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Near Miss of the Day 167: Driver stops to apologise for close pass and accepts all responsibility

Our regular feature highlighting close passes caught on camera from around the country – today it’s Leicestershire

Here's something we haven't seen before in our Near Miss of rhe Day series - a driver making a close pass on a cyclist then stopping a little further down the road to apologise and accept full responsibility.

It happened Leicestershire to road.cc reader Kieran, who told us: "Please excuse the out of breath me. I was going for a PB ride home on the carbon road bike and that kind of blew it

"That was Kegworth (where I live) I was less than a mile from home. He caught me on Station Rd and we turned onto Nottingham Road."

We featured a couple of videos from Kieran yesterday showing two close passes from the same driver just 10 days apart.

The motorist  involved in those incidents subsequently received a visit from the police and was said to be "very apologetic."

> 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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19 comments

Avatar
kitsunegari | 5 years ago
0 likes

It's still good to see something positive in the plethora of shit that is Youtube videos.

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Supers79 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Why post this at all?  The guy has apologised, whatever his motives for doing so, but now he is being ridiculed on here.  Is this likely to make other drivers more likely to hold their hands up and admit fault? No.  Not that anyone who doesn’t cycle or haters aregoing to be reading road.cc, so is there any point to continuing with NMOTD?  All it’s likely to do is to put new cyclists off or is it just click bait? 

Avatar
vonhelmet replied to Supers79 | 5 years ago
1 like

Supers79 wrote:

Why post this at all?  The guy has apologised, whatever his motives for doing so, but now he is being ridiculed on here.  Is this likely to make other drivers more likely to hold their hands up and admit fault? No.  Not that anyone who doesn’t cycle or haters aregoing to be reading road.cc, so is there any point to continuing with NMOTD?  All it’s likely to do is to put new cyclists off or is it just click bait? 

Who’s ridiculing him?

Avatar
Fishpastesarnie replied to Supers79 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Supers79 wrote:

Why post this at all?  The guy has apologised, whatever his motives for doing so, but now he is being ridiculed on here.  Is this likely to make other drivers more likely to hold their hands up and admit fault? No.  Not that anyone who doesn’t cycle or haters aregoing to be reading road.cc, so is there any point to continuing with NMOTD?  All it’s likely to do is to put new cyclists off or is it just click bait? 

 

According to the Youtube posting it was 6 years ago and the driver actually clipped him as he went past. 

OK he apologised but in my opinion, the driver had no intention of stopping and only did so once he realised the cyclist had followed his route as well.

Avatar
Supers79 replied to Fishpastesarnie | 5 years ago
0 likes

Fishpastesarnie wrote:

Supers79 wrote:

Why post this at all?  The guy has apologised, whatever his motives for doing so, but now he is being ridiculed on here.  Is this likely to make other drivers more likely to hold their hands up and admit fault? No.  Not that anyone who doesn’t cycle or haters aregoing to be reading road.cc, so is there any point to continuing with NMOTD?  All it’s likely to do is to put new cyclists off or is it just click bait? 

 

According to the Youtube posting it was 6 years ago and the driver actually clipped him as he went past. 

OK he apologised but in my opinion, the driver had no intention of stopping and only did so once he realised the cyclist had followed his route as well.

 

Then the headline needs changing as it puts the driver in a positive light.  Also, six years, come on Road.cc that is pathetic and desperate for clicks. 

Avatar
Fishpastesarnie replied to Supers79 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Supers79 wrote:

Fishpastesarnie wrote:

Supers79 wrote:

Why post this at all?  The guy has apologised, whatever his motives for doing so, but now he is being ridiculed on here.  Is this likely to make other drivers more likely to hold their hands up and admit fault? No.  Not that anyone who doesn’t cycle or haters aregoing to be reading road.cc, so is there any point to continuing with NMOTD?  All it’s likely to do is to put new cyclists off or is it just click bait? 

 

According to the Youtube posting it was 6 years ago and the driver actually clipped him as he went past. 

OK he apologised but in my opinion, the driver had no intention of stopping and only did so once he realised the cyclist had followed his route as well.

 

Then the headline needs changing as it puts the driver in a positive light.  Also, six years, come on Road.cc that is pathetic and desperate for clicks. 

 

Actually it was 7 yrs ago.

Avatar
vonhelmet | 5 years ago
9 likes

For he did not speak of his own accord.

Groan.

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Richard D | 5 years ago
2 likes

Happened to me once.  Tapped on his window, said he'd got too close, and he agreed and apologised!  I nearly fell off my bike.  It’s normally "you were too far over/wobbling all over the road/you're only a bike" or s9mething similar.

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burtthebike | 5 years ago
2 likes

Good of the driver to stop and admit their dangerous driving, but I would swap all the apologies in the universe for a moment's forethought.

I had a similar incident on the Downs in Bristol on my regular home commute; driver passed me extremely close, and I responded with some very loud shouting and hand signals, which might not have impressed the other people in the car.  Next night he was waiting for me on the same road, on his own, and apologised profusely.  Two days later he passed me even closer.

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ConcordeCX | 5 years ago
2 likes

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to ConcordeCX | 5 years ago
0 likes

ConcordeCX wrote:

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

The old all-knowing God vs free-will paradox, you can't have both. However, I would expect any god worth his/her/its salt to be able to identify true believers.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to ConcordeCX | 5 years ago
2 likes

ConcordeCX wrote:

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

A nun crashed into my parked car whilst at the village post office some years ago (the nunnary was just down the lane back then). Ok she came into the shop to ask whose car she'd hit but shady as owt she said she wanted to do a cash job to fix the repair which was the electric heated wing mirror she ripped off, blaming an oncoming car that had priority as the reason she had to drive so close to my car.

