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news
Near Miss of the Day 644: Skip lorry driver almost hits two cyclists
The video featured in our Near Miss of the Day series today shows the heart-stopping moment when a pair of cyclists are confronted with the driver of a skip lorry coming the other way on a narrow road with cars parked on the near side of the vehicle, squeezing both riders between the lorry and a hedge and somehow not hitting either of them.
The incident, filmed by road.cc reader Cyclocelestial, happened in Mortimer, Berkshire on 7 October.
“The driver started to overtake the parked cars before the two cyclists came into view but could have applied the brakes and moved towards the gap on the left,” Cyclocelestial said.
“It was not reported to the police but I reported it to a manager at R. Collard in Reading who agreed to speak to the driver about it.
“However he did not want to see the video as ‘we have a camera in the cab’.”
Incidents of this type often attract comments along the lines of how the cyclists should perhaps have anticipated the approaching vehicle and pulled over to let it past.
It’s easy to take such a view when you watch the footage, but in a live scenario things are seldom that clear-cut.
For example, while the camera is facing straight ahead and recording what’s happening, that may not necessarily be what the cyclist is seeing in real time, and they may not have seen the lorry straight away.
There’s also the fact that in this instance the cyclists are riding at a decent clip and by the time the situation has been assessed and a decision made over what action to take, it may be too late, not to mention too dangerous, to try to brake in time for the skip lorry driver to clear those parked cars.
> 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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93 comments
The cyclists were travelling at a similar speed to what a car might be doing in the circumstances. They were right up against the hedge, which meant their visibility was reduced as to what might be around the bend. They saw the truck before the driver could see them, because the near side of the truck came into their view first. All of this means they have to take responsibility for responding to the hazard and cannot absolve themselves because it's their right of way. But they didn't slow down at all, just kept on coming. The truck driver had about half a second to react and no time to pull into the space before the cyclists reach him. You see him start to do so, but since the cyclists continue on as before he reasonably deduces that they have decided that the space available to them is sufficient, as they are not trying to stop. I can't see anyone has done anything wrong here. In terms of lessons, perhaps the cyclists could have positioned themselves to get better visibility, and therefore both parties would have seen the other sooner. Then, both would have had to move to the left to avoid a collision, the driver would have had more time to do so and everyone could calm down.
This is true, the drive side only comes into view just as the video clicks to 4s, as it clicks to 5s the lorry is already 1/4 past the space he woud have had to have pulled in to.
Does this apply to people pulling out of driveways between parked cars? the drivers coming down the road clear have the best view and cannot absolve themselves of resposnsibility, while the drivers emerging from a drive have their view restricted by storage of personal property on the public highway.
Pretty sure the law doesn't work this way. "he could see me coming out, but I couldn't see him so he should hve stopped." is not going to cut any ice.
The cyclists were not right up against the hedge and had a clear view 6 seconds ahead. The driver had plenty of time to react and deliberately chose to continue driving on the wrong side of the road towards the cyclists. There were 3 seconds between the driver having a view of the cyclists and the near miss. The fact the cyclists could see the lorry 1 second before the driver could see them doesn't change anything. Plainly the cyclists did slow down and you can even see braking in the rear view camara footage. The driver was easily able to slow and stop whereas cyclists going downhill cannot do so easily and retain control. I'd love to see a video of you demonstrating your emergency braking skills on a bend going downhill on a bicycle. The point is the driver only had to apply his brakes to allow the cyclists to slow down safely, but he refused to do so and that is the problem. As someone else pointed out the driver would have failed his HGV test for that.
"Nige bikes and drives"
Is this a sockpuppet for the good Mr Garrage of this parish?
The lorry driver would have stopped if it was a car coming the other way.
Not in my experience
Would the lorry driver have stopped if it had been a "committed" tank coming the other way?
Or would the car have stopped first?
Having gone through the video again.
From the monent the lorry has sight of the cyclist to when they would have to pull in to the gap in parked cars is about a second, after that it would be too late to stop in the gap. Not a lot of time to see the cyclis, decide the cyclist will be coming past the cars and get into the gap without hitting parked cars.
As they pass I'm pretty sure the lorry is moving slower than the cyclist.
I'm not sure the driver can do much else, other than come to a dead stop in the same position and let the cyclist squeeze past, which he might have done if the cyclist had stopped, or might not, but as the cyclist was passing while he was still moving, no longer worth stopping.
The point is that the driver only had to apply the brakes to have allowed the cyclists time to slow down and pass safely. The driver made no attempt to slow down at all and consequently the cyclists were still travelling quite fast when forced to squeeze through the tiny gap. The lorry is definitely moving slower ang going uphill would have been able to stop quite quickly, unlike the cyclists.
driver speed is very low by my estimation, how do you know he didn't slow from 20 to 10 after seeing the cyclist? also watching the cyclist's rear footage it's clear the second cyclists slows much more than the first.
errr because he didn't slow from 20 to 10, he kept going at the same speed. The second cyclist slowed more as he had more opportunity but it made no difference either way at that point. Blame the cyclists if you like but good luck when it happens to you.
