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news
Near Miss of the Day 195: Driver pulls out on cyclist because he assumed he would stop to let him out
Today’s near miss sees a motorist pull out on a cyclist from a side road – not because he hadn’t seen him, but because he just assumed the cyclist would stop and let him out.
The incident occurred on the King's Road Junction onto London Road in Waterlooville, Hampshire.
What’s striking is that a motorist travelling in the same direction as the cyclist had stopped to allow the driver to pull out – because why not? They were stuck in a queue of traffic anyway, so it made no odds to them.
The cyclist, George, was not stuck in a queue, however. He had clear cycle lane ahead of him and he didn’t expect a motorist to pull out directly in his path.
George said: “I was using the cycle lane, wearing a high-visibility jersey and bag cover and my bike is equipped with flashing LED lights.
“However this motorist admitted seeing me and even explained to me that they expected me to stop for them, completely disregarding my right to use the cycle lane.”
“I felt rather shaken up after this near miss given the wet conditions and the ignorance displayed by the driver.”
> 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
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- Born_peddling 5 hours 58 min ago
Similar incident happened to another couple that was in the news early last year, instead of it being a cycle rack this person concealed themselves...
- David9694 6 hours 3 min ago
A fierce row at the heart of Reform UK - what's going on?...
- David9694 6 hours 8 min ago
Even if the guy gets this a lot, it's still worth my being the 940th person to note that it's Cllr De'Ath overseeing a whopping four roads in...
- don simon fbpe 6 hours 16 min ago
Either way, got to be better than being a professional prick.
- Rendel Harris 8 hours 8 min ago
It was a bit more complex than that I think, the Badger had already been suffering from tendonitis for quite some time before (many said due to his...
- quiff 7 hours 19 min ago
That's going to make life needlessly difficult when I want to (perfectly legitimately) filter through traffic or indeed get through my front door...
- Bmblbzzz 9 hours 53 min ago
Where are Zebedee and Ermintrude when you want them?
- Steve K 10 hours 6 min ago
Update on this: apparently it's all their Ti frames ever, except the HT Ti (no, no idea why). However, it's not transferable.
- Oldfatgit 10 hours 38 min ago
Cough *plotaroute.com*
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53 comments
He did pre-empt it for goodness’ sake. You can tell he did, because there was no crash. It’s in the video and everything!
This is why I dont stop to let people out/dont like it when others do so for me.
In this case, you are partially relying on the powers of observation of a kindly, but complete stranger. They could be an observational superman, or they could be completely off their tits on disco biscuits and only stopped to wave at the giant unicorn in the side road.
If you pull out and collide with someone then you are most likely going to be judged at fault and the well meaning driver who waved you through is just going to shake their head and drive off. Or fly off on their magic carpet, in the case if the disco biscuit guy.
Mugs game, innit?
I'm just thankful that the rider was wearing a helmet, it probably saved his life. The possible consequences just don't bear thinking about.
The driver wasn't wearing a helmet either. He's lucky to have survived.
Why are people saying it was avoidable, as though it wasn’t avoided? The cyclist didn’t hit the car, collision avoided! The driver was inconvenienced, because the cyclist made them wait. Is that what we’re actually trying to avoid, drivers having to wait to join roads? The horror!
No point being in the right if you're in a box
Well, yeah, but he’s not in a box, is he, because he saw the other driver failing to obey the Highway Code and compensated for it. Don’t be so dramatic. He’s right and he’s not in a box.
Whats your point? Might is right? Not sure that’s in the Highway Code.
No grey area, guy should have waited until it was safe to pull out irrespective of what any other driver has signalled to him.
Too many people who don't understand the Highway Code and shouldn't be driving.
Reading the comments I assumed this was a driver turning in to a side road. It is 100% not a grey area, it’s the grey cars fault, just as it would have been had that been two lanes of traffic. He should wait until the road is clear. This is a classic case of the 5 Cs: courtesy causes confusion causes crashes. The car stoped in the road should not have been stopped and should have pulled off when the road ahead was clear and the grey car should have looked and waited until the road was clear. Happens all the time on my commute. Cars look at the other car letting them out but don’t look at the cyclists (or sometimes bus) in the bus lane on Banbury road in Oxford. This isn’t even down to the fact that cycle lanes are a poor idea.
The nub of the issue is the attitude of the driver in that they expected the cyclist to give way. It's not just cyclists that get this, although we are more likely to be on the wrong end of such an error of judgement given our ability to filter past traffic, often in a designated lane.
What it comes down to is that if another road user is kind enough to yield their priority to, for example, allow you out of a side road, then they do so only on their own behalf. So don't assume it is safe to proceed.
Grey area my arse. Driver should have waited.
Like pedestrians crossing the road, motorists only look for the other motorists: cyclists are invisible!
Annoying grey area type situation but you can see whats going to happen with plenty of warning beforehand so maybe slowing to current traffic conditions would have been wiser?
You did have right of way, that’s true.
When I’m driving my car and the road is clear for me but the opposite lane of cars are in traffic and someone decides to let someone out of a side road. I have right of way over the car trying to join, I don’t have let them out but I do because I’m not an arse.
Not calling the cyclist an arse by the way and I’m sure theres a fair percentage that will get all keyboard warrior on my ass but we’re all humans trying to get from A-B aren’t we, Chris Hoy!
Can't for the life of me see how failing to obey the 'Give Way' sign constitutes a grey area.
Wholeheartedly agree.
Absolutely I get the ones where the car is turning right into a minor road across queuing traffic & maybe the visibility of the cyclist in the cycle lane is blocked. But when the driver is pulling out of a side road and staring right in the direction of the cyclist but still pulls out with the excuse of I expected you to stop. Seriously if that's a 'grey area' then we might as well just stop riding on the road completely as basically the road becomes a free for all
It's not really a grey area, but anyone using the road should have enough road-craft to see what was happening up ahead. The motorist was wrong, there's no argument there, but it was avoidable.
absolutely avoidable, by the motorist waiting till the road was actually clear and so giving priority and way to the cyclist like they are supposed to...why is this even debatable ?
are you seriously saying if you were the motorist in that situation you would just pull out because another car flashed you and expect and force the cyclist to stop for you ?
Totally agree with what you said.
You seem slightly confused here, is it a "grey area" or did he have right of way (technically priority over the vehicle comeing from side road, right of way simply implies he is allowed to cycle there.
Let me clear this up for you once and for all...
"grey area" - NO, clearly marked junction, and in the road traffic act states that vehicles crossing those "give way" markings SHALL . . wait for it . . "give way" to traffic on the road with priority.
"you can see what's going to happen" - Again NO, he can see one car pulled out and the 2nd car stopped correctly at the give way markings. That the car will suddenly pull out when he's around 3m away is not something he can "see is going to happen" as it hasn't.
"plenty warning beforehand" - What signal did the driver give that they were going to ignore the markings and signage ? I saw none.
"slowing to traffic conditions" - He was travelling in a clear, straight, unobstructed lane, why should he slow ? He was aware enough to avoid the collision, no more is required.
"did have right of way, that's true" - Finally you got something correct.
Nailed it.
Muppet
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