On my usual Saturday morning ride there is one bit of road I really don’t look forward to riding along as it seems to attract idiotic drivers doing idiotic things.

In any case, there I was, riding along this ‘main’ B Road that has a straight bit, coming up to a brow. The road is what I would call average busy country B Road width.

I hear a vehicle coming up behind me, not slowing, but not a problem as the road ahead was clear and any passing vehicle could make a safe pass. As the vehicle (white van, but don’t jump to any conclusions) went past me at what I would reckon to be 55-65mph I thought “SHIT, that was close”. A split second later I saw the reason why. Some **** in a SUV was overtaking the van at the same time. The van allowed just enough room for me, and the SUV very nearly ended up in the hedge/trees/ditch as it was pushed wider.

And then…….

Nothing. The bastard drove off into the yonder, no consequences, nothing.

I rapidly went from shocked and cold-feeling, to feeling almost violated, to being absolutely **** seething. I’m just calming down now.

I’ve put a post up on the village Facebook page that the vehicles would have been coming out of in the vain hope that the van driver lives there, follows the page and has a dash cam. Other than that, that arsehole in the SUV is probably thinking the van driver has somehow wronged them as I doubt they will have even realized that I was there.

I’m not a violent person, but if for some reason I had caught up with the SUV I would have gone up and kicked the **** out of it until the driver got out for some of the same.

I’m putting the kettle on for a nice cuppa now.

glad you’re ok.
surprised the van driver didn’t anchor on. he/she could see everything that was going on. both drivers in the wrong, but van driver is not your friend.

Did the Van driver have their indicators on? Otherwise the SUV would never have know you were there…

As above, if the van driver is adjusting his line to shave your elbow because he knows the SUV is there, then he should have been on the brakes instead. Both of them have cocked that up.

Yes, you might be right there, but I can’t help but feel that the SUV was tailgating the van, so couldn’t see me. Doesn’t make me any more or less dead if the van hits me though!

Yeah that sounds properly terrifying. No matter what way you cut it, that SUV driver is a proper arsehole. Glad you’re ok.

I think both drivers are arseholes here. The van driver had other options that didn’t need a close pass. Van driver should have either braked or passed wide before the SUV got alongside. Nothing else is acceptable.

A person I knew was killed in similar circumstances some years ago. A large van driving behind him, not overtaking because the driver deemed it unsafe. A car overtook the van and had to pull in sharpish because of on-coming traffic. Hadn’t seen the bike in front of the van, pulled into the same space.
(Driver was convicted of careless driving but not dangerous driving because it was accepted that he couldn’t see the cyclist and the overtaking manoeuvre wasn’t actually illegal!).
I can understand your fear/anger.

Both drivers in the wrong,
Cant remember the exact wording in the HC, but basically if you want to overtake another road user, you MUST ensure its safe to do so.
Saying that you couldn’t see past another vehicle is not an excuse in the event of an accident.
Edit:im replying to the OP here.

The terrifying thing really is that I didn’t have time to be terrified whilst it was happening, both vehicles were effectively past me before my nerve impulses and adrenaline could actually create terror!

The last thing I would have known would be the apparently harmless sound of an engine and nothing amiss(!)

In any case, over analyzing it isn’t going to help and I’ve got a lot of bike and gear cleaning to do.

glad you’re ok there – it is very frustrating out there on the roads these days. I find I have at least one pass every ride on the roads these days and puts me off quite a bit.

Not clear to me that the SUV driver did anything wrong. They just overtook a van when there was room to do so, didn’t they?

It’s up to the person doing the overtake to check along the nearside as much as the offside to ensure the vehicle they are about to overtake isn’t likely to change their position to pass a pedestrian, cyclist, cone, pram, turn right / left etc. SUV mostly to blame but van driver not blameless either.

Rule 162
Before overtaking you should make sure

the road is sufficiently clear ahead
road users are not beginning to overtake you
there is a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake.
^^ from the .gov website

There wasn’t a suitable gap in front of the van, because there was a human being on a bicycle there.

How far from the kerb were you?

tjagain – Member
How far from the kerb were you?

POSTED 36 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Probably about 18″ to two feet from the ‘no stopping’ solid line. I wasn’t inviting a close pass, but you’re trolling, so presumably you’re going to take the opposite tack from whatever I say…… 🙁

Not clear to me that the SUV driver did anything wrong. They just overtook a van when there was room to do so, didn’t they?

Pretty sure on a standard one lane in each direction type road you’d have a job arguing it was safe and normal to be overtaking a vehicle that was already overtaking.

As above, can should have owned the overtake more and then let the SUV overtake, Van has robbed rider space to save a crunched rear offside and resultantly not made it clear it is not the leftmost vehicle on the road.

SUV is the vehicle most in the wrong here though.

Sorry to hear, Danny, not much you could have to protect yourself and I hope you’re OK. Sounds to me as if the primary cause is that the van driver didn’t overtake you properly. If he’d indicated well before he reached you, and pulled out as far as if he were overtaking a car, the SUV would had no space to attempt an overtake, and would have seen you.

SUV is the vehicle most in the wrong here though

It’s impossible to know for certain whether it was the van or SUV driver (or both) that was in the wrong. Even the OP could not know without a rear pointing video camera on his bike.