Judging by how far the lorry moves per second I reckon it is doing about 15mph, quite a cautious approach for passing the parked cars
Not really blaming the cyclists myself (what for? no collision), just pointing out that the cyclist had more opportunity to stop, the lorry could have stopped blocking the road, it could not have pulled into the gap in parked cars, just not enough time.
Cyclist could have slowed more or stopped as well but decided to continue through the gap. That is his perogative, he is the one at risk.
I don't see how the second rider has more oportunity, as they are behind the first so have less view and the lorry will certainly come into sight later, but despite that he applies brakes first (or harder)
When I come across vehicles approaching me on narrow roads, I normally hold a wide position until they slow to this sort of speed and then pass. Passing at 15mph each is fine, unlike when drivers think they can pass at 40-50mph. So I wouldn't have an issue at all if this happened to me.
As someone with an HGV licence I can categorically state if that was me driving that skip lorry on my HGV test I would have failed.
My instructors rammed into me "you cross that central lane marking you damn well make sure it is clear ahead. You ALWAYS give way to oncoming vehicles that have right of way".
So, the lorry driver was going too fast whilst straddling the centre line in order to be able to give way if something appeared (which it did, the cyclists) and to pull back over to his own side of the road. He also failed to slow down once he was 'compromised' by being unable to return to his own side of the road in the gap that did appear, thus compromising the safety of the opposite traffic that had right of way.
What do suggest the skip driver do . Send someone on ahead to have a look round the corner.
When he pulled out the road was clear.
But then he failed to stop when the cyclists appeared. Do keep up.
But he did pull over to give them room and they went through it. He had good visibility of them so no problem.
If I'd been in my car or on my motorbike or on my bike I would have stopped the minute I saw the truck coming through the gap.
I wonder if some cyclists get into a sort of trance where nothing must stop their progress no matter what.
No he didn't slow, stop or pull over. I look forward to your video showing you braking, retaining control and stopping whilst cycling round a bend down a steep hill. Apparently you can do that in 3 seconds so well done.
I wonder if some motorists get into a sort of trance when nothing must stop their progress no matter what.
" braking, retaining control and stopping whilst cycling round a bend down a steep hill."
so youre saying they where out of control.
Thats a shocker. Heres a useful tip. if cycling downhill on a bendy road remember you might have to stop suddenly because its not a stage of the Tour where the road has been emptied before you its a public highway and you know its clear for exactly as far as you can see.
I agree with you on this (not so much the attitude, but whatever). Although it was the truck driver that caused the danger here, there's still the need for cyclists to be aware of their stopping distances.
No they weren't out of control. They had visibility 6 seconds ahead but the driver kept driving at them, thereby reducing their opportunity to respond effectively. It really isn't difficult to understand unless you are a motor supremacist.
If you were to stop and give way to the lorry where is the only sensible place to do so?
Before the first parked car.
The point at which they passed the lorry was beyond that car.
The argument that it was the movement of the lorry which prevented them from stopping in time is therefore nonsense.
If they were not able to stop by the first parked car they were riding too fast for the conditions.
That rather sounds like unable to stop in the distance they can see. Why are they going so fast on a steep hill where they can see a hazard in the form of parked cars?
Even in a car, I would have braked before getting close to the parked cars regardless of any traffic that had started to emerge.
Good suggestion. Maybe we could a modern day postillion for motorists? Or how about a man with a red flag to go before ... on a bicycle?
Sorry, but it's a no from me. Truck already well established on 'wrong' side of the road, commited to passing parked vehicles and those truck things don't stop on a sixpence. If a local rider, then should know the potential danger round that bend, if not local then the wise adage about being able to stop in the space ahead you can see to be clear would be wisely applied. Not brilliant driving either and with far greater responsibility to be aware when in charge of a seriously lethal vehicle.
So the driver was 'committed' despite the fact there was a gap in the parked cars and couldn't apply his brakes? That's some committment the driver displayed. The cyclists would have been able to stop if the obstruction had not carried on moving towards them on the wrong side of the road.
You're applying different standards there. Being able to stop in the space ahead you can see to be clear should apply to both the cyclists and the truck driver.
A bit marginal but I would side with the cyclists (obviously). I would have probably done the same. There was plenty of space for the lorry to give way so I would be tempted to enforce my right of way. I might have taken a more primary position to emphasize my intention but not sure that would have made a difference.
However, at the risk of whataboutery, if I've committed to passing parked cars on my left, giving the recommended 1m, how many drivers stop and give way to me? Cars squeezing through when they clearly don't have right of way will happen on every ride.
Gotta say, the driver gave the bare minimum of room for the parked vehicles so he could give as much room as possible for the cyclists..
Hang on - so now you should leave more space for the living than the inanimate? Driver shouldn't pander to these entitled humans!
Or alternatively - the driver's increasing the risk to people in the parked cars as well as not doing much for the cyclists.
This is nothing near the worst on NMOTD but on the principle of me slowing down and being prepared to stop on my bike when I see a cat in the road, the truck driver should do the same for cyclists. Because he's in "their space" and it's a little more likely that they'd be mangled than him by collision. I presume that's a "professional driver" so they should be doing this to a high standard. And it doesn't matter what the cyclists' behaviour is. Should the driver slow for a pedestrian? Or a child on a bike?
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