A cyclist in Bolton in the UK challenged a motorist recently in an Aldi supermarket over what he felt was an intentional ‘punishment pass.’
The footage was captured by Grahame Cooper, who runs the Bike-Riding Motorist blog (www.happycyclist.org). He explained on the post “The driver has convinced me that, whilst the first close pass may have been due to incompetence, the second, much closer one was probably deliberate.”
Cooper has included graphics on the footage which indicate that the motorist was just 0.7m from his front wheel.
After the incident, Cooper caught up with the motorist in Aldi where they both happened to be going. He asked him if he would be able to give more space to cyclists.
The response he gets is that he should have been using the bike lane, despite there being no bike lane when the overtaking manoeuvre took place.
Cooper told The Manchester Evening News: “He was in front of me in Aldi so I just thought I would leave the camera running and ask him politely to give me more room.
“Before the second overtake there is a cycle lane but I couldn’t use it because it’s over the apex of a bend and I’ve been cut up there a lot of times before.
“Also, there was a tanker crash before Christmas and there’s still rubbish and mud in part of the cycle lane and sand from preventing the fire. My contention is that he (the Honda driver) saw I wasn’t in the cycle lane and did what’s called ‘a punishment pass’.”
Looked like plenty of distance to me, wouldn’t of flinched at that
See: http://www.happycyclist.org/?p=1206
Just get on with your life!! I cycle, and offer the odd bit of advice to drivers! but move on, life hard enough!! What is he trying to prove….
eh, the cyclist was way out in the middle of the road, like seriously a muppet like this is the reason why there is such hostility between cyclists and moterists. Sharing the road goes both ways!
Ha ha. So about 40cm from the kerb is too far out, but the car passing about 50cm away is plenty of room? A little inconsistent there.
So riding about 40cm from the kerb is “the middle of the road” but overtaking with about 50cm gap is “plenty of space” Some serious inconsistency being displayed here.
Those idiots with head cams give cyclists a bad name .
Drivers still a prick
just give good cyclists and bad cyclists
space that is the simple way forward as a car can do alot of damage!!
As a cyclist my self……. Its dickheads like this fella on a bike with nothin better to do that gives cyclists a bad name, kitted out like special ops to find a car a bit close and make a scene…. Arsehole
So you’re happy to put up with all the crap from bad drivers on the road every day; good for you. Just because other people aren’t prepared to put up with it doesn’t make them “arseholes”.
Declan has pretty much summed it up!
dont understand what dickhead has come up with the ider that cyclists should ride in the middle of the road to be seen , i would ride close to pavement with a high vis jacket
I’m afraid that’s a more than daily occurrence in London. Happens several times per journey
Unfortunately true. All the more reason why we should all make more noise about it rather than just putting up with it. Otherwise nothing will change.