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Near Miss of the Day 440: Skip lorry driver undertakes cyclist

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

Today's video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a cyclist riding in the correct lane to go straight ahead - only for a skip driver, who also intends to go in the same direction, moving into the left-turn lane to undertake him, and making a dangerous close pass at the same time; the footage is about 2 minutes into the video above.

It was filmed by road.cc reader Peter, who also supplied rear-view footage (skip to 2 minutes 10 seconds), and who told us: “I'd been going around Clifton Downs and was aiming to follow the A4018 down towards Bristol (the hill is known by another name, but maybe that name should fall out of use).

“Usually when I go along there, I use the left lane though that is for left-turning traffic down Clay Pit Rd (the trick is to take primary before the turn to avoid left-turning traffic).

“This time, I thought I'd use the straight ahead lane and was basically keeping to the white line to allow overtakes (for some reason I really struggle to cycle that section - could be the head-wind or that it's towards the end of a ride or whatever other excuses I can think of).

“This left me feeling a bit precarious but I wasn't getting grief from drivers so I went with it. What I didn't expect was a skip-carrying lorry to undertake me using the left-turn lane and then move back into the straight ahead lane. 

“Of course, the lorry driver didn't make any difference to his journey time as I filtered past him further down the hill (that must not be named).

“Meanwhile, a pedestrian was crossing right in front of the lorry, so I used my brakes as soon as I saw her, but she saw me and stepped back so I carried on in front of her. It's worth remembering to take care crossing in front of big vehicles and similarly whilst filtering past them,” he added.

> 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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29 comments

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OldRidgeback | 3 years ago
3 likes

Maybe it would've been better to stay in the left lane as some have commented and the OP admits. But even so, it was a dangerous and ultimately pointless overtake. Other driver seemed able to wait and make a decent overtake, so why couldn't the skip lorry driver? Skip lorries (and tipper trucks) do have an appalling safety record incidentally, amongst the worst of all HGV types. There is a reason for this and it's because a significant percentage of firms running skip lorry (and tipper lorry) fleets feature business practices most people would regard as questionable. 

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hawkinspeter replied to OldRidgeback | 3 years ago
1 like

Incidentally, when I checked DVLA for the number plate (to make sure that I wasn't misreading it), it showed no information for MOT though the tax was up to date. I'm not sure what that means though - are heavy lorries exempt from MOT as they have some other road-worthy tests or does it mean that the lorry has never been MOT tested?

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alexls replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
4 likes

Vehicle is 2018 reg; MOT isn't required until the third anniversary of registration.

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jollygoodvelo replied to alexls | 3 years ago
1 like

alexls wrote:

Vehicle is 2018 reg; MOT isn't required until the third anniversary of registration.

It is for LGVs

https://www.gov.uk/annual-test-for-lorries-buses-and-trailers

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OldRidgeback replied to jollygoodvelo | 3 years ago
1 like

If the truck should have an MOT and doesn't it backs up what I'm saying about the firms that run skip lorry fleets. Seriously, keep your distance from them. Also, don't engage with the drivers if they do something wrong. Film your footage and report it to the cops if you can but don't risk speaking to the drivers.

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Fifth Gear replied to OldRidgeback | 3 years ago
0 likes

In my experience The DVLA site does not show whether an LGV is MOTd, only whether taxed.

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hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
3 likes

I agree with the commenters that I'd be better off keeping to the left-turn only lane. This was a one-off experiment to see if I'd be better off using the roads as marked and maybe keeping to the white line was a mistake, though taking primary would likely have been seen as blocking the cars even more (I wasn't intendng to piss off the drivers).

As to my undertaking/filtering later on, I did evaluate overtaking the traffic, but there's some traffic islands along the middle of that road which narrowed the available space on the outside of the traffic. When I filtered past the skip lorry, I'd clocked that the pedestrian lights ahead were on red which is why I thought that would be the best point for an overtake, though I hadn't counted on the crossing pedestrian.

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brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
3 likes

You realise that if anything had gone wrong, the police and commenters would have criticised you for not using the roads as marked?

 

I've had people hooting their horn at me (admittedly, not often) for using the roads as marked when approaching the Triangle going toward Clifton (a regular part of my travel).

I get in the right hand lane at the lights near Pret a Manger, ready to go right around the Triangle and then left and across toward Clifton (since the left lane is for Jacobs Wells Road, as I'm sure you know).

