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Near Miss of the Day 243: Driver towing caravan almost hits cyclistNMotD 243 (via Warwickshire Police).PNG

Near Miss of the Day 243: Driver towing caravan almost hits cyclist

Our regular series featuring close passes from around the country - today it's Warwickshire...
by Simon_MacMichael
Sun, Jan 27, 2019 15:46
7

Today’s video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows a combination of two factors which have regularly featured over the couple of years in which we’ve been running it.

One is when a motorist overtakes a cyclist at a traffic island, the other happens when the driver is towing something behind his or her vehicle and pulls in to early after passing a rider.

In both cases, the driver’s actions seriously compromise the safe passing distance they are required to give – and when both factors come together, as they do here, the result is that the cyclist can be just a hair’s breadth from being knocked off the bike.

The footage, recorded on the cyclist’s helmet camera, was released by Warwickshire Police, which together with West Mercia Police – the forces run a joint road safety partnership – encourages members of the public to submit video footage under their Operation Snap initiative.

The incident, which happened in Nuneaton last summer, resulted in the motorist being required to attend a driver improvement course at a cost of £85.

One person replying to the post on Twitter said, "That's not much of a deterrent for nearly killing someone," while another reflected, "Tuttle Hill ,Nuneaton is very bad for this, a very dangerous pinch point going downhill, I have changed my cycle route because of near misses."

> 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

Warwickshire Police
NMotD Warwickshire
NMotD caravan
Simon MacMichael

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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7 comments

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dassie | 5 years ago
3 likes

Nasty close pass that.  I've had too many pinch point close passes.  My avoidance technique is from my usual positioning in the near side tyre track, I shoulder check early on, and try and make sure that as soon as the hatched road markings leading up to island start, I'm moving centrally and take the lane through it.  Sometimes I do indicate right and take the lane if a vehicle is approaching and I want to make it clear I'm manoeuvring...

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Hirsute | 5 years ago
0 likes

Not as bad as the previous one where the trailer hit the central kerb and bounced erratically. Can't remember the outcome of that one.

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burtthebike | 5 years ago
9 likes

I understand that it's better to retrain people than simply punish them, but surely there ought to be some punishment?  The £85 is the cost of this course; there is no punishment element, but I suppose if it was doubled, people would decide to pay the fine and take the points, and it would cost a fortune in the justice system.  A second's difference and the rider would be dead or seriously injured; surely £85 isn't even a slap on the wrist.

We've heard about how some other countries e.g. Norway, have realistic punishment regimes, much higher fines for relatively minor offences, and presumably have reduced repeat offending.

I'm sure the 2014 review of road law will be all over this as soon as it starts.

Avatar
John Smith replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
2 likes
burtthebike wrote:

I understand that it's better to retrain people than simply punish them, but surely there ought to be some punishment?  The £85 is the cost of this course; there is no punishment element, but I suppose if it was doubled, people would decide to pay the fine and take the points, and it would cost a fortune in the justice system.  A second's difference and the rider would be dead or seriously injured; surely £85 isn't even a slap on the wrist.

We've heard about how some other countries e.g. Norway, have realistic punishment regimes, much higher fines for relatively minor offences, and presumably have reduced repeat offending.

I'm sure the 2014 review of road law will be all over this as soon as it starts.

 

My understanding is that the evidence shows that drivers that take the course show a much lower reoffending rate than those who take the points, and it’s the same when comparing to areas that don’t have the option of the course. That and we do not have a punitive justice system. The aim of our justice system is reparation, rehabilitation and deterrent. All of the evidence shows that it the vast majority of cases deterrent makes no difference. Most crimes, people are not thinking of the size of the punishment, only the risk of getting caught, or they do not believe they are committing and crime at all.

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jasecd replied to John Smith | 5 years ago
3 likes
John Smith wrote:

...we do not have a punitive justice system. The aim of our justice system is reparation, rehabilitation and deterrent. All of the evidence shows that it the vast majority of cases deterrent makes no difference.

Laudable aims but I don't believe that's true of our justice system. How many times do we see motorists kill and maim, then being let off with an insignificant driving ban and a few points? Where is the reperation, rehabilitation or deterrent in these sentences? 

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burtthebike replied to John Smith | 5 years ago
0 likes
John Smith wrote:

My understanding is that the evidence shows that drivers that take the course show a much lower reoffending rate than those who take the points, and it’s the same when comparing to areas that don’t have the option of the course. That and we do not have a punitive justice system. The aim of our justice system is reparation, rehabilitation and deterrent. All of the evidence shows that it the vast majority of cases deterrent makes no difference. Most crimes, people are not thinking of the size of the punishment, only the risk of getting caught, or they do not believe they are committing and crime at all.

Thank you for that lucid explantion.  I guess I was just letting my lust for vengence out vote my sense; heaven knows I've got little enough of the latter.

Avatar
TedBarnes replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
2 likes
burtthebike wrote:
John Smith wrote:

My understanding is that the evidence shows that drivers that take the course show a much lower reoffending rate than those who take the points, and it’s the same when comparing to areas that don’t have the option of the course. That and we do not have a punitive justice system. The aim of our justice system is reparation, rehabilitation and deterrent. All of the evidence shows that it the vast majority of cases deterrent makes no difference. Most crimes, people are not thinking of the size of the punishment, only the risk of getting caught, or they do not believe they are committing and crime at all.

Thank you for that lucid explantion.  I guess I was just letting my lust for vengence out vote my sense; heaven knows I've got little enough of the latter.

Thing is, this is why it's important for police to take action on the (relatively) minor stuff. 

The use of mobiles is the most obvious example. Most people have zero concern about getting caught. But it's a rampant example of road safety laws not being enforced, and it's so common I can't believe it doesn't lead to people thinking that it's unlikely they'll get caught for most other road offences either.

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