similar. Even then, most riders would still double check before proceeding.
And in a group ride going through a set of junctions like that the vast majority of cases would regroup after everyone had crossed the main road.
Even if that were the case, basic roadcraft is not to overtake at or approaching junctions.
H.C: Rule 167
DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example;
Approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road.
etc
Indeed Mungecrundle.
I mean its not like some motorists when they are turning left out of a junction would simply look to the right, not expecting some idiot to be overtaking at a junction would they.
Imagine how badly that would have turned out if there was a vehicle pulling out of the junction when they saw that the road was clear and the cyclist was starting to cross the lane to their right.....
But good old Nige will try somehow to find some way to blame the cyclists and exhonorate the driver.
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