Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Near Miss of the Day 529: Driver in close pass on country lane (video includes swearing)

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

On our Near Miss of the Day feature today, we have another close pass on a country lane, with a Peugeot driver overtaking a cyclist with just inches to spare.

It happened to road.cc reader Simon, who told us it took place in "West Cornwall, between St Just and Sancreed, between Leswidden Farm and Grumbla."

“It's actually stand-out rare in this neck of the woods – even the couriers are careful as horses are as common as bikes,” Simon told us.

“You see this twonk haring off towards a blind bend – imagine a horse around that corner.”

He added: “No report to the police because I thought he might be local – and findable! No such luck!”

> 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.

Add new comment

42 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 3 years ago
0 likes

PS I should have stated the obvious- this NMotD is very close, fast and very bad.

Avatar
MattieKempy | 3 years ago
8 likes

WTF is it with people that they forget we're mums, dads, sons, brothers, daughters? Why are they so unconcerned about their safety that they think it's OK to drive like this? Where's the protection from the Police? It makes me furious.

Avatar
Jenova20 replied to MattieKempy | 3 years ago
2 likes

MattieKempy wrote:

WTF is it with people that they forget we're mums, dads, sons, brothers, daughters? Why are they so unconcerned about their safety that they think it's OK to drive like this? Where's the protection from the Police? It makes me furious.

 

Driving is a privilege, not a right. Somehow the police, courts, media, politicians have got the opposite impression - that driving is a right, and not a privilege.

Avatar
Cycloid | 3 years ago
2 likes

Typical entitled Motorist - "A few seconds of my time are worth more than your life"

I sometimes play a childish game on narrow roads. If a motorist comes up behind me, I pull into the first farm gate to let him pass. If he then overtakes aggressively I don't pull over for the next one.

Avatar
Tired of the tr... replied to Cycloid | 3 years ago
2 likes

Sorry, I don't understand the logic of your "childish game". So when you get a close pass, you punish some other random driver who might not even know the first one and who is staying patiently behind you? How does that help anybody?

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
0 likes

I believe the writer would have us understand that childish logic is an oxymoron.

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
0 likes

hirsute wrote:

I believe the writer would have us understand that childish logic is an oxymoron.

Logic doesn't have to be sound I suppose. It can be any set of formal reasoning made in relation to predefined axioms. They don't have t be valid I guess......

Avatar
brooksby replied to Captain Badger | 3 years ago
2 likes

Captain Badger wrote:

hirsute wrote:

I believe the writer would have us understand that childish logic is an oxymoron.

Logic doesn't have to be sound I suppose. It can be any set of formal reasoning made in relation to predefined axioms. They don't have t be valid I guess......

Exactly.  It doesn't matter whether your axioms are true or not, so long as the correct logical arguments are generated from them.

 

 

Like theology, for example... <ducks!>

Avatar
Captain Badger replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

.......

Exactly.  It doesn't matter whether your axioms are true or not, so long as the correct logical arguments are generated from them.

 

 

Like theology, for example... <ducks!>

Won't be standing near you in a thunder storm....

Avatar
Cycloid replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
4 likes

There is no logic in it. It is a childish game.

Both motorists and cyclists have equal right to use a country lane. There is no legal requirement for the cyclist to get out of the way of the motorist, he probably has enough to do avoiding potholes. If the cyclist was using the road first then he should have priority.

If I pull into a farm gate then I am delaying my journey by a small amount, I will get my wheels and shoes muddy, I may even fall off.

I am being subservient to the motorist, or maybe I'm just being a nice guy.

If ALL cyclists ALways got out of the way of ALL motorists then it would not be long before All motorists believed they had a "right of way" on the roads. If you do not use your rights then you will lose them.

So start my I ride along the country lanes as a nice guy, but if I get aggression I exert my rights. Maybe not totally childish?

Incidentally, has anyone noticed that when you have a slightly impatient driver behind you on a narrow lane, if you  slow down, move into the very centre of the lane, then wave them through as you pull into a farm gate to let them pass, it annoys them even more? They do not like being told what to do by a cyclist.

Avatar
Tired of the tr... replied to Cycloid | 3 years ago
0 likes

Sure, you don't have to pull in for any driver and have any right to be on the road, but that's not what I meant.

Or perhaps I totally misunderstand what you're doing.

