Posted: Thu Mar 7, 2019 6:27pm
I was just looking for advice on whether this was worth pursuing with the police, not a critique. I wouldn’t usually bother to espouse a reply, however, for the benefit of accuracy.
I am not trying to be rude bit, but I am not sure whether it is your perception of width, ignorance of the 1.5 MINIMUM pass of cyclists law or just plain flaunting of the law that leads you to your conclusions? If a cyclist can reach out with an outstretched arm and touch you as you pass, you are less than half the 1.5 metres you should allow. If I had stretched my arm out the whole of my palm would have been hit by the car, so approximately .7 metres was allowed. You should allow double the length of a persons outstretched arm as you pass a cyclist. Depending on the wind direction and speed of the oncoming vehicle (probably 80-90kph in this case) , such an overtake in a vehicle from the other direction can also cause more air turbulence and lead to a cyclist being blown into a hazard (pothole, flints).
There is no cycle lane on the left! I was cycling along the white line as the right side of the white line contained numerous potholes and flints that tend to result in punctures. Had I been cycling on the hazardous side of the line then I would have been weaving about! I am pretty sure you wouldn’t drive your car over the hazardous side of the white line, so I hope you don’t think I should cycle in it.
Fortunately, your definition, and that of the vast majority of road users and the legal definition of “nowhere near” is completely different. In my experience of cycling that same stretch of road literally hundreds of times is that 99% of drivers do not make that pass, even when travelling in the same direction as me!
In certain circumstances, I don’t have a problem with being passed at SLOW speeds at say a 1 metre gap by cars travelling in the same direction. It is a case of sensibly sharing the road and we all need to try and get along.
My rear view camera doesn’t really capture the full horror of the manoeuvre. Here’s a view from a front camera that happened in the UK to another cyclist from my club. This footage was forwarded to the Operation Crackdown team who informed my friend they would be prosecuting the car driver.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO2q8QPOyo0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR20HfR2_Xo1CWadkg_PRM1sWLyjqPS_wDj0dwR3vDQu6-ySQlhbQ40vcRkThanks for the input of you other 2 Forumites.