Close pass this morning, worth reporting to their employer?

[Nocode]

Hi All

I had the following close pass on my commute this morning:

FYI - Made the video private (for now) at the request of the company.



The pass is at around 24 seconds. There's a second pass at 1:45 from the same van, whilst not as close as the first pass - it's clear from the van passing me before how it should be done.

I stuck a camera on the front of my bike a few months ago and have never felt the need to review, let alone upload the footage before. However, this morning I felt the pass was far too close especially given the conditions. It was on the A21 (London Road) at the top of Bromley Hill heading into Downham.

Should I email (and/or tweet) the company to report this? Obviously not expecting anything to come of it, but at least feel if they flag it with the driver they may be more wary of passing cyclists in such a way in the future.

 

[Drago]

Oh yeah, I'd email them and offer to send them the video.

 

[mustang1]

+1 what @Drago said.

 

[mjr]

Yes. I think the usual approach is for the first report to be simply time+place+reg-no, then if they reply saying the driver has denied it, reply with the video. Many employers use contracts that are clearer about lying being a disciplinary offence than bad driving, so giving the driver a chance to apologise can help them.

And could you ride further out in future? Or is the camera distorting the view? You seem awfully close to the kerb at first, then awfully close to the parked cars, leaving you almost nowhere to go if/when a nobber passes too close. That's no excuse for the motorist but I fear for your safety.

 

[ianrauk]

If you are having to ask on here, then you already know what the answer is. If you feel that it needs reporting then go ahead and do it.

It's not a nice place to be passed close at any time of day let alone with this mornings wet weather.

 

[Lonestar]

I don't trust it when running up to pinch points either.

 

[numbnuts]

Yes report and then it justifies the price of the camera

 

[Nocode]

Thanks for the responses all, I'll have a ponder. I admit, I wonder what good it will do (if any) reporting it to their employer given nothing terrible happened. Also, given I ride the same route every day I'm a little concerned about any potential retaliation (call me paranoid).

And could you ride further out in future? Or is the camera distorting the view? You seem awfully close to the kerb at first, then awfully close to the parked cars, leaving you almost nowhere to go if/when a nobber passes too close. That's no excuse for the motorist but I fear for your safety.

I tend to think I always ride in a decent secondary position, the camera could've been distorting the view with the first pass but I visibly move over when getting squeezed. The second pass, yeah I normally ride further away from the parked cars than that (fear of getting doored) but after that first pass and knowing they would pass me again I was (stupidly) further over on the left.

Yes report and then it justifies the price of the camera

Hah! The camera actually wasn't that expensive. I bought it for another reason, then realised one day I had this camera sitting in a drawer not being used so stuck it on the bike.

 

[subaqua]

yes, and roadsafe it with the Met ( don't expect it to do much good with them lazy feckers) too.

 

[Joffey]

1. I'd report it, that looks very close and the driver should have been paying more attention in that rain.
2. I think you might need to lower your camera a bit, it's not a good watch with it pointing up like that!

Hope you get a decent response from the company.

 

[Arjimlad]

A dangerous and nasty close pass, then jam on the anchors for the oh-look-where-did-that-traffic-island-spring-from moment. Please report. I suspect the driver was distracted.

 

[Nocode]

I think you might need to lower your camera a bit, it's not a good watch with it pointing up like that!

Yeah, it's a real pain. I've got a VIRB mounted below my Garmin Edge, but it keeps moving-up during my ride. Not sure the VIRB mount is the best (I've tried tightening the screw between the VIRB mount and Edge mount) plus I wonder whether my brake/gear cables push it up.

 

[mjr]

2. I think you might need to lower your camera a bit, it's not a good watch with it pointing up like that!

I suffer that so I've asked How do you aim your camera?

I suspect the driver was distracted.

They were probably looking at oolong pics.

 

[Nocode]

Emailed the company, will report back what (if anything) they say.

I admit, I've deliberated all day over whether to contact them or not - but I'd hate for them to do something similar to another cyclist as next time it could be fatal.

 

[Origamist]

Good on you for reporting it. The wing mirror looked like it missed you by a few inches...