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Near Miss of the Day 696: Driver overtakes cyclist so closely that wing mirror hits rider

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

Not so much a Near Miss of the Day this one, given that the driver passed the cyclist so closely that the car’s wing mirror actually made contact with the rider – not that the vehicle’s occupants seemed too concerned about the incident.

Rich, the road.cc reader who sent us the footage, said: “This was in Felixstowe, Suffolk a few weeks before Christmas.

“I was out for a few miles, first time off the turbo for a bit, took primary at the lights, and held it after the lights for the upcoming traffic island and roundabout, and the driver passed so close my elbow pushed his wing mirror in.

“As they continued, the passenger leaned out and pushed the mirror back into place, but apart from that they showed no awareness of the incident at all.”

He added: “Ironically it was outside a police station, but I missed the seven-day cut off for submission.”

> 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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21 comments

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Awavey | 2 years ago
1 like

I know this route into Felixstowe, but Im struggling to remember how Id normally ride it as its not a route Id choose that often, theres normally traffic queued up at the traffic lights,blocking the ASL anyway, and then immediately more queuing with the roundabout as well when Ive ridden it, as that road to the left/right on the roundabout is the main road into the town centre as opposed to directly to the seafront, so Ive tended to find its ok to keep in the cycle lanes, which I thought were wider than they look on the video, and most motorists realise even MGIF isnt going to work there, though I have had people park in the cycle lane just by the roundabout, which was nice of them.

But I dont recall being close passed, well struck either really, at that pinch point for sure, its the roundabout really I think youve got to be careful at and maybe I zone out the pinchpoint trying to get set for the roundabout, as people dont tend to look for cyclists on it terribly well, and theres enough room for vehicles to steal a pass on you before you get round and through it.

and then that road down to Old Felixstowe, the video doesnt do it justice how bumpy it is to cycle on, its like riding a bucking bronco instead of a bike.

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IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
5 likes

Failing to stop after a collision? Was the rider injured at all - minor bruising? Does the 7 day thing count then?

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wtjs replied to IanMSpencer | 2 years ago
8 likes

Does the 7 day thing count then?

There isn't a '7 day thing' except where local police have made one up as a dodge to restrict complaints. There is the '14 day offence to NIP thing', which is frequently employed as a dodge by bent forces like Lancashire when they don't even get around to reading offence reports for over 14 days.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
3 likes

I expect the 7 day thing is because with the forces who do something with the videos, they wouldn't have time to submit the ownership request, get the NIP in the post and guarantee it would be there on the 14th day, which would mean the Ambulances chasers lauded by someone on here will get the scrotes off. 

Surprisingly 14 days to tell someone they are being prosecuted for an offence is a thing now. I'm assuming it was something brought in with Speed Cameras which have been watered down massively from what they were intended for, and not the stealth tax etc which certain papers used to cry about. I mean afterall, you don;t speed, you don't pay. 

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IanMSpencer replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
3 likes

Not easy to Google, but a failure to stop does not seem to require a NIP. This seems reasonable to me as in such a case it may take more time to identify the offender.

There is a requirement to stop even if the injury or damage is minor and clearly if they were observed adjusting the mirror they cannot deny having a collision.

No front footage? If front footage existed then there would be a good case (would be able to see the displaced mirror, whether fitted to door or wing!), the back footage is inconclusive.

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Eton Rifle replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
2 likes
wtjs wrote:

Does the 7 day thing count then?

There isn't a '7 day thing' except where local police have made one up as a dodge to restrict complaints. There is the '14 day offence to NIP thing', which is frequently employed as a dodge by bent forces like Lancashire when they don't even get around to reading offence reports for over 14 days.

Correct. However, the 14-day limit for issuing a NIP does NOT apply if there has been a collision, as in this case. The problem he's going to have is proving that the impact occurred (it's not in that video clip).

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swldxer | 2 years ago
1 like

Definitely a DOOR mirror yet again.

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Hirsute replied to swldxer | 2 years ago
2 likes

ANAGRAMME

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Jenova20 replied to swldxer | 2 years ago
0 likes

swldxer wrote:

Definitely a DOOR mirror yet again.

Good luck getting WingMirrorMan to rename...

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Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
10 likes

Jebus.  Those "cycle lanes" in Felixstowe are crap even by Murder Strip standards.  Think I've seen smoother offroad tracks.

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Awavey replied to Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
1 like

well some of the offroad tracks in Rendlesham forest are as bad but then they are literally tracks built of builders rubble but if you want to see really bad "cycle lanes" in Felixstowe,this road through Trimley/Walton if you follow it all the way through leads you to the start of the video,

https://goo.gl/maps/yN3B6QKvXkk5ZNwW9

though going back the other way out of Felixstowe is the worst as the road surface is far worse that side and its actually painted basically around the spaces to dump park cars, so you are always moving in towards the traffic passing you.

 

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GMBasix | 2 years ago
1 like

Had to take my headphones off. Who fits reheat to a bicycle?

