Near Miss of the Day 765: Driver almost causes collision overtaking cyclist on blind bend

IanMSpencer wrote:

Yesterday we had a van pass us which forced an oncoming car to stop. What was really bad is then a following car used the car cowering at the side of the road as an excuse to pass too. I don't think the wave I got back as I indicated they were still too close was a cheery one.

People do that all the time, when cars pull over to let police or ambulances pass...

Oldfatgit wrote:

*Always* read out the numberplate - if you have time and you know it - using the NATO phonetic alphabet.
This will help ...
A) to help reduce the chance of you swearing and potentially inciting the pillock to do something else
B) makes it easier when you hand it in as it helps remove any "ambiguity" ...

Daft advice.
a) most people don't know the current phonetic alphabet and;
b) why spend time articulating superfluous syllables as the twat who's just endangered you disappears over the horizon, taking his numberplate with him?

It's easy enough to learn, and really does make it a lot easier to pick out the licence plate you call out. The video can't always be trusted to have picked it up (low light, bumpy surface).

Eton Rifle wrote:

[ Daft advice. a) most people don't know the current phonetic alphabet and; b) why spend time articulating superfluous syllables as the twat who's just endangered you disappears over the horizon, taking his numberplate with him?

It's not daft at all, it gives you the evidence to be able to identify the vehicle if your camera doesn't pick up the plate or only picks up part of it and using the phonetic alphabet ensures that it's easy to hear exactly what you've seen when you play the video back. Most passes like this end with "the twat who's just endangered you disappears over the horizon, taking his numberplate with him" and one then relies on the police/CPS to find and charge them, what's "daft" about making sure one has the clearest possible evidence of who the offender was?

its not the thing Id advise myself as the number 1 priority in these situations though, I dont know anyones ever claimed the police acted solely on audio and not visual confirmation of the number plate, or where the audio provided the decisive evidence of vehicle identity when the video was in question, or thats it withstood challenge in a court setting as theres nothing to say you couldnt misread a plate.

I don't know about it holding up in court – my guess is that it would certainly be open to challenge – the reason I do it, as I said, is in case the numberplate isn't visible or legible on the video. Most people who don't employ Mr Poophole won't try the "You can't prove I was there" defence. I've certainly had an NIP sent where the numberplate evidence was my voice alone (close pass as I was turning left, so the video showed the front of the car skinning my right side but I was round the corner before the rear end came into view), though thanks to the Met's "Won't tell you anything else unless it goes to court" policy I don't know the outcome, as it didn't go to court I assume whatever sanction they imposed was accepted.

Daft? Err nope!

There have been a few occasions when my camera hasn't quite captured all the characters of the plate, but you can still make out either part of the plate or at least the vehicle make/model/colour in the video. The lack of complete plate has meant that I haven't been able to report. If however I have called out the plate to myself, then I can still look it up after the event and confirm the vehicle details. If the details from the plate in my audio match the details when I do a search on the reg then I know I can report. The odds of me shouting out the wrong plate, but it still matching the vehicle type/colour are infinitesimally small. Use of the NATO alphabet is entirely optional of course!

Dicklexic wrote:

Use of the NATO alphabet is entirely optional of course!

I think I'll avoid it - I don't want to find Putin turning up on my doorstep to conduct 'special operations'.

To be honest, just read out the number plate, no need for the zero x-ray alpha pappa. In the instant you have the combination of that, blurry video and the DVLA check will cover nearly all situations.

IanMSpencer wrote:

To be honest, just read out the number plate, no need for the zero x-ray alpha pappa. In the instant you have the combination of that, blurry video and the DVLA check will cover nearly all situations.

It can save some hassle though, I took ages last year finding a lorry that nearly hit me running a red light in Battersea because I just shouted the letters and the plate was blurry and audio indistinct (very busy junction), I spent a long time trying various combinations of C, G, E, P and D on the DVLA website before I found him.

you need this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockney_Alphabet

I'm rather fond of this one by the awesome (and cyclists) HMHB:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqpJ6XYykHE

Perfect is the enemy of good

Best to encourage people to do a straightforward method then if they get enthused they can advance.

Agreed.

Yup! (EDIT - Oops, Ninja'd)