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Near Miss of the Day 875: Red-light jumping driver almost hits cyclist, responds with denial and abuse
Update 26/09/2023:
The cyclist involved finally heard a response from Greater Manchester Police who revealed the report would result in no further action. Alex, who had described the force's approach to dealing with camera footage reports of dangerous driving as "opaque", said the outcome was "very depressing".
He told us: "Police responded that the light was not red so no further action. Very depressing response from Greater Manchester Police. Their exact words were: 'No further action was taken in relation to this matter. Unfortunately we could not see what the traffic light colour was for the Audi.' I replied to them that the light was red and showed a screen shot. Not heard anything back."
Original story follows...
A nurse in Manchester was cycling to work this morning when he was almost hit by a motorist who drove through red lights at a pedestrian crossing, and then went on to swear at the cyclist and deny that the light was red. Unfortunately for him, the cyclist had got it on camera.
Alex has been cycling to work ever since he became a nurse 10 years ago — and the route he was on today has been part of his daily Monday to Friday commute for almost a year now.
Coming up to Rochdale Road from Russet Road in Greater Manchester at just past 8AM today, he stopped and waited for the light to turn red at the pedestrian crossing, so he could join the main road safely. But as he was about to do so, an Audi driver jumped the light and came very close to hitting him.
When he let out an exclaim pointing at the state of events to the motorist, he was met with a deluge on abuse and denial.
"I'm unfortunately used to it, but in my opinion this was very good footage of someone doing something very naughty," Alex told road.cc.
Rochdale Road, Greater Manchester (Google Maps)
As visible in the video, the Audi driver is stationary and waiting for the drivers in front of him to pass. When the light turns amber, there's still another vehicle in front of him, which goes straight ahead just as the red light comes on.
"When I turned they decided to run the red light and almost hit me," he said.
He can be heard saying: "It's a red light mate!"
The driver replies with: "Oh f*** off! No, it f****** wasn't!"
Alex said: "The thing I think is a bit different about this is that the offending car is so clearly captured being stationary behind the red light and so they have very intentionally driven through it. It was no simple accident or episode of inattention."
Russet Road, Greater Manchester (Google Maps)
He told road.cc that he has submitted the footage to Greater Manchester police and is awaiting a response, but his experience with them has been "hit and miss" so far.
"If I had to describe their responses in one word it would be opaque," said Alex.
> 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 Twitter or 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
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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86 comments
The issue is, as far as a red light is concerned, the offence is committed only when you proceed beyond the stop line whilst the light is red (or amber). Since he's already beyond the line when the light changes, he hasn't committed that offence and he'd be correctly acquitted at court.
There may be another offence which could be considered, of course, but not RLJ.
Two problems with that, firstly the driver is quite clearly not beyond the stop line when the light turns red (see screenshot), and secondly even if you are on or partially over the stop line when the light turns red you must stop if safe to do so (as it clearly would've been for this driver) otherwise it counts as running the red.
Duplicate post
It's not easy to see but he is over the white line, or at best rear wheels on the line.
and from this streetview screenshot there's a car in almost an identical position, so he wouldn't be able to see the light on the left.
Still probably shouldn't have been stopped there in the first place and should have proceeded much more safely.
(edit) Rule 192 https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/pedestrian-crossings.html
"In slow-moving and queuing traffic you should keep crossings completely clear, as blocking these makes it difficult and dangerous for pedestrians to cross. You should not enter a pedestrian crossing if you are unable to completely clear the crossing."
but it's a *should* not a *MUST NOT*
OK... Not exactly sure what's going on here but the white line on your first photograph is not visible at all in the video, have you added that for demonstration purposes? If so you have put it in completely the wrong place, your own Streetview photo shows that the stop line is perpendicular to halfway down the first panel of railings, your other photo shows the stop line at least two panels back if not more from the light.
OK... Not exactly sure what's going on here but the white line on your first photograph is not visible at all in the video, have you added that for demonstration purposes? If so you have put it in completely the wrong place, your own Streetview photo shows that the stop line is perpendicular to halfway down the first panel of railings, your other photo shows the stop line at least two panels back if not more from the light.
Treblicate post, honestly this site is a bit of a mess right now!
I had exactly the same experience and response from Police Scotland in June. Was on a 2 lane road waiting at a set of lights at a crossroads. I was watching the other lights so I could be ready to go, watched them change to red and mine change to green. 2 drivers from the right drove through the red light as we (me and the car beside my plus the 2 cars facing me) all moved off. As we approached the middle of the junction a van ploughed through the red from the right, with multiple horns tooting from the cars who were on green plus me shouting.
Reported to police with clear video evidence, initial officers who took report seemed to think it was a slam dunk and would pass on to officers from the area where it happened. A few days later I get a call from that area's officers saying they weren't going to proceed despite the evidence. Basically it was too hard for them to prove the lights weren't faulty, some nonsense about how they would have to sit and monitor the lights for hours and so on. I confirmed it was on the video and I could confirm a saw their lights were indeed red, but they weren't interested.
They also refused to even entertain prosecuting a drive on the same ride who nearly killed both me and my daughter by left hooking us as we all moved off from a set of lights. Again all on camera. And that's running 2 high powered lights front and rear. I asked for a review but same response. Apparently easy mistake to make and no prospect of conviction.
Furthermore refused to pursue Dutch driver who passed extremely close and fast. Acknowledged that if it was a UK driver they would but since they were foreign it would be too much hassle. Seems foreign drivers can do whatever they want from what I could gather.
