Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Near Miss of the Day 613: Four incidents in three minutes on London's Marylebone Road

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

Fun and games on Central London's Marylebone Road features in our Near Miss of the Day series today, with four incidents packed into a three minute video.

It was filmed on a 360-degree camera by road.cc reader Martin, who said: “Cycling in London I get a few close passes on camera every day.

“I've been saving up for some particularly hideous ones though, and today I was nearly knocked off by a van, close passed by a taxi and a moped, and then abused by another taxi driver who was incensed that I hadn't moved off the carriageway into some parking bays to let him get past.

“Enjoy,” he added – not a word you’d usually associate with cycling on Marylebone Road, never a place for the faint-hearted to ride, and one that is crying out for the kind of protected cycle lane that popped up last year a little further east on the same route on Euston Road.

> 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

7 comments

Avatar
Sriracha | 2 years ago
0 likes

Which camera did you use? And would you recommend it?

Avatar
wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

The distortion on these super-wide cameras just gives the police even more excuse for 'judging' any pass to be not close enough. However, I agree that they will do that anyway no matter how close the offenders come.

Avatar
CXR94Di2 | 2 years ago
1 like

Ride centrally down the bus lane, dont give the vehicles the option to squeeze by.  Then they will have to go into the other lane to overtake.

Avatar
caw35ride | 2 years ago
3 likes

You'll hear London cab drivers joining every debate about the roads in London, bragging about their professionalism and quality, but a cyclist can see the likes of these every day.

I used to use cabs occasionally but, since I began commuting by bike (which means inevitably becoming more intimate with the cabbie), I haven't given them a penny. 

Avatar
Jenova20 replied to caw35ride | 2 years ago
0 likes

caw35ride wrote:

You'll hear London cab drivers joining every debate about the roads in London, bragging about their professionalism and quality, but a cyclist can see the likes of these every day.

I used to use cabs occasionally but, since I began commuting by bike (which means inevitably becoming more intimate with the cabbie), I haven't given them a penny. 

I think it's the same nationally. Here in the West MIdlands taxi drivers are by far the majority of my close passes and dangerous driving.

Avatar
caw35ride | 2 years ago
4 likes

You'll hear London cab drivers joining every debate about the roads in London, bragging about their professionalism and quality, but a cyclist can see the likes of these every day.

I used to use cabs occasionally but, since I began commuting by bike (which means inevitably becoming more intimate with the cabbie), I haven't given them a penny. 

 

Avatar
0-0 | 2 years ago
3 likes

What's this, go straight forward, when in a left only lane malarkey?
Is it a London thing?
(Joking).

I don't think I'd like to ride in London, unless I had some bladed Ben-Hur style chariot wheels on my bike.
(Not joking).

Latest Comments