I actually had a chance to speak to someone who'd done this.  They took exception to me being in the right hand lane - I asked them why they were in the right hand lane and they said it was because they were going to Clifton and that lane was for Jacobs Wells only - me too! I replied.

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Velo-drone replied to brooksby | 3 years ago
2 likes

I get the same on High Holborn in London when I take the RH lane approaching the turn to Gray's Inn Road. Some motorists rant at me for not being in the bus lane ... despite that this would need me to cross two+ lanes of heavy traffic to make my turn & would undoubtedly be more obstructive than just taking the RH lane at the preceding lights, where I can get in lane safely while everything is stopped ...

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HoarseMann replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
4 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

This was a one-off experiment to see if I'd be better off using the roads as marked

The roads as marked allow bus lane users (cycles, buses, taxis etc.) to use the left hand lane to go straight on. The left turn arrow is only an indication for vehicles not able to use the bus lane. It's perfectly legal (and the proper position) to be in the left lane to go straight on.

(details at the bottom of p.94)

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

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hawkinspeter replied to HoarseMann | 3 years ago
4 likes

I hadn't really paid much attention to that sign, so yes, using the left lane is fine for bikes (not so much for skip lorries).

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HoarseMann replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

I hadn't really paid much attention to that sign, so yes, using the left lane is fine for bikes (not so much for skip lorries).

yep, there's no excuse for that dangerous pass.

I also wonder if the lorry driver had waved the woman across the road without checking his mirrors? It could have been a motorbike filtering up the inside.

I know you are likely to have the reflexes of an agitated squirrel, and you did manage to stop for the woman crossing the road, but the filtering was a bit 'lucas brunelle' for me. riding out of the door zone also helps avoid people who just step out from behind parked vehicles. perhaps the wide angle lens makes it look faster than it was!

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mattw replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
1 like

Appreciate you putting up a vid where you are open to critique.

I have a similar overlong Turn Left land that has just appeared in my town, and I am still  deciding how to ride it.

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mk1max replied to mattw | 3 years ago
0 likes

My thought (and I guess sorry for chiming in as someone who rarely posts - but I've been in a very similar situation before) is that the left hand land is fine for traffic coming from behind, but if someone was pulling out of that junction they'd possibly be expecting all traffic coming down to be turning left unless you were very explicitly not (indicating right for example). The cycle lane confusingly starts mid-junction again so it does cross the outbound lane, but it still looks like a classic candidate of "thought you were turning left".

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HoarseMann replied to mk1max | 3 years ago
0 likes

double post

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HoarseMann replied to HoarseMann | 3 years ago
1 like

mk1max wrote:

By taking primary in the left lane prior to the junction, this should hopefully be avoided. Likewise a left-hook, but you've always got to look out for people making daft manoeuvres.

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hawkinspeter replied to mk1max | 3 years ago
1 like

mk1max wrote:

My thought (and I guess sorry for chiming in as someone who rarely posts - but I've been in a very similar situation before) is that the left hand land is fine for traffic coming from behind, but if someone was pulling out of that junction they'd possibly be expecting all traffic coming down to be turning left unless you were very explicitly not (indicating right for example). The cycle lane confusingly starts mid-junction again so it does cross the outbound lane, but it still looks like a classic candidate of "thought you were turning left".

Good point, but luckily that junction rarely has traffic pulling out of Clay Pit Rd onto the A4018 and you'd be able to see them before the junction so they'd be easy to avoid.

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Mungecrundle | 3 years ago
3 likes

I have a one way street on my commute, cars parked down the left and at the end a traffic light controlled junction where the choice is either right or left. Despite the parked cars it is generally wide enough for a car to safely overtake a cyclist.

As I want to go right at the lights, for a time I took the view that I was better off keeping to the right all the way along, being both in the correct turning lane and at a maximum distance from the parked vehicles.

However, this really confused the car drivers who now had to overtake on my left. After an argument with a driver, I posted the question here and the consensus was to keep left, though outside the door zone, and only move to the right near the junction.

Your road layout is different here in that the lanes are marked for quite some distance, but overall I think I would either keep in the left hand lane until nearer the junction, or if I was feeling more ballsy about keeping with the speed of the traffic, take a more prominent position in the right hand lane. In the vid you seem to be riding on the lane markings, making a perfectly legal overtake by traffic on your left into a close pass.