Lousy driving.

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Grumpy Bob | 2 years ago
19 likes

A few years ago, we were out on our tandem when a motorist swiped the stoker's hip with her wing mirror with sufficient force that the mirror snapped off. Another motorist chased after her and made her stop in the next village. During the altercation that followed we were accused of riding too close together - she hadn't even noticed we were on a tandem! 

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Grumpy Bob | 2 years ago
12 likes

She might have complained you were riding two-abreast. 

But kudos on the other motorist.

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andystow | 2 years ago
5 likes

Beetlejuice!

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S13SFC | 2 years ago
7 likes

If a coffin dodger has hit you why would you wait to report it?

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brooksby replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
5 likes

Garage at Large wrote:

Very very bad driving, which I think was exacerbated by the ridiculously narrow "cycling lane" prompting the car occupants to think "why's he not in it? He's in the car lane".

It doesn't often happen, but... I completely agree with you on this point: those were my thoughts when I watched the video, too.

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grumpyoldcyclist replied to Lance ꜱtrongarm | 2 years ago
5 likes

It would be more useful if Nick Freeman could propose to have all drivers re-tested every five years. But then he'd have to be re-tested and he'd find a way to avoid it.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to grumpyoldcyclist | 2 years ago
6 likes

Also remember that is what he does, propose. There is lots of stories about his opinion on "hardship rules" (the one he has used multiple times with multi millionaires), "Drink drivers" (yep defended those with loopholes) and of course his comments the government should make all pedestrians wear hi-viz. But that is what they all are, comments in the paper to get publicity for him mostly. 

Weirdly the only time he actually campaigned the government on something, it was about the Cyclist menace on the road. You know the recent one where he produced several videos lying about cyclists breaking laws or performing feats which could only be done in motorcars. 

Now, if his campaign was a petition on being tested to keep your licence every 5 or 10 years, I would sign in a hearbeat. Of course a Government wouldn't do this as unfortunately too many newspapers would be touting it as a war on the motorist or stealth taxes, and not something which might reduce road deaths as people wouldn't be doing bad driving habits and never being pulled up on them. 

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TriTaxMan replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
3 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Also remember that is what he does, propose. There is lots of stories about his opinion on "hardship rules" (the one he has used multiple times with multi millionaires), "Drink drivers" (yep defended those with loopholes) and of course his comments the government should make all pedestrians wear hi-viz. But that is what they all are, comments in the paper to get publicity for him mostly. 

Weirdly the only time he actually campaigned the government on something, it was about the Cyclist menace on the road. You know the recent one where he produced several videos lying about cyclists breaking laws or performing feats which could only be done in motorcars. 

Now, if his campaign was a petition on being tested to keep your licence every 5 or 10 years, I would sign in a hearbeat. Of course a Government wouldn't do this as unfortunately too many newspapers would be touting it as a war on the motorist or stealth taxes, and not something which might reduce road deaths as people wouldn't be doing bad driving habits and never being pulled up on them. 

You got there before I did.

The total extent to his "campaigns" on road safety in relation to motorists are sporadic news articles and a couple of mentions on his firms blog/website.

An extract is this 

Undoubtedly there will also be those who think the charter is a bit rich coming from a lawyer who is accused of being a menace to road safety since he has made his name securing acquittals for his clients.

However, Freeman says that until the law is changed it is the duty of criminal defence lawyers to defend their clients to the best of their ability. `

“I work within the parameters of current legislation. But how much better if we could introduce the changes of my proposed charter. It would slash the number of accidents and make all forms of road transport much safer.”

I can find only one solitary article in the Daily Mail from 2018 in which Nick Freeman does not say that the "Exceptional hardship" defence should be scrapped, only that it shouldn't be applied to a bundle of offences.   

He said: 'We`re now facing ridiculous scenarios where multiple offences committed by an individual driver are bundled together so they are dealt with in one court. 

'The 'hardship argument' is then used as a piece of umbrella mitigation to cover all these offences which, in totality, would net vast numbers of points. 

And again even that is interesting because in the case of Chris Tarrant, Nick Freeman argued that 'At Reading Magistrates’ Court, celebrity lawyer Mr Freeman argued that the speeding offences should be treated as having happened on a single occasion. “The two offences occur 21 minutes apart on the same stretch of road in ideal traffic conditions,” Mr Freeman said. “Had he been 20 minutes down the road going in the same direction you would probably have been of the view it was the same occasion.”'

His position since then shows he does not wan't it scrapped https://twitter.com/themrloophole/status/1293148275214888961

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AlsoSomniloquism | 2 years ago
6 likes

Sometimes people don't have knowledge of how close a person gets on the rear camera, but as you were actually hit, (although  your video proof didn't show it) I'm surprised you didn't submit the footage as soon as you could.

Apart from that, you did nothing wrong in the lead up to the incident apart from trust other road users would be careful around you. 

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