I understood your game as follows: if driver 1 endangers you, you, in return, try to annoy the next one, i.e. some totally different driver 2. Driver 2 normally is not responsible for what driver 1 has done, so what exactly is the point of that?

Whether you want to let driver 2 pass or not is up to you and the situation, no problem if you can't or don't want to let them pass, but why do you make your choice dependent on what different driver 1 has done to you before?

I'd understand if you're trying to teach the same driver, but why a different one?

Avatar
Cycloid replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
1 like

How about, "i don't want that to happen again"

Avatar
Tired of the tr... replied to Cycloid | 3 years ago
0 likes

"I don't want that to happen again" is your message for driver 1, but he won't ever hear it because he's long gone while you're trying to teach driver 2, who probably knows nothing about what driver 1 did and might have a totally different personality and might be a very careful driver.

Avatar
Cycloid replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
1 like

I'll try again. "I don't want that to happen to ME again"

You are taking the motorist's point of view, I am taking the cyclist's point of view. Both may be valid, but my safety is paramount (to me) and I am entitled to ride accordingly.

Avatar
IanMK replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
3 likes

I think it's the same logic that means I get a punishment pass because the driver once saw a cyclist go through a red light. Driver 2 surely understands he is part of a wider community and has to accept punishment for the infractions of other members of that community.

Avatar
brooksby replied to IanMK | 3 years ago
2 likes

IanMK wrote:

I think it's the same logic that means I get a punishment pass because the driver once saw a cyclist go through a red light.

A lot of the time I suspect it's more like "I get a punishment pass because the driver was told by someone that they once nearly saw a cyclist go through a red light"...

Avatar
IanMK replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
3 likes

Last weekend I got the finger from a driver. I suspect it was because, going in the opposite direction,  there were 2 cyclists riding abreast and he actually had to slow down to overtake me. Obviously felt that I should be taking more responsibility for members of my community.

Avatar
Bungle_52 replied to IanMK | 3 years ago
0 likes

There is a huge difference between holding someone up for a few minutes and endangering someone's life.

Having said that I usually wait till I hear the following car slow down and then let them pass at the next opportunity. If its muddy I stay on the road and let them get their car dirty. A short toot to say I'm here is OK but agressive use of the horn gets a different response.

Avatar
Tired of the tr... replied to Bungle_52 | 3 years ago
0 likes

Well, yes, I do something similar (check in the mirror what the driver behind me does and react appropriately), but here you actually communicate with the same driver.

What I don't get in Cycloid's "childish game" is that they are trying to teach a different driver while the original one, the one who endangered them, is long gone.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Tired of the trolls here and gone cycling instead | 3 years ago
1 like

Stephan Matthiesen wrote:

Sure, you don't have to pull in for any driver and have any right to be on the road, but that's not what I meant.

Or perhaps I totally misunderstand what you're doing.

I understood your game as follows: if driver 1 endangers you, you, in return, try to annoy the next one, i.e. some totally different driver 2. Driver 2 normally is not responsible for what driver 1 has done, so what exactly is the point of that?

Whether you want to let driver 2 pass or not is up to you and the situation, no problem if you can't or don't want to let them pass, but why do you make your choice dependent on what different driver 1 has done to you before?

I'd understand if you're trying to teach the same driver, but why a different one?

To some extent that makes sense, but peoples reactions are not always logical.

E.g. when cycling on urban roads in traffic I will often take the centre of the lane and hold my place in the queue at lights, however if driver 10 pulls alongside me and herds me to the kerb because they think I am stopping them from making more progress, then I will filter up to the front of the queue. I have clearly been instructed by a driver that I am not part of the traffic and therefore I am not constrained to wait for the traffic. Also pulling away beside a car is less safe. The result is that drivers 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9 are now behind me and possibly inconvenienced, and my own journey is improved. Driver 10 gains nothing of course. 

If I ride reasonably and am treated reasonably by drivers then all good, but if drivers do not treat you reasonably then you have to alter your own behavour for your own protection.

In te OPs case perhaps blockin all drivers because of a single aggresive pass is extreme, but if riding considerately ends wiht more dangerous passes than safe ones, then clearly a different approach is required.

