Near Miss of the Day 371: BMW driver left-hooks club ride, plus close pass (+ video ... includes swearing)

We don't need to know what you get up to in private.

mdavidford wrote:

We don't need to know what you get up to in private.

 what I get up to in private is none of your business , infact it's people like you that make me feel that facial recognition and intimate strip searches are put into place immediately.  It's time for a big clamp down on this sort of thing . 

hirsute wrote:

Why were they so strung out? If they had been in a group then there would not have been much of a chance to overtake (then brake).

Victim blaming.  More subtle than most perhaps, but still victim blaming.  It had nothing whatsoever to do with the cyclists, and everything to do with the perpetrators of the crime; the drivers.

So when people are told to take the lane or primary or be assertive that's victim blaming?

Yes, because it isn't a legal requirement (an nor should it be), it is however a legal requirement not to drive your vehicle in a way that causes danger to others.

It is just advice that may or may not help control a situation that is otherwise unacceptable in the first place.

It has no baring on who was a fault for the events that unfolded. Only suggests the driver is somehow less to blame than they are.

kt26 wrote:

Only suggests the driver is somehow less to blame than they are.

Or that is what people chose to infer.

I'm still interested in why they were strung out. Surely it's easier for all if you are in a group taking up roughly the same space as a car ?

At what point does being strung out enough warrent dangerous driving. 1, 2, 3 meters? Or is it that dangerous driving is always dangerous driving?

It's not an unreasonable inference if you are telling a victim to behave differently. And not particularly helpful if said victim lacks the confidence to do so - only reinforces a narrative that cycling is only for the 2% who are an nuisance to the 98%.

As for the actual question. Couldn't say for certain but at a guess, given they are going through a residential area, to give each other room should the lead rider need to stop in a hurry. It's also possible they just aren't comfortable following very closely in general.

Ultimately though it has little baring on the situation as at no point was it safe or necessary to pass given the turn was coming up.

Recurring comments in nmotd have been about taking primary, taking the lane before a pinch point. In other words adapting your behaviour. That kinda suggests those equate to victim blaming.

IMO they are.

But phrasing can be important, saying "In my experience riding in primary has reduced my occurances of these events" is very different to say "You should be riding in primary" or a recent "No one to blame but yourself".

Furthermore I don't see how a cyclist could ever be to blame for not riding far enough from the kerb when societal reinforcement from painted cycle lanes is that cyclists should be at risk of clipping the kerb on the downstroke.

We were split up on a roundabout and were slowlycoming back together. I'm glad we were not  in a bunch as with the braking I had to do there would of been an off!

Did you spot this topic?

https://road.cc/content/forum/270827-new-finnish-study-confirms-bmw-and-...

Yep....

Because they've just come down a descent? Because they're coming into a town where having a few extra feet of space to see/react is actually quite helpful? Because they were stopped at a junction or traffic light a few moments ago and, in setting off, they haven't quite had time to reform their gorup? Because they've just come up a hill into the town/village and they're still a bit strung out?

Whatever the reason, it's absolutely no excuse for driving like that.

Last time a vehicle did a left hook that colse to me, they got the flat of my palm across the boot. It made a very satisfying BANG.

Thanks for coming up with some reasons.

No point, Lancashire police are fucking useless. Even with footage, they can't be bothered. I have given up reporting drivers, you have to go to either Chorley or Preston police station for an interview, neither is convenient for me, they look at the footage, then make excuses why it is not in the public interest, blah, blah, blah. I even gave them footage of a woman giving me grief for remonstrating with her for texting behind the wheel, whilst still texting and telling me to fuck off. The police weren't remotely interested, the policewoman even said, "Well, she isnt going fast and is in traffic so she wouldn't cause injury to anyone". I reported this to the police standards, they didn't even have the decency to reply.

"No point, Lancashire police are fucking useless. Even with footage, they can't be bothered. I have given up reporting drivers, you have to go to either Chorley or Preston police station for an interview, neither is convenient for me, they look at the footage, then make excuses why it is not in the public interest, blah, blah, blah. I even gave them footage of a woman giving me grief for remonstrating with her for texting behind the wheel, whilst still texting and telling me to fuck off. The police weren't remotely interested, the policewoman even said, "Well, she isnt going fast and is in traffic so she wouldn't cause injury to anyone". I reported this to the police standards, they didn't even have the decency to reply."

Have you tried your police and crime commissioner?  Mine was quite receptive.

Both reported but no feed back from the police yet, I will chase it tomorrow, but Lancashire are hard work and very time consuming.

When you say 'reported', do you mean you uploaded your footage to a police website, or that you phoned the incident in and you are waiting for someone to get back to you?

thanks

Lancs police website crap. Very difficult to upload video. When you call them, they make an appointment, you go there, they view the footage....    And that's it. 

Clive Grunshaw is not very good, he should have stuck with being a milkman. 

The BMW couldn't overtake initially because of the plant/skip unload on the offside. He then waited until his view opened up on the slight right hand bend. He then drove like a complete cock - that slow turn at the junction was defo deliberate.

When you look at the rear camera it seems like the beamer close passes one of the other riders before the left hook

IMO think that's just the camera angle as the BMW pulls out to overtake.

They're in a BMW, what do you expect? Astonishing that they actually used their indicators.