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Supers79 | 3 years ago
3 likes

On roads I know and am confident on, I'll always take the correct lane where I want to go, but unlike the cyclist in the video I'll take primary.  If cars then want to undertake and move into the my lane then they can.  At least then I'm in the right lane and not having to move across into a potentially busy lane at a later stage. 

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lesterama | 3 years ago
1 like

I see people's point in questioning the road position here, but the infrastructure here is appalling for cycling: an overly-long l/h filter lane and narrow lanes. We have all been guilty of making poorer road-positioning choices from time to time, and poor infrastructure makes those decisions harder for us and more tempting for pathetic driving.

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Gary's bike channel | 3 years ago
1 like

i sont think i could physically cycle in that position for more than ten seconds. I've had enough experiences with drivers shouting at me about the middle of the road to entice them into it. I would stick on the left lane, then do a shoulder check, and move into the straight ahead lane shortly before the lane on the left, goes left. It is blooy annoying and difficult, because you then have to judge a gap in the left lane and the straight ahead one, but usually you can move across. 

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roubaixcobbles | 3 years ago
3 likes

Not excusing the skip lorry driver but riding in the middle of two lanes like that is a shocking choice. Stick in the left lane and either time your crossing of the left turn to pass it when no left-turning vehicles were behind or even, if needs be,, turn left and make a rapid U-turn to return to the road. Sorry but that road position is just asking for trouble.

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Awavey | 3 years ago
5 likes

yeah I wouldnt have ridden that road setup like that, either stick to the left lane, but ride more centrally,maybe even 3/4qtrs over if left hooks are that big a concern, and even if the sign didnt say you could go straight in that left lane to use the bus lane, Id have just ridden it like I could anyway, as that looks to feel the safer option, the alternate is ride the straight on lane but take prime, riding on the white line is a bad idea you are neither sticking or twisting, and it leaves you wide open to those types of close passes on both sides, plus you arent being clear what you intention is are you  going left, are you going straight on are you not sure which lane you need to be in, and  the surface on the line is usually the worst as its least swept clean as cars dont drive there.

as for the near collision with the pedestrian, I think youd have been at fault had you hit them, especially dont undertake vehicles where you cant see whats happening on their right side and seemingly stopped for no apparent reason, and it might be downhill but with that traffic there were a couple of moments there which were a bit heart in the mouth.

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Brightspark | 3 years ago
5 likes

In road situations like that I stay in the left lane until the juction and then work my way to the lane I want. Looking back and signalling normally creates a break in the traffic. As there is a cycle lane ahead, I wouldn't need to move across, but would be on the look out for motor traffic  turning left into me at the junction and adopt a primary position to deter that. Riding in the 2nd lane like that, might be correct  but encourages motorists to pass on the nearside and as bikeman says,  just looks like your riding down the middle of the road to piss off motorists. (who really need little encouragement)

It is great road design for motor traffic, but poor for anyone else.

BTW I didn't like the next bit in the town. Passing on the nearside is very dangerous and I try to avoid it, because of car doors opening in the laybys, passengers opening car doors  on your offside as you undertake (even when the car is moving). Its also difficult to see what the motorist sees, like traffic turning across in front of him, or a pedestrian that he may allow to cross (as we saw). Also you are in a poor position to be seen by the driver as the left mirror as it is not in a normal line of vision and so increases risk of collision should he turn left.

Also never overtake or undertake at a junction as the motorist may choose to turn. 

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hampsoc replied to Brightspark | 3 years ago
0 likes

Yep, all of the above 

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Toorie replied to hampsoc | 3 years ago
1 like

All of the above too.

Also, In slow moving traffic I don't understand undertaking, why not overtake on the right? especially HGV/skip lorrys, you just pulled of the same, if not worse move on him as he did on you. 

Always have an escape route.

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Hirsute | 3 years ago
0 likes

I can see it is unsettling for this, being on the receiving end a few times myself, but how is it different from the driver turning left and undertaking? I'd have thought that with the lane markings, this is equivalent to rule 163

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bikeman01 | 3 years ago
2 likes

Riding along in the centre of two lanes for a full minute - unnecessary. Why? Deliberately trying to annoy drivers? What did you expect?

I would have stayed in the left lane for the entire stretch - taking primary just before the left turn would prevent a left hook. The trajectory you chose was not sensible. 

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HoarseMann | 3 years ago
6 likes

that was a very nasty pass, but I think your usual course of action, to use the left lane and take primary, is a better alternative.

the signage is very poor, but there's a white sign showing that the left lane can be used by bus lane traffic to go straight on.

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