They are pursuing the car that came straight out a side street causing me to serve and break and who then gave me a mouthful of abuse when I caught up with him at the lights. This was the main reason for calling them out so not too bad a result. Don't report too many drivers. That was the worst cycle I've ever been on (also managed to tear my hamstring on the same ride).
That's a Brexit benefit (for foreign drivers). Since we left the EU, our police have lost access to the systems that allowed EU drivers to be traced and fined. It's a far more complicated process now, and they won't bother.
Northants police publish a list of their traffic offence outcomes and as far as I've seen, all offences involving foreign vehicles are marked as 'cancelled - foreign driver'.
It's ok everyone, as a Manchester resident, I can confirm that it works differently round here. It's red light plus 5 cars. And who's counting anyway.
All road law is suspended within 100yrds of Miami Crispy, too.
Stop criticising the hard working bobbies, they're mowed out here.
I thought they tested for colourblindness as part of the application procedure for the force? I assume what they are really saying is that they cannot guarantee that the light facing the Audi driver had also turned red. However I made a specific inquiry to the Met a while ago as to whether they would act on a case with the same sort of evidence (facing traffic light only, oncoming RLJ jumper) and they said they would (and they did, with the driver accepting an education course), it would be up to the driver to prove that there was some fault in the traffic light which meant it was still green on one side when it had turned red on the other. The default assumption (according to them) is that the equipment is functioning properly unless proved otherwise.
It has to be red (or amber) as he's crossing the stop line; since he's beyond it when the light changes, he's not committed the offence.
I think you've got the cars mixed up, the offender is the silver car you can see in the screenshot above quite clearly still behind the crossing when the light turns red, not the white car that has already gone through the crossing.
Another bloody duplicate post!
There's an epidemic of drivists running red lights round my part of North London. At a T-junction of Highbury Grove and St Paul's Road this morning, lights had gone green, then a drivist in an Audi - what else? - flies through across the top of the T on a clear red. No amber in it at all.
Couple of minutes later, going down New North Road, lights at Essex Road go red and two drivists - one in an Audi, again! - flatten it to go through on a full red. Again, not a suggestion of amber.
I see so many drivists running red lights - it's the best argument against cyclist jumping red lights, they risk being mown down by a red light running drivist.
Amber means STOP as well.
Nearly all English people will walk across a pedestrian crossing when the man is red if there are no cars coming and it is obvious that to do so will present no danger. Why should anyone expect the English to behave differently when sitting on a bicycle?
By English do you mean English?
Or, by English do you mean any resident of Britain but you call us English anyway??
Drivers do jump lights but for every driver , I've seen 20cyclists jump them but rarely do i see cars driving down the pavement like I do with bikes . I wish I had a £1 for time I had to swerve my wheelchair out of the way of a bike doing 15/20 on the pavement , we need to see these mad bikers taken to court to pay and they need to pass a compulsory test like car drivers
the number of times I've had to take evasive action as a pedestrian due to a driver deciding they were going to park on the pavement, whether there was a pedstrian there or not.
So no cycling until you are 17? And as compulory tests do nothing for a sizeable minority of drivers (how many speed over 30mph for example), why would taking a compulsory test stop the cyclists who decide to weirdly aim their bikes at someone in a wheelchair. I mean if I aimed my bike at one, I would actually do myself as much damage as the person in the wheelchair might get. Not that I cycle on the pavement or cycle through a red light or all the other things I'm accused of doing because I ride on two wheels. I do however see some asshats on mostly illegal motorbikes who do stupidly speed along when the pavement doesn't justify the speed and might be doing the 15-20mph speeds you have approximated. They normally can be spotted by the lack of pedalling.
Over estimating how many cyclists go through red lights to the extent you say is obviously a load of nonsense. There are a few bad cyclists who go through red lights, but there are significantly more bad drivers who do it and they pose a much bigger danger to all other road users.
Over 80% of cyclists also drive. They know and put into practice good cycling because their lives depend on it. Drivers take more risks because they are safe in their metal cocoons.
I see more cars mount pavements than cyclists. Drivers also block footpaths so people in wheelchairs and buggies etc have to go into the road, with the cars, who statistically are very likely to be speeding, looking at their phones or distracted.
We need to see entitled bad drivers like this Audi driver penalised for going through the red light, being abusive and close passing.
But do link to petrolheads where you lambast drivers for blocking the footway so you are unable to pass.
I've yet to see a mobility chair user travel at less than 4mph. In fact not so long ago I had to jump onto the road to avoid being hit by one.
They're all out in lycra-mix (for comfort) after GOMs (grandpa / grandma of the mountain).
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k-6tnk6_pW4
The modern ones are much improved I think, have assisted folks in the past who'd got stuck due to steep gradients / awkward kerb and they were heavy!
In the last five years if I had a pound for every time I had to avoid a cyclist doing 15/20 on the pavement I'd probably have a pound. Not even enough to buy a copy of the Beano. When did comics get so expensive?
Careful, you'll set the others off like the Monty Python Yorkshiremen sketch!
"Right... well... t'other day I saw a peleton of ... 60 of them, 30-abreast, doing 100mph wrong way down a maternity unit corridor with a dozen babies impaled on their tri-bars, they sliced a ward sister's leg clean off and the lycra and flashing lights caused 3 cases of epilepsy. And on the way out every man jack of them stopped to pee in some baby's crib. And they didn't even give a wave!
There are a few wrong-uns out there too though...
These two drove from the petrol station to the Burger King next door down the pavement . . . .
https://upride.cc/incident/2-drivers-confuse-the-pavement-sidewalk-for-t...
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