When I gave her the quote for the repair at the VW garage she was 'shocked' and queried the price, then she said she could send a cheque to the garage on my behalf.

I told her pay me the cash so I can pay them to do the job or I'll just go through her insurance.

You can't trust anyone.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
1 like
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

ConcordeCX wrote:

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

A nun crashed into my parked car whilst at the village post office some years ago (the nunnary was just down the lane back then). Ok she came into the shop to ask whose car she'd hit but shady as owt she said she wanted to do a cash job to fix the repair which was the electric heated wing mirror she ripped off, blaming an oncoming car that had priority as the reason she had to drive so close to my car.

When I gave her the quote for the repair at the VW garage she was 'shocked' and queried the price, then she said she could send a cheque to the garage on my behalf.

I told her pay me the cash so I can pay them to do the job or I'll just go through her insurance.

You can't trust anyone.

Jesus drove a Honda, but he didn't talk about it.

Avatar
Rapha Nadal replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

ConcordeCX wrote:

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

A nun crashed into my parked car whilst at the village post office some years ago (the nunnary was just down the lane back then). Ok she came into the shop to ask whose car she'd hit but shady as owt she said she wanted to do a cash job to fix the repair which was the electric heated wing mirror she ripped off, blaming an oncoming car that had priority as the reason she had to drive so close to my car.

When I gave her the quote for the repair at the VW garage she was 'shocked' and queried the price, then she said she could send a cheque to the garage on my behalf.

I told her pay me the cash so I can pay them to do the job or I'll just go through her insurance.

You can't trust anyone.

Jesus drove a Honda, but he didn't talk about it.

Jesus built my hotrod.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
0 likes

Rapha Nadal wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

ConcordeCX wrote:

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

A nun crashed into my parked car whilst at the village post office some years ago (the nunnary was just down the lane back then). Ok she came into the shop to ask whose car she'd hit but shady as owt she said she wanted to do a cash job to fix the repair which was the electric heated wing mirror she ripped off, blaming an oncoming car that had priority as the reason she had to drive so close to my car.

When I gave her the quote for the repair at the VW garage she was 'shocked' and queried the price, then she said she could send a cheque to the garage on my behalf.

I told her pay me the cash so I can pay them to do the job or I'll just go through her insurance.

You can't trust anyone.

Jesus drove a Honda, but he didn't talk about it.

Jesus built my hotrod.

That song holds a lot of meaning to me personally. I was going through a really rough patch and needed someone to put things into perspective and then I just happened to hear the following lyrics on the radio:

Allen Jourgensen / Paul Barker / William Fredrick Rieflin / Gibson Haynes / Michael Bruce Balch wrote:

Bing bing bang a bang a bang bing bong bing a bing bang a bong
Binga bing a bang a bong bong bing bong bing banga bong
Bing bing bang a bong bong bing bing binga binga banga bong
Bing bing bang a bang bang bing bong

Avatar
Rapha Nadal replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

Rapha Nadal wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

ConcordeCX wrote:

Good man.

He looks like a vicar, but he can't be as he's wearing some sort of id, which is a bit superfluous for an all-knowing God.

A nun crashed into my parked car whilst at the village post office some years ago (the nunnary was just down the lane back then). Ok she came into the shop to ask whose car she'd hit but shady as owt she said she wanted to do a cash job to fix the repair which was the electric heated wing mirror she ripped off, blaming an oncoming car that had priority as the reason she had to drive so close to my car.

When I gave her the quote for the repair at the VW garage she was 'shocked' and queried the price, then she said she could send a cheque to the garage on my behalf.

I told her pay me the cash so I can pay them to do the job or I'll just go through her insurance.

You can't trust anyone.

Jesus drove a Honda, but he didn't talk about it.

Jesus built my hotrod.

That song holds a lot of meaning to me personally. I was going through a really rough patch and needed someone to put things into perspective and then I just happened to hear the following lyrics on the radio:

Allen Jourgensen / Paul Barker / William Fredrick Rieflin / Gibson Haynes / Michael Bruce Balch wrote:

Bing bing bang a bang a bang bing bong bing a bing bang a bong
Binga bing a bang a bong bong bing bong bing banga bong
Bing bing bang a bong bong bing bing binga binga banga bong
Bing bing bang a bang bang bing bong

I'm glad that Ministry were able to bring light to your dark times.

Avatar
Russell Orgazoid | 5 years ago
1 like

That's how easy it is, drivers.

Just be responsible and an adult.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
2 likes

One in a million quite literally. Drivers will not accept they are in the wrong despite the blindingly obvious. They'll conjure up all sorts of BS to excuse their piss poor/dangerous driving or simply flat deny there was anything wrong/ the event even happened.

Fair play to this guy that he apologised but why do it in the first instance, hopefully he will take in on board but honestly I have no faith that he will.

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes

That's what I like to see - a motorist makes a mistake, takes responsibility and presumably learns from their mistake.

Whenever I've had a close pass and subsequently challenged the driver, I'm usually satisfied if they are genuinely apologetic and just ask them to take more care in future.

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