- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Near Miss of the Day 271: Coach driver's close pass
Even before we launched our Near Miss of the Day series, we'd feature the odd video of a cyclist being subjected to a close pass by a coach driver - and as this latest submission from Bristol shows, it really is intimidating - and dangerous - for the rider when such a large vehicle overtakes with inches to spare, the gap often narrowing as the driver pulls in.
This one happened to road.cc reader Peter as he commuted home along Coronation Road in the south west city.
He said: "I was cycling eastwards just by the side of the one of the worst shared cycle paths in existence (lots of lamp-posts, great big trees, bumpy-surface from tree roots, hordes of phone-zombies etc).
"I hate that cycle path - it doesn't even cover a significant portion of the road and yet it's enough to get entitled motorists to complain about the entitled cyclists sharing their road.
"As you can see from the video, this was an egregious case of MGIF [Must Get In Front]! Also, the coach driver seemed to be competing with me in the MGIF stakes, so we had a mini competition.
"He overtook me using his large engine and I had to rely on my natural squirrel-like cunning to overtake him at the traffic lights.
"After reaching the roundabout, we went our separate ways (probably just as well)."
Peter added: "I've submitted it to the police for the initial close pass, but they won't have had a chance to look at it yet."
> 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.
Latest Comments
- perce 2 min 8 sec ago
Oh god is he still here? Still not found a publisher for his stories?
- chrisonabike 1 hour 34 min ago
You've been quoted in the article as being concerned "about the safety of cyclist and vehicles”....
- S.E. 6 hours 16 min ago
My guess is that they sell mainly on the German market - feel free to correct me. That might explain why they are not "pushing" their products,...
- ktache 6 hours 41 min ago
Now Emily Chappell really liked the Lezyne , I have the HV version, good, but I find the handle uncomfortable in use. I've often wondered about the...
- biking59boomer 5 hours 48 min ago
What about this one!? Taken in Cardiff Civic Centre 1939
- Muddy Ford 6 hours 51 min ago
Charlie Alliston got 18mths and is the reference case (because there are so few cases) for all campaigns by anti-cyclists that 'cyclists are not...
- belugabob 7 hours 53 min ago
My local football practice pitches (all weather, in a fenced off area, are regularly the scene of inconsiderate parking, with vehicles blocking the...
- Spangly Shiny 8 hours 18 min ago
Assos ASOS anyone?
- chrisonabike 8 hours 31 min ago
Replace them all with Bromptons and they'd take up zero space within days or even hours, as they are all relocated elsewhere. To eBay or possibly...
- Andrewbanshee 9 hours 2 min ago
Where I live we are experiencing a lot of housing development on small and large plots of land. These developers don't seem to have problems...
Add new comment
14 comments
I just got a response from the police about this:
It was on that very same road that a van driver stopped in front of me, blocking my way, got out and started shouting at me for not riding on the crap dedicated cycle path. I pointed out that it's not mandatory to ride on the cycle path, how it's full of trees and root disruptions, signs, pedestrians, broken glass. He said it's not about being mandatory, it's about being intelligent. And the crapiness of the path is not his problem, I should complain to the council. After he pointed out that I didn't have lights on my bike (even though it was daytime), and I'd produced lights from my back pack: 'I don't leave lights on my bike in the daytime because they'll be nicked. I carry them and put them on when it starts to get dark'. After more reasoned discussion, on my part at least, he sort of apologised and wished me a 'nice evening'.
Coronation Road always has a row of parked cars on the other side with occasional gaps, which means there is hardly room for two lanes of traffic for most of it. The coach on the first pass would probably have been pulling in too sharply because of trying to fit between oncoming cars and the cyclist. Yes he or she should have slowed right down and waited. I wonder how he or she would react if confronted and reasoned with? Maybe apologised for the mistake, who knows?
It was on that very same road that a van driver stopped in front of me, blocking my way, got out and started shouting at me for not riding on the crap dedicated cycle path. I pointed out that it's not mandatory to ride on the cycle path, how it's full of trees and root disruptions, signs, pedestrians, broken glass. He said it's not about being mandatory, it's about being intelligent. And the crapiness of the path is not his problem, I should complain to the council. After he pointed out that I didn't have lights on my bike (even though it was daytime), and I'd produced lights from my back pack: 'I don't leave lights on my bike in the daytime because they'll be nicked. I carry them and put them on when it starts to get dark'. After more reasoned discussion, on my part at least, he sort of apologised and wished me a 'nice evening'.
Coronation Road always has a row of parked cars on the other side with occasional gaps, which means there is hardly room for two lanes of traffic for most of it. The coach on the first pass would probably have been pulling in too sharply because of trying to fit between oncoming cars and the cyclist. Yes he or she should have slowed right down and waited. I wonder how he or she would react if confronted and reasoned with? Maybe apologised for the mistake, who knows?
So pointless - on two of those passes, his brake lights were already on by the time he got past. It is very easy to drop to their level and join in the game of MGIF just to make a point, but if someone is this insistent then I now try to resist temptation and hold back until I have an opportunity to put a few more cars between us as a buffer.
Kendo, so to you there is an equivalence to an 8kg bicycle and an 8 tonne coach?
Also, when I ride my bicycle I know that it's about as wide as my shoulders, now I know that many coach drivers are a little bit on the large size...
When the Coach slowed to a halt the Cyclist made a even more dangerous pass (see 24secs into video) as there was an oncoming car and the cyclist was only inches from the Coach and the oncoming car. Silly move by the cyclist when they are complaining about a close pass ??.
I think strictly logically, from the point-of-view of being as safe as possible, it would have made sense for the rider to just give up and drop back and let the coach go ahead. Rather than get into some sort of mutual competitive thing.
But...the result of not doing that is to produce a visual record of how pointlessly stupid the coach-driver's overtakes were, especially the first one. Because the video clearly demonstrates how the driver gained nothing from overtaking the cyclist.
I bet if any driver actually watched this they'd get all hung up on the side-issue of the cyclist 'being competive' and overtaking the coach, while failing to notice the main point - that the coach driver's overtaking didn't get them anywhere any faster than staying behind the cyclist would have and so was a completely uncessary risk. Why do drivers have such trouble understanding this?
Please explain how the cyclist was dangerous, who did they put in danger? Did you even notice how slow the cyclist was going?
if they'd had to swerve in at the last minute they may have knocked the coach over injuring scores of people. obvs
Nice one! After that initial close pass he did seem to give you a bit more room. Perhaps the futility of his overtaking whilst failing to read the road ahead will dawn on him (can but hope).
I know the safest thing would be to stay back, or even jump on the cycle path, and that’s also fine. But if you have the agility of an agitated squirrel, it would be a shame not to use it to teach a bully a lesson.
After that fisst pass, which was utter crap, I would not have bothered passing him again, knowing he was likely to do it again. 8 tons of bus will hurt, and i for one would not bother playing leap-frog with him.
I used to regularly get bus drivers passing me only to stop directly in front of me and force leap-frog. Recently the bus contract went to a new operator (same drivers though) and they have improved vastly, more likely to hang back if they are nearing a stop. . . then we rarely see each other again.
Nicely played game of leap-frog.
That coach driver’s a pint-and-a-half of full cream arsehole.
Did you keep overtaking in the hope he would wipe you out ?!
Looked like you got him on the ASL too.
Nope - it was more that the traffic always get caught up at the lights and I wanted to be at the front of the lights (i.e. the ASL). I hate being between two lanes of traffic as they pull away from lights. Admittedly my first overtake didn't have a big margin of error.