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Near Miss of the Day 281: Police act after fast close pass

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country - today it's Hampshire...

Though no close pass video is pleasant viewing, it’s always good when police decide to act upon the footage which is what we have here following a very fast and close overtake on a cyclist by a van driver in Hampshire in February.

> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling

> What to do next if you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision

It was filmed by road.cc reader Cycloactive, who told us that it happened in Huish Lane, Basingstoke and he reported the incident to police.

He said: “For the first time ever in my experience with Hampshire Constabulary the registered keeper, Gary Walker of Sky View Roofing and Building Services, was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution.

“He took the maximum allowable time of one month to respond, whereupon the male driver, an employee of the company, was identified.

“A police officer notified me that the driver was interviewed at his home address over the incident.

“The driver admitted the offence and was willing to attend a driver awareness course if required.

“I was told I would be notified if an enforcement decision was made but have received no such notification.”

> 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.

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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8 comments

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xtw | 4 years ago
0 likes

Cycloactive has a remarkably similar voice to uphillfreewheeler who filmed the "Clown takes a pratfall" video. For those who haven't seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PFRdEUN240 

Avatar
dassie | 4 years ago
1 like

Looked very like a punishment pass to me.

Avatar
brooksby replied to dassie | 4 years ago
1 like

dassie wrote:

Looked very like a punishment pass to me.

But punishment for what?  "Having a bad day"? "Their very existence"? The cyclists weren't in the van's way, the road was empty...

Avatar
Zebulebu | 4 years ago
12 likes

Alternatively, 'let's show people that sending in videos of close passes occasionally results in the Police doing something about it, and encourage people to send them on more often' post no 281

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thermopyl | 4 years ago
1 like

Lets put people off cycling post no 286

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growingvegtables replied to thermopyl | 4 years ago
6 likes

thermopyl wrote:

Lets put people off cycling post no 286

You may have missed the point?

How's about putting off drivers driving like dicks, with their very own internal "Highway Codes", that bear no fckng resemblance to the real thing?

Avatar
Fifth Gear replied to thermopyl | 4 years ago
11 likes

thermopyl wrote:

Lets put people off cycling post no 286

 

A lot of people are put off cycling because of close passes by drivers. The problem will not be solved by pretending it doesn't happen but by exposing it.

Avatar
Legs_Eleven_Wor... replied to thermopyl | 4 years ago
2 likes

thermopyl wrote:

Lets put people off cycling post no 286

In this shit-filled shithole of a country, all someone needs to do in order to be 'put off cycling', is to get a bike and cycle 100 yards down almost any street in the country.  

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