Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Cunobelin
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Cunobelin »

Contact the company with a written account of the incident (DO NOT mention the video) expressing your concern about the driving and the driver's attitude.

Then wait for the reply.... it is usually the driver's version of the incident, and claims that you were in the wrong

That is when you produce the video, again confirming your concerns and then expressing even more concern that the driver has lied about it to their manager.

Even if the manager accepted the riving, they will have a problem with explaining to you why they gave untrue information.


Always been far more effective for me than a straight forward complaint
Farrina
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Joined: 26 Nov 2012, 8:15pm

Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Farrina »

Cunobelin wrote:Contact the company with a written account of the incident (DO NOT mention the video) expressing your concern about the driving and the driver's attitude


We have (as per my preceding post) already moved on from this stage - keep up at the back :-) with the company already accepting the drivers conduct was unacceptable.

In my initial approach to the company I did NOT mention my video evidence, but almost the first observation from the manager (which quite frankly in the circumstances, I consider a reasonable observation) was it would just be my word against their drivers. I don’t believe he was being obstructive in any way, merely a fair minded individual requiring some form of corroborating evidence.

In the event he was delighted to learn there was video evidence and the speed and nature of his response (and ready acceptance of my complaint) leads me to conclude he is actually a rather good manager.
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Cunobelin
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Cunobelin »

The advice is generic
thirdcrank
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by thirdcrank »

Farrina

I often recommend that people should consider what they hope to achieve and in this case, you have achieved a result you consider satisfactory. That's about as good as it gets.
Bonefishblues
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Bonefishblues »

Cunobelin wrote:Contact the company with a written account of the incident (DO NOT mention the video) expressing your concern about the driving and the driver's attitude.

Then wait for the reply.... it is usually the driver's version of the incident, and claims that you were in the wrong

That is when you produce the video, again confirming your concerns and then expressing even more concern that the driver has lied about it to their manager.

Even if the manager accepted the riving, they will have a problem with explaining to you why they gave untrue information.


Always been far more effective for me than a straight forward complaint

I am uncomfortable with your advice, as I am sure I have stated previously. I think that the OP has it right.
Farrina
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Joined: 26 Nov 2012, 8:15pm

Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Farrina »

thirdcrank wrote:Farrina

I often recommend that people should consider what they hope to achieve and in this case, you have achieved a result you consider satisfactory. That's about as good as it gets.

Yep, I agree - being confrontational is not normally a good first step. Marshalling your facts and presenting them in a calm and reasonable manner often achieves the best result.

In this case not only does the driver learn a salutary lesson, but his colleagues also have an opportunity to see events from the cyclists perspective, hopefully ramming home their theoretical paper based H&S training.

I must confess I have often fantasied about a culpable motorist (in a cycling related case) not been fined but alternatively being sentenced to ride 50 miles on a bike in a month - there’s nothing like seeing it from the other side.

Once again my thanks to all who contributed with suggestions
Last edited by Farrina on 25 Mar 2019, 7:53pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bonefishblues
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Bonefishblues »

Farrina wrote:Yep, I agree - being confrontational is not normally a good first step. Marshalling your facts and presenting them in a calm and reasonable manner often achieves the best result.

In this case not only does the driver learn a salutary lesson, but his colleagues also have an opportunity to see events from the cyclists perspective, hopefully ramming home their theoretical paper based H&S training.

I must confess I have often fantasied about a culpable motorist (in a cycling related case) not been fined but alternatively been sentenced to ride 50 miles on a bike in a month - there’s nothing like seeing it from the other side.

Once again my thanks to all who contributed with suggestions

I agree entirely
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661-Pete
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by 661-Pete »

I had no difficulty viewing the videos, btw.

This looks fairly similar to my bus close pass incident, from a few weeks ago.

What I did was report online to the police, with a link to the (unlisted) youtube footage. Haven't heard anything back from them yet, but I know full well that even if they do take up the case, they do take their time! And I can't say I blame them - understaffed as they are...

You could try doing the same. Be prepared to wait. In your case the van appears to have definitely crossed a double white line, which is an offence in itself (unless you were doing under 10mph, which you say you were not).

Best of luck.
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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Mick F
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Mick F »

Result! :D

Well done Farrina.
Mick F. Cornwall
Farrina
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by Farrina »

661-Pete wrote:This looks fairly similar to my bus close pass incident, from a few weeks ago.
What I did was report online to the police, with a link to the (unlisted) youtube footage. Haven't heard anything back from them yet, but I know full well that even if they do take up the case, they do take their time! And I can't say I blame them - understaffed as they are

Whilst I am not a lawyer, I believe for any prosecution to proceed the driver has to be served with a “notice of intended prosecution” within 14 days of the said offence. More here https://www.motoringoffencelawyers.com/other-offences/notice-of-intended-prosecution/

Don’t be surprised (if you get a reply at all) if it’s along the lines the 14 day deadline has unfortunately (how convenient!) expired and a prosecution will not be possible.

Good luck !
arnsider
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Re: Close pass - am I overreacting or should I take a stand ?

Post by arnsider »

Just to augment what was said regarding HSE.
I tried to get HSE on board with the problems of temporary traffic light timing, but they were not in the least interested.
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