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news
*UPDATED* Near Miss of the Day 672: Bus driver pulls in while overtaking cyclist (video includes swearing)
Update, 4/2/2022: Darryl has now provided us with an update after hearing back from Thames Valley Police. He said: "Thames Valley Police responded saying that after reviewing the footage it is clear that the driver didn't leave enough space, therefore they have had an official warning and no further action taken. I also received an apology from the company."
“An awful overtake” is the verdict of the cyclist who was on the receiving end of this piece of driving by a bus driver in Hertfordshire who ignored oncoming traffic to overtake the rider, pulling in perilously close to him before it was safe to do so.
And as we see so often in this series, the driver’s determination to get in front of the cyclist and put him in danger was misplaced too, the rider catching up with the bus shortly afterwards.
Darryl, the road.cc reader who submitted the video, said: “I had a very near miss with a double decker bus whilst cycling in Wendover, Buckinghamshire on Friday afternoon.
“I had lights front and rear and there is oncoming traffic but it still didn't stop an awful overtake.”
The bus is operated by Red Rose Travel, which runs services in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire, including the numbers 50 and 55 which go through Wendover.
There is no route X listed on the company’s website, however, leading us to wonder whether this bus was out of service at the time?
> 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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27 comments
that was quite terrifying. If I was on the recieving end of that I'd be investigating the emrgency fuel cut out flap at the next bus stop.
Just a warning for that ? Well i guess that answers the question of is it worth reporting bus drivers to the police in these situations.
Had similar in High Wycombe two years back from the same company. Driver saw me approaching a roundabout but made zero attempt to stop, slow, or even make room. Red Line and Red Rose are part of the same company. I reached out to them to complain but they never replied. Bucks Free Press also tried, but again was ignored.
A friend of mine found the CEO's home address. He lives in Aylesbury. I had half a mind to pay him a visit or send a letter, but never did. If TVP do nothing (they did not in my case) try contacting BucksFreePress. Maybe with my previous complaint and this one they can get something from the owner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl4EWG02ld0
Please report to the police and Traffic Commisioner
Wendover . . Hertsfordshire? Wendover is in Buckinghamshire so I think you'd need to report the problem to Thames Valley Police.
Almost all these recent videos clearly demonstrates the use of primary position would save you.
True, although above 30, I think a lot of people bail out of that due to speed differential.
I know what would happen with a report to Lancashire Constabulary of a pass like this- nothing. It's not going to change with the repeated and clearly completely ignored 'guidelines' which are to be inserted into the 'new' Highway Code. So the question is 'what are you going to do about it?' Here we are at number 672, and things are no better if not worse. The mental Christmas traffic is upon us (Covid will be nothing compared to the upset and mass outrage at 'driving around as much as we like' being restricted when the climate crisis really hits) and passing like this will become more frequent. Some of us will be killed as the NMotD count rises into the thousands- and still the Bad Cops will be doing nothing about it.
That's 672 that have made their way to RoadCC, there are probably thousands more that aren't recorded. It is a sad state of affairs.
It was 672. Now it's so many that even road.cc keep losing count.
From a "Professional" driver that is atrocious, this one is no "misjudgement" as there was no opportunity avaailable for a safe overtake.
An outrageous "I don;t give a flying f... for your life" is the message being sent out by the driver here.
No number plate either? Did the OP try to contact the police and operator looks like a slam dunk.
Number plates on buses can be in a variety of positions. Suspect this one is to the left of the X.
There's a number plate, unfortiunately it's illegible because of rain on the camera. But the rider got it; "Registration LK08 N..." the audio cuts out there, I assume he got the rest and can complain to the bus company/police.
Not worth it anyway surely, given we now all know the police do not investigate crimes that happened in the past.
There IS a point in reporting (before the 10-day cut-off) - no reports and there is no problem! For example, Herts PCC said in a conference call with him about cyling safety issues that "he sees no ground-swell of opinion that there is a problem" and you are supporting this see-no-evil view by not reporting!. You CAN get Herts Police to do something with a close-pass - just make sure that your statement references BCH Roads Policing Unit interpretation of the Highway Code guidelines on passing cyclists safely - “Drivers must allow the width of a car (1.5m) when passing cyclists. Passing too close can have tragic consequences.” [https://twitter.com/roadpoliceBCH/status/1382227180881580032]" - that seems to work pretty reliably.
[https://twitter.com/roadpoliceBCH/status/1382227180881580032]
'Hmm... this page doesn’t exist. Try searching for something else.'
Do you have a better link, pls.?
Just remove the final brace:
https://twitter.com/roadpoliceBCH/status/1382227180881580032
Thank you, sir.
Do they do precrime now?
interestingly due to the magics of the internet, or at least Buckinghamshire bus spotting geeks, one can then work out the rest of the full registration,and plot its timetabled routes for that day
C'mon, gisalink or am I now forced to google "Buckinghamshire bus spotting geeks"?
https://bustimes.org/operators/red-rose-travel/vehicles & click on the registration
That's a brilliant resource if you are ever close passed by a bus countrywide. Nice one!
That's a great find. It's like Flight Radar 24, but for buses!
Looks like it's open source data too. Just need someone to write an app that warns you when a bus is approaching from the rear!
So it was in a rush to get to its starting point before it's 1504 start. So simple enough for the Police / Red Rose to know who was driving.
What a resource! You can see from the live data it didn't set off until 1510, so definately running late.
I wonder if he told his manager he was held up by a cyclist not using the cycle path?!