“Fuming” – that’s the reaction of a cyclist who had to swerve sharply to avoid being hit head-on by a lorry driver in Oxfordshire who was overtaking a tractor, but who did not face prosecution since Thames Valley Police believed there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.”
Posting footage of the incident to Twitter the day after it happened in April, Ruddell Kingston, who tweets as @MuscleClinicUK, said: “The increase in fatalities on #oxfordshire roads has been widely reported in recent months. Which is what this kind of #dangerousdriving and total disregard for life shouldn’t go unpunished.”
We featured the video in our Near Miss of the Day series at the time, highlighting comments from people responding to the video online, including ones describing it as a “near death experience” and “an absolute shocker.”
The cyclist involved in the in incident on the B480 in Chalgrove, Russell Kingston, has now provided an update on what happened with the case – and it isn’t good news.
While Thames Valley Police originally issued a Notice of Intended Prosecution against the lorry driver, he was not prosecuted.
Kingston said that he had been told that the driver had said that “he didn’t see me when he started the overtake, blamed his auto gearbox for slowing him down, and then said ‘the cyclist could have assisted by stopping and moving over’ – which I did to save my life!”
He added that Thames Valley Police “had an opportunity to do the right thing and set an example here but took the easy way out. Not even an awareness course!”
Replying to Kingston’s latest tweets today, South Yorkshire Police’s Sheffield North West Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “It sounds as though they have sent an NIP and interviewed the driver in some form so they've done the hard work. Victim’s right of review might be the way to go. Worth contacting the force and asking them to review that decision?”
However, Kingston replied: “Already done that. But was told that scheme doesn’t apply to this matter! Then they went on to say the 6 months needed to bring it to proceedings has now lapsed so they have ‘run out or time.’
Our original article, published in April, appears below.
This extremely close call – which forced the cyclist to take evasive action as a lorry driver barrelled towards him from the opposite direction while overtaking a tractor – has sparked an outcry online, as Twitter users describe the incident as a “near death experience” and “an absolute shocker”.
The cyclist who posted the video, Russell Kingston, a soigneur for British Cycling, said the lorry driver’s shocking overtake showed “a total disregard for life”.
> MP urges the government to help make Oxford’s roads safer for cyclists
Referencing the recent deaths of Ellen Moilanen and Dr Ling Felce, who were both killed after being struck by lorries while riding their bikes in Oxfordshire this year, Kingston said that “this kind of dangerous driving… shouldn’t go unpunished”.
> Near Miss of the Day 719: Oncoming van driver ignores cyclist — company promises to talk with driver
Kingston has reported the footage to the police, later tweeting that he was “still glad to be alive”.
Uploaded yesterday, the video has been viewed over 13,000 times on Twitter.
> 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
Add new comment
47 comments
Just when you think you've seen it all...Surely, Surely, SURELY that's a lost licence? Yes? No?
Fecking horrific.
I hope that they catch the bastard, and throw his licence in the bin* **
* but you know that they won't unless, the rider happens to be plod.
** with that kind of casual disregard for the life of a vunerable road user, the chances are the driver is the kind of c*nt that doesn't care about mere triavialites such as licence, insurance, MOT or VED.
Why should any road user have to share roadspace with someone who demonstrates such an apalling lack of responsibility towards / care for others? It would be a travesty if the driver of that lorry is allowed outside in anything more dangerous* than carpet slippers.
* I appreciate that carpet slippers can be lethal to the wearer.
Why should any road user have to share roadspace with someone who demonstrates such an apalling lack of responsibility towards / care for others?
Because the unholy alliance between the driver and the police in particular, and society in general think that the deaths of the odd cyclist are an acceptable price to pay for the 'freedom of the driver'. Lancashire Constabulary hasn't told me what happened to the driver of this 'Traveller's Choice' coach 4148 VZ, which was Travelling at 30+ mph while I was doing 10, but it's likely to be nothing or the joke 'words of advice'. LC thinks they can get away with just refusing to reply, but you have to keep going and present big bunches of evidence that the b******s are doing nothing about offences against cyclists
Ooof, in a similar scenario (build out from pavement) a cyclist was killed by an HGV driver in Southampton a few years back, eastern side of the Itchen Bridge. No action on that one from memory.
WOW, that was scary!
Makes me wonder if the sacked JLR mechanic has already found another job?
I had that happen once, but it was "just" a large pickup truck. Probably the second closest I've come to dying while cycling. I felt the wind from his side mirror on my cheek.
Bloodynhell, that's awful!
Should've been riding in prime position.
... and then, in all likelyhood - be dead.
I think that was the allusion !
Looks like they were riding primary, it's not going to stop every bad driver though. I think I would have been diving for the verge if riding secondary anyway. Hopefully the police will do something about this.
The normal bonnet watching it is then
Imagine what the front video showed? I wonder if that is one the "new" lorry drivers rushed through to fill the gap?
Shame Farmer-in-tractor who would have seen cyclist throwing himself off the bike didn't stop to check.
I would be ashamed if I was the tractor driver let alone the truck driver!
I'm not sure it makes any difference whether it's a new lorry driver, or an experienced one......It's atrocious driving full stop. I'm not an HGV driver, but I know how to pass a slower vehicle.
Christ, that one was bad!
Pages