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news
Near Miss of the Day 574: Van driver fined after passing cyclist “within inches” head-on
Today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a van driver coming “within inches” of a cyclist on a country road in north Essex – with the rider submitting the footage to police, resulting in the driver being prosecuted and fined.
The incident happened close to road.cc reader John’s home in Duddenhoe End in the northwest corner of the county, close to its borders with both Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
John told us that after submitting the video to Essex Police, “I didn’t hear anything for a while, but I got a call from them recently to tell me that the driver had been prosecuted.
“It seems he was charged with and pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention. I think he was also charged with driving without tax, but I can’t be sure of that.
“He was fined £200 and had to pay court costs of around £120. He also got four points on his licence.
“A result, but one that would have preferred not to have had to report as it was pretty scary having a van pass within inches of me,” John added.
“It was also totally inexcusable as visibility was good, I was cycling close to the edge of the road and the road widens at the bend.”
> 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.
Latest Comments
- ktache 3 hours 28 min ago
The small frame, the aggressive posture, lots of standover height.
- mctrials23 4 hours 24 min ago
As i've said before, the police should be sued for a lot of money when someone they have knowingly ignored has gone on to commit a serious crime....
- David9694 4 hours 31 min ago
'Bad parking' blocks firefighters multiple times on same emergency call-out...
- David9694 4 hours 35 min ago
Cambridgeshire boy, 13, crashes Audi into garden wall after taking it from home...
- Adam Sutton 5 hours 21 min ago
Good stuff. Now do it on cycleway C9 through Hammersmith to Chiswick.
- mark1a 5 hours 30 min ago
It's technically allowed but it's not known as "London's Orbital Car Park" for nothing.
- Dogless 6 hours 38 min ago
You're defending bombing hospitals and refugee camps and starving children.
- mattw 9 hours 18 min ago
Used car salesman is a complete attention-seeking plank....
- tubasti 9 hours 35 min ago
I don't know if they're any better, but they's certainly become more boring.
- FionaJJ 10 hours 1 min ago
At risk of being cynical, and stereotyping the police, it's so they don't have to leave the comfort of their panda cars and pursue on foot when...
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11 comments
That, DVLA serves automatic fines for failing to tax a vehicle, I wouldn't put past this scrote to have made a sorn declaration that his vehicle is kept off the road in an attempt to avoid payment >and this kind of tax evasion or making a false declaration may have aroused cops to take an interest.
Well done! Good result, and a change from that Essex story last year where a close pass wasn't close enough to take any action because the police claimed the rider hadn't 'wobbled or braked'. I have never submitted an 'oncoming close pass' report! It certainly happens around here
Unfortunately this kind of occurance is VERY common. 3 on todays ride.
This happened to me this morning, though i didn't realise it was actually an offence...
There isn't a specific 'close pass' offence, but it can be handled by the police & magistrates under one of several offences depending on the circumstances (all potentially 3-9 points, except dangerous driving which is 3-11):
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This last bullet point is only applicable if someone is injured or worse, as it comes from the Crimes Against the Persons Act
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This last bullet point is only applicable if someone is injured or worse, as it comes from the Crimes Against the Persons Act
[/quote]So that's different to the law about furious riding, on a bicycle, where no injury is required to prosecute?
Did you submit the footage? If we don't keep submitting you can be sure things will never improve.
I think you guys need a spreadsheet so you can remember the last numbers used for the series.....Edit now changed to correct number.As for the incident, I wonder if Essex only chased him up because of the tax issue or whether they would have done him anyway?
Essex have had a step change. Last few months it was NFA on mine except for the one where the driver went through red 10 seconds after the light changed. Now they seem to have reinforced the team or brought people back as they now say they will take action.
maybe theyve transferred in from the Suffolk/Norfolk team who seem to have gone right down hill of late