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Near Miss of the Day 805: Oncoming motorhome driver almost hits cyclist

“Not reported to Police Scotland because I wasn’t killed, etc”

A cyclist on the receiving end of a very close pass in the north of Scotland from a motorhome driver says he didn’t report the incident to police “because I wasn’t killed, etc.”

The incident, filmed by road.cc reader Kieran the Saturday before last, happened as he approached Garguston – which lies on the Black Isle, across the Beauly Firth from Inverness – from the west.

Kieran’s comment could be viewed as tongue-in-cheek – but it does reflect the reality encountered by many cyclists when they submit footage of close passes to police, namely that due to resource issues even the closest of close passes caught on film will not be followed up by action against the driver unless the rider was injured.

> 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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18 comments

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fenix | 1 year ago
4 likes

I reported a similar incident to Cheshire Police the other week. Not even as bad as this one and the police have acted.

It only took 5 mins to send the evidence in.

Awful driving.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to fenix | 1 year ago
2 likes

In scotland, I believe you have to go directly to the Police Officer or they have to come to you. So it harder to sort out and do. 

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Jenova20 | 1 year ago
2 likes

It's literally never been easier to solve crimes with all the video evidence everywhere and idiots admitting to it and flashing guns and knives online...So how have our police forces becomes so lazy and corrupt that they're solving less and less crimes? We've even given them PCSOs to do the tedious parts of their jobs and taken ticketing from them and given it to the councils. Lazy incompetent bastards. There's really no excuses at this point.

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NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
7 likes

" . . . . . due to resource issues even the closest of close passes caught on film will not be followed up by action against the driver unless the rider was injured"

While lack of resources might mean the Police can not do all we would like them to do with all types of crime, evidence from NMOTD and various anecdotes from people on this site shows that some Police forces do not prioritise cyclists safety. It can also depend on who first watches the video as shown by proactive Police officers like Inspector Kevin Smith and PC Mark Hodson criticising other officers for not taking action time and time again.

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Safety | 1 year ago
8 likes

"it does reflect the reality encountered by many cyclists when they submit footage of close passes to police, namely that due to resource issues even the closest of close passes caught on film will not be followed up by action against the driver unless the rider was injured." Particularly when the Police force in question deliberately make it difficult to submit footage and obstruct attempts to create an online portal for the function.

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wtjs replied to Safety | 1 year ago
0 likes

Particularly when the Police force in question deliberately make it difficult to submit footage and obstruct attempts to create an online portal for the function

This is a crude method of restricting complaints which has been superseded by the Lancashire Solution: submissions to OpSnapLancs are ejected immediately to the bin with no response whatsoever. However, the Kent Solution does possess the merit of delay, where the police can eventually allow direct video uploading and portray this as an improvement- thereby providing several months respite until the punters realise the carefully targeted videos are just ending up in the same bin.

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NOtotheEU replied to wtjs | 1 year ago
1 like

There must be someone within Lancashire police who actually acts on video reports as this video shows red light jumpers, close passers, insurance dodgers and dangerous overtakers being prosecuted. 

Dangerous Lancashire drivers caught on dashcam leading to hundreds of prosecutions

https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/dangerous-lancashire-drivers...

Do you think it could be worth contacting one of the officers quoted in the article directly to call out the seeming hypocrisy in calling for submissions then consistently ignoring them?

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wtjs replied to NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
2 likes

Do you think it could be worth contacting one of the officers quoted in the article directly to call out the seeming hypocrisy in calling for submissions then consistently ignoring them?

Ho! Ho! The short answer is 'No'. These are really Bad Cops! It's over 2 months ago when I reported this vehicle and driver- none of this blanking out plates and identifiable people nonsense from me!

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NOtotheEU replied to wtjs | 1 year ago
1 like

Oh dear. Well, at least I gave you a chuckle.

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wtjs replied to NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
2 likes

Well, at least I gave you a chuckle

If there was one at all, it was one burdened to the limit with irony! It's not that funny, living with a bent police force determined to protect drivers of expensive German cars with no MOT or insurance for over 19 months and no VED for almost 14 months

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HoarseMann replied to wtjs | 1 year ago
7 likes

As you (well, we all) know where this untaxed/un-mot'd vehicle lives. Why not just send a postcard to the address?

Just be careful of the wording so that you're not impersonating any authority, could just say "Police Aware: Untaxed, No MOT for MV57 GXO. Failure to rectify risks vehicle being seized."

That's all true - the police are aware, because you have told them and there's technically a risk of the vehicle being seized, even if it is close to zero!!

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wtjs replied to HoarseMann | 1 year ago
1 like

That's all true - the police are aware, because you have told them and there's technically a risk of the vehicle being seized, even if it is close to zero!!
He only stays regularly at The Old Garstang Police Station - I doubt if he lives there. The real point is that Lancashire Constabulary really likes being in complete control of the law, so they have the power to provide Indulgences to people they choose. This is why they dream up 'rules' which they claim render evidence they don't like as invalid. Rules such as 'a police officer has to observe the vehicle without MOT/ insurance/ VED on the road before ANYTHING can be done'. This is nonsense

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fenix replied to wtjs | 1 year ago
0 likes

You do know that the police don't make up the laws ?

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wtjs replied to fenix | 1 year ago
0 likes

You do know that the police don't make up the laws ?

In practice, they do in Lancashire. By refusing to enforce almost any traffic laws unless they choose to do so for probably discreditable reasons (such as stuffing people who annoy them by reporting offences with indisputable evidence), Lancashire Constabulary actually makes traffic law here- not Parliament or the Judiciary

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fenix replied to wtjs | 1 year ago
0 likes

It's not an offence if it's off road though.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to fenix | 1 year ago
2 likes

wtjs has posted multiple HD screenshots from the videos he has shown the Police of said vehicle on the road and in use multiple times over the last few months. Date Stamp shows it being different days it is on the road so often. So definitely an offence being committed it seems. 

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Rendel Harris replied to fenix | 1 year ago
7 likes

fenix wrote:

It's not an offence if it's off road though.

Actually it is (though one for DVLA to chase rather than police): any vehicle one owns must have current VED or be SORN'd, if you haven't made a Statutory Off Road Declaration you must pay VED whether you're taking it on the road or not.

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wtjs replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
1 like

any vehicle one owns must have current VED or be SORN'd, if you haven't made a Statutory Off Road Declaration you must pay VED whether you're taking it on the road or not

Not in Lancashire you don't- so long as you pay into the Lancashire Constabulary Premium Personal Protection Plan!

Fenix clearly doesn't have much of a clue, but I must make allowances as he doesn't live in Lancashire and doesn't appreciate that the Highway Code and associated legislation, or any other traffic legislation, don't apply when Lancashire Constabulary decides they don't.

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