Near Miss of the Day 851: Transport for London launches investigation after “unacceptable” close passing bus driver squeezes cyclist into kerb

Transport for London says it has launched an investigation after one of its bus drivers pulled in while overtaking a cyclist, squeezing the rider into the kerb, in a manoeuvre described by TfL’s head of bus operations as “unacceptable and far from the required standard”.

The frightening incident, which took place in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea last Wednesday, was captured by cyclist and road safety campaigner Lauren O’Brien, who nevertheless insisted that the “horrible experience” won’t stop her cycling in London.

Tonight I got home & bowled my eyes out. It was a horrendous commute home, with this 👇🏻 being the icing on the cake in @RBKC. But you know something? Not matter how many times I get bullied off the road, be it bus, car, whoever, it won’t stop me cycling. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/335yubCJFv

— Lauren O’Brien (@laurencyclist) February 8, 2023

“Tonight I got home and bawled my eyes out,” O’Brien wrote on Twitter. “It was a horrendous commute home, with this being the icing on the cake… But you know something? No matter how many times I get bullied off the road, be it bus, car, whoever, it won’t stop me cycling.

“The moment I let these horrible experiences affect my decision to choose to cycle, the vehicles have won. I can’t let that happen. Cycling is a brilliant, eco way to get around the city. And no matter how many bad experiences I have it isn’t going to stop me riding my bike.”

> Near Miss of the Day 827: Bus driver “bullies his way into a gap that was never there”

Transport for London’s head of bus operations, Rosie Trew, has told road.cc that the government body and RATP, who operate the route on TfL’s behalf, are currently investigating the incident.

“Driving that endangers cyclists or pedestrians is unacceptable and far from the required standard of our bus drivers,” Trew told us.

“We are working with RATP… to investigate this incident and ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

TfL added that all London bus drivers are currently undertaking a Vision Zero training course, which aims to teach them new skills in hazard perception and to provide them with a better understanding of the risks to cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, and passengers, along with ways to prevent driver fatigue.

TfL says the course is “designed to create the safety culture and attitudes” that will help the body achieve Vision Zero for London.

> 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