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Near Miss of the Day 633: Motorist impatient with cyclist waiting at red light decides to go through it himself

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

Everyone knows that all cyclists jump red lights – or at least, you could be forgiven for reaching that conclusion if your experience was limited to reading replies to Jeremy Vine’s social media threads, or the comments beneath local newspaper stories about people on bikes.

So here’s hoping (most likely in vain) that the latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series comes to the attention of people who post such generalised claptrap online.

We’ll let road.cc reader Andrew, who sent us the video, take up the story: “Not quite a near miss, but whilst out for a morning ride in Wells, Somerset, I stopped at a red light,” he said.

“This van came up behind me and the driver hooted at me because I didn't go through the obviously red traffic light.

“I turned and pointed out the obvious. He then decided to overtake me, going through an adjacent red traffic light settling once and for all the age-old debate over who really goes through red traffic lights.”

> 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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12 comments

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wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

... or Lancashire County Council Highway Maintenance Transits

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wtjs replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

... or white Audi Q5 T90 JDT towing a large caravan, which was so far from the lights when they turned red that it wasn't even on the frame. The rear of the caravan crossed the 'Stop' line 2.2 seconds after they turned red. This offence occurred on 25th July and Lancashire Constabulary has not even responded to the report yet (and probably never will...until they have to dream up some lies to answer the complaint)

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wtjs | 2 years ago
0 likes

the age-old debate over who really goes through red traffic lights

There isn't any debate! It's 30 tonne 4 axle Scania tipper lorry FX62 AYH going through red lights at 50 mph 1.6 seconds after they turned red or ...

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grumpyoldcyclist | 2 years ago
3 likes

Hope you picked up the registration and were able to report it, police should do something

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Awavey | 2 years ago
2 likes

Guessing the sensor in the road doesnt pick up cyclists properly, or they stopped slightly too far forward of it but not far enough for the van to then trigger it.

Technically if you believe the light is flummoxed by you and you cant see its phasing on the other lights and it's safe to do so of course, you can ride through it.

Worst case if you still dont want to ride through it, just hop off walk around it,hop back on.

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Sheen wheels replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
2 likes

But the light turns amber just after the van has driven round the side of it (which I'm guessing would be unlikely to trigger any sensor). 

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Awavey replied to Sheen wheels | 2 years ago
2 likes

the van would have triggered the sensor in the lane they took, and I suspect both those lights then get synched in the sequence given the setup of the junction, as the left filter wouldnt be in any direct conflict with that other lane to go green at the same time, but queueing traffic there may have been prevented getting forward in there respective lanes to trigger their own sensor, its just the video cuts out that light at the last moment.

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Sriracha replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
5 likes

So if the lights don't recognise cyclists why should cyclist recognise the lights?

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eburtthebike | 2 years ago
8 likes

Go through on red, get criticised; wait on red, get crap like this.  We can't win.

I wonder what the driver would have said if he'd been stopped by the police?  "The bloody cyclist wouldn't go through a red light, but I know they all do it."

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brooksby | 2 years ago
8 likes

Grrr!  Bl00dy red light jumping cyclists, pay no road tax, no attention to the laws of the road ...

Err, wait a minute... 

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Cjbrewer replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

"There's good and bad on both sides"

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

Going on the state of the van, I wonder if there is road tax and insurance (and MOT) involved anyway.

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