Some of the commoner types of close pass:
The Eejit in a hurry: driver who calculates he can just squeeze past in face of vehicle coming in the opposite direction (behaviour often manifest by succeeding vehicles when several cars pass a cyclist in close succession).
The Dyspraxic: driver with spatial awareness problems resulting in inability to judge the width and/or length of their vehicle. This often results in the classic close pass. Various harmless and sometimes amusing variants may be observed including the driver who leaves so much space when passing that pedestrians on the opposite side of the road dive for cover, and the driver who starts to pull out only after well passed the cyclist.
The Psychopath: punishment pass executed at speed often greatly in excess of speed limit with aim of asserting dominance over inferior road user. Typically followed by sudden braking to avoid hitting rear end of car in front.
Came across an interesting new variant today. Possibly a variant of the dyspraxic, but sufficiently bizarre to warrant inclusion as a separate category:
The Well-intentioned but misguided: driver who makes no attempt to pass despite ample opportunity and sits on cyclist's tail for several minutes. When road in front is clear for several miles & is wide enough to land a 747 drives past at a speed no more than 5mph greater than cyclist but leaving a gap of no more than 10cm. I would hypothesise that the likelihood of this type of pass is linearly related to the driver's age.
The Eejit in a hurry: driver who calculates he can just squeeze past in face of vehicle coming in the opposite direction (behaviour often manifest by succeeding vehicles when several cars pass a cyclist in close succession).
The Dyspraxic: driver with spatial awareness problems resulting in inability to judge the width and/or length of their vehicle. This often results in the classic close pass. Various harmless and sometimes amusing variants may be observed including the driver who leaves so much space when passing that pedestrians on the opposite side of the road dive for cover, and the driver who starts to pull out only after well passed the cyclist.
The Psychopath: punishment pass executed at speed often greatly in excess of speed limit with aim of asserting dominance over inferior road user. Typically followed by sudden braking to avoid hitting rear end of car in front.
Came across an interesting new variant today. Possibly a variant of the dyspraxic, but sufficiently bizarre to warrant inclusion as a separate category:
The Well-intentioned but misguided: driver who makes no attempt to pass despite ample opportunity and sits on cyclist's tail for several minutes. When road in front is clear for several miles & is wide enough to land a 747 drives past at a speed no more than 5mph greater than cyclist but leaving a gap of no more than 10cm. I would hypothesise that the likelihood of this type of pass is linearly related to the driver's age.