Avatar
Tired of the tr... replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
0 likes

I see what you mean, but I think that is somewhat different as you also send the message to the correct driver (driver 10, the one who bullied you), so they hopefully notice that they didn't gain anything. And in an urban setting the "holding up" part is quite different than on narrow country roads; typically in town some drivers might be annoyed by cyclists in general, but in reality nobody is held up for long by cyclists.

And I would think (hope) that drivers 1 to 9 don't have any problem with you filtering to the front if it is safe, as this is the normal thing to do in a city.

Avatar
Velophaart_95 | 3 years ago
6 likes

All are bad, but close passes on country/rural roads seem worse. Often narrow, unsighted roads with anything around the next corner; cyclists, horse riders, walkers, farm machinery, etc

The country roads should be an escape from the mad main roads - sadly, they're often not, and are sometimes worse. I've thought that once you drive into the country, you must expect to be inconvenienced by slower 'traffic', be that cyclists, livestock, etc

If you can't accept this, then stay away from these roads. 

Avatar
JLasTSR replied to Velophaart_95 | 3 years ago
4 likes

I would agree most think country lanes should be safer than main roads but contrary to popular opinion, it’s not the motorway, main road, or the city centre that is the most dangerous. The most dangerous place to drive ride  cycle is on a country lane or rural road.

The number of people killed on country roads is nearly 11 times higher than on motorways. 60% of all fatalities occur on country roads; that’s an average of three a day. Country roads carry 30% of the cycling traffic but account for 50% of the fatalities.

What makes rural roads so dangerous?

The danger on rural roads is that drivers tend to drive fast on the bits where they can see a good distance and then don't adjust their speed appropriately as they become unsighted corners dips etc. They are lulled into a sense of believing their speed is appropriate right up until they are suddenly confronted with an obstruction or in the worst case the accident.

That doesn't make it right that country lanes should be dangerous in fact we should all do our best to make them safer but every road user should be aware that they are not to be thought of as safe and in fact if we got everyone to think of them as dangerous it would help to make them safer. 

Avatar
Les Ed replied to JLasTSR | 3 years ago
2 likes

Several other factors. Emergency services are closer on the motorways both in terms of geographically and speed. Therefore victims are more likely to be seen in the golden hour following a crash so chance of survival increases. They are more likely to get to a hospital with the injured party after the crash.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Velophaart_95 | 3 years ago
2 likes

Velophaart_95 wrote:

I've thought that once you drive into the country, you must expect to be inconvenienced by slower 'traffic', be that cyclists, livestock, etc

If you can't accept this, then stay away from these roads. 

Unfortuantely in the eyes of most drivers while it is acceptable to be inconvenienced by horses, tractors, learners, people parking in stupid places, deliveries or crashes caused by stupid driving. It is not acceoptable to be delayed for 30seconds by a cyclist. I honestly don't know why that is, other than persistent media campaigns vilifying lycra louts.

How many times have we recieved abuse because a single driver is behind for 30s? Have you ever seen any abuse for the drivers who caused a crash on the motorway who have delayed tens of thousands of people for half an hour?

Avatar
ChasP replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 3 years ago
0 likes

Interesting article, could it also argued the other way that motorists are freeloading by travelling with no physical effort at great cost to society? the challenge is how to change the perception of these misguided motorists.

Avatar
Hirsute replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 3 years ago
2 likes

A bit of a flaw in that motorists are unaware of the laws they have to follow or don't care about following them.

Although on a superficial level, insurance does fit the category of free riding .

Avatar
JLasTSR replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
0 likes

double posted sorry

Avatar
JLasTSR replied to wycombewheeler | 3 years ago
1 like

I have thought very uncharitable thoughts and may have vocalised them about those who crashed. 

I've had lots of abuse while driving a tractor. A cousin sees how big a queue he can collect, I think he got to 70! I always pull over if I can when I get to 5-10. There is a highway code bit about this rule 169 do not hold up a long queue of traffic especially if you drive a large or slow moving vehicle. Failure to do so can lead to a charge of inconsiderate driving. 

I've not noticed abuse when I've been cycling probably happened but I haven't noticed. Had many close passes but two will live with me forever. 

Avatar
Bungle_52 | 3 years ago
7 likes

"No report to the police"

I know it's frustrating but if we don't report we'll never get any improvement. Look on it as making things better for our children.

Pages

Latest Comments