What to you comprises a 'near miss' - ?

[simongt]

A pal at work has recently taken up cycling quite seriously . He has a Specialized carbon road bike and a Marin commuter and goes in for a lot of distance events. He cycles the eleven miles to work on a regular basis using either bike, depending on the day and uses much the same route that I do. However, about once a month or so, he comes in growling and cursing about being cut up, or having experienced a near miss by some errant motorist or other.
Now my wife and I cycle a lot more urban miles than he does, but we can both count such instances in the course of a year on less than the fingers of one hand. We are both very confident cycling in traffic however busy it may be and neither of us are slouches, so is it simply that we have a different perception of what defines a 'near miss' - ?

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Ask him, then compare it to your definition.

 

[the_craig]

Usually if I have to swear or flash a single digit, it's a near miss.

 

[HLaB]

When a 4x4 overshoots the giveway line at a rbt you are circulating, slams on the brakes and stops 6 inches perpendicular to your body. Funny he didn't count it as a near miss though and sped off, it was only the following driver who asked if I was all right who thought so :-/

 

[Katherine]

When cars coming the other way have to brake /swerve.
When you have to take avoiding action.
When longer vehicles start to pull in again too soon because there's something coming the other way, and their back end comes too close.
When you have to brake because someone pulled out of a sideroad in front of you.

 

[summerdays]

If I take calm avoiding action then it isn't a near miss, just annoying bad driving. A near miss usually involves some pretty sharp braking or change of direction. Or passes extremely close.

 

[Smurfy]

When a 4x4 overshoots the giveway line at a rbt you are circulating, slams on the brakes and stops 6 inches perpendicular to your body. Funny he didn't count it as a near miss though and sped off, it was only the following driver who asked if I was all right who thought so :-/

That is what an Air Zound is for, waking up dozy muppets from inside their cocoons!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

If the vehicle doesn't have to divert its course back in once it goes past you.

To be pernickety shouldn't it be close miss or near hit.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

That is what an Air Zound is for, waking up dozy muppets from inside their cocoons!

 

[winjim]

A pal at work has recently taken up cycling quite seriously . He has a Specialized carbon road bike and a Marin commuter and goes in for a lot of distance events. He cycles the eleven miles to work on a regular basis using either bike, depending on the day and uses much the same route that I do. However, about once a month or so, he comes in growling and cursing about being cut up, or having experienced a near miss by some errant motorist or other.

Maybe he has more of a sense of entitlement, than actual road sense? I haven't had what I'd call a near miss for ages, and the last two I did have were both my fault.

 

[Drago]

A near miss is contradictory, like smart casual.

 

[Steady]

If it doesn't make me brake sharply, force me to suddenly avoid anything, then it's not a near miss to me, it's just something that i think "could have been done better." but didn't physically effect me beyond what I thought or felt about it.

I know for a fact a few years ago when I watched "certain" YouTube cam cyclists who were angry-at-the world types it had a negative effect on my own cycling and perception of incidents around me.

 

[MikeW-71]

I know for a fact a few years ago when I watched "certain" YouTube cam cyclists who were angry-at-the world types it had a negative effect on my own cycling and perception of incidents around me.

Indeed, which is why I just avoid watching them at all now and just get on with my own thing.

 

[Smurfy]

Maybe he has more of a sense of entitlement, than actual road sense? I haven't had what I'd call a near miss for ages, and the last two I did have were both my fault.

Depends an awful lot on when/where you ride. If you commute in busy traffic, I'd say near misses are a lot more common than if you are purely an off peak leisure cyclist. And by near miss, I'd say where I have to take evasive/defensive action because someone didn't give way, looked like they weren't going to give way, I thought they hadn't seen me (despite my high vis), or they saw me and just didn't give a ****. Evasive and defensive action is anything from a blast on the Air Zound to wake up the SMIDSYs, to slowing right down or an emergency stop.

 

[Ern1e]

To me a near miss would be being able to see the ripples in the paint lol, seriously though imo anything closer than 18 inches tends to upset me resulting in me raising an arm at them not that it doe's much good but it makes me "feel" better about it.