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Near Miss of the Day 398: Close pass for charity worker on way to work to deliver e-bikes for NHS staff

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

There may be much less traffic than usual on the roads at the moment, but that isn't stopping cyclists from being on the receiving end of close passes. And while the mainstream media is focusing on leisure cyclists taking their outdoor exercise during lockdown, many people riding bikes at the moment are doing so to get to and from essential work.

Those elements come together in the latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series, shot near Stirling in Scotland by road.cc reader Mairi.

She received a close pass from a driver on Friday morning as she was riding to the charity where she works - and where she would be delivering e-bikes to NHS workers to help with their commutes.

She said: "I work for an environmental charity, today I was going to work to deliver ebikes to NHS staff. The roads were empty, so uncalled for, there was no congestion? Wonder what goes through people's minds?"

> 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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6 comments

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Sriracha | 3 years ago
11 likes

"what goes through people's minds?"
For some drivers, nothing. The situation does not excite any higher order circuits in their brain. They navigate the cyclist as they would any other restriction at the nearside, like a pothole or roadside debris, judging the margin instinctively on autopilot. I'm not even trying to be rude about some motorists here - I honestly believe that is how it works for some. If it were the bonnet of another car nosing out of a driveway they'd give it a wider margin, feeling a sense of worry about whether the driver had seen them.

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Hirsute | 3 years ago
5 likes

Wonder what goes through people's minds?

What's for dinner, how long will I have to queue for, what's on telly tonight, was that a cyclist - oh never mind.

Avatar
ktache replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
5 likes

I am an exellent driver...

I am an exellent driver...

I am an exellent driver...

I am an exellent driver...

I am an exellent driver...

Avatar
billymansell | 3 years ago
3 likes

Time to name and shame with reg and location. With so many people at home hunting down this vermin could become part of their daily exercise, improving people's health and society in one fell swoop.

Think of it as a post-Easter Easter egg hunt.

Avatar
eburtthebike | 3 years ago
5 likes

"Wonder what goes through people's minds?"

Something like "It's only a cyclist, there's plenty of room, and I won't get hurt if I hit them." or "It's a cyclist, they are scum so why should I give them any room." or "It's a cyclist, they aren't important, well, not as important as me; I'm a driver."

But with the proviso that they probably don't think about you at all.  I'd love to set up a study to trap and interview these drivers to find out exactly what they were thinking.

Avatar
mikewood replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
4 likes

They weren't thinking.....

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