Assuming that the SUV could not see the OP, the big question is whether or not the van driver indicated to overtake the OP. If he/she did (and did so early enough), then the SUV driver was at fault. If the van driver didn’t indicate (and the SUV driver did), then the van driver was at fault (especially if they failed to check their mirror and see the SUV behind indicating to overtake them).

On balance, the van driver failing to check the mirror or to indicate before pulling out to overtake the OP, is probably a more likely scenario than the SUV driver seeing the van indicate right and deciding to just go for it anyway and squeeze in whatever gap might be available to overtake.

I’ve had the same happen to me, not a van though, it was an articulated fuel tanker! I could feel myself being sucked in, it was a very sobering moment!

dannyh – Member 
…and I’ve got a lot of bike and gear cleaning to do.

Yes, it’s amazing how these close passes can loosen the bowels…

Impossible to say really, you were likely obscured from view by the van for the entire manoeuvre, I wonder if the SUV driver ever knew you were there? I would put money on the SUV driver driving too quickly and lacking patience though. Expect the white van did indicate but only after the SUV was well into the overtake.

mrblobby – Member
Impossible to say really, you were likely obscured from view by the van for the entire manoeuvre, I wonder if the SUV driver ever knew you were there? I would put money on the SUV driver driving too quickly and lacking patience though. Expect the white van did indicate but only after the SUV was well into the overtake.

POSTED 40 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

I would say that is the most likely. Doesn’t make much of a difference to me, though. One thing for sure, someone was being a **** and that is how most RTAs happen.

I had a similar experience as a young driver. Started overtaking a van in front of me, thankfully I had pulled out early to get a decent view ahead. Spotted a walker ahead and there wasn’t space for all three of us, so I braked fairly hard so it was obvious to the van he could pull out and give the walker space. As I braked there was an almighty racket behind me as the car a fair way behind me had booted it to share the passing opportunity, and was locked up with a huge plume of tyre smoke trying to slow down and ended up inches from my back bumper.

After the van passed the walker I carried on past, the driver behind obviously shook himself up big time as there were plenty more passing opportunities but he didn’t take any of them…

Both at fault. Overtaking a cyclist I’d be well into if not completely in the other lane. No space for a following vehicle to pass outside.

That could have been nasty, glad you’re OK.

Van should have rammed the SUV off the other side of the road really, eh?

I know the feeling, I had an old duffer nearly wipe me out with his caravan a month or two ago. I was lucky enough to catch him (after a stiff sprint) and give him both barrels at the top of my lungs for several minutes.

Van should have rammed the SUV off the other side of the road really, eh?

In terms of sheer “protect the most vulnerable” yes.

If I had managed to catch up with either of them (the SUV in particular), there wouldn’t have been much talking. As above, I’m not a violent person, but I can’t stand the idea of dangerous drivers just getting off with a bit of what they would term ‘banter’ with a cyclist. A fat lip and a busted nose tends to stick in the memory of thickos a bit more.

Regardless of how late the van driver has reacted to the OP cycling on the road, the SUV driver still overtook another motor vehicle without firstly checking it was safe or understanding the potential consequences of the event unfolding, probably the former.

Van should just have braked a bit.

If the van was going at 55-65 then presumably the SUV was going 65+. Doesn’t sound like the safest driving even if a cyclist wasn’t on the road. Presuming was a 60 limit road? which are a strange thing. Many of the roads around me are 60 limit and it is never safe to do more than about 40 on many of them (even in perfect conditions)

Glad you are OK. In general, I am ALWAYS more mindful of the SECOND vehicle overtaking me, precisely because they may not know I’m there. I listen for engines and will glance back if I can, or try and move closer in.

Remember that drvers ALWAYS have the option of not overtaking.

I’ve always assumed that if a vehicle in front of me is travelling unusually slowly, then there is probably a reason right in front of it.

Danny – not a troll with the co0mment about distance from the kerb. This is why I am always at least 3 ft from the kerb and often more – it does two things – it stops cars passing you without going into the other lane ( so the second vehicle could not have come past the first)and it gives you somewhere to go if a close pass is attempted

I am ALWAYS more mindful of the SECOND vehicle overtaking me, precisely because they may not know I’m there.

I find that even when they do know you’re there, there seems to be a high likelihood that the second driver will try and squeeze in an impatient overtake a few inches off the bumper of the first when really there isn’t room (seemingly not having considered oncoming traffic or bends in their desperation to save a few seconds on their journey.)

tjagain – Member
Danny – not a troll with the co0mment about distance from the kerb. This is why I am always at least 3 ft from the kerb and often more – it does two things – it stops cars passing you without going into the other lane ( so the second vehicle could not have come past the first)and it gives you somewhere to go if a close pass is attempted

POSTED 20 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

OK. I was still a bit punchy and the question seemed leading to me. Sorry.

I agree with your first point about forcing drivers to overtake you properly, but I think in the majority of my cases a close pass has happened before I could make a dive for the verge. This is probably more true of roads out of town, though. Still, I’m going to be more militant about my road positioning as a result, although I suspect some drivers will want to “teach me a lesson” for “holding them up”.

The sheer speed and proximity of these two vehicles is what I found most worrying. 😐

not a troll with the co0mment about distance from the kerb. This is why I am always at least 3 ft from the kerb and often more – it does two things – it stops cars passing you without going into the other lane ( so the second vehicle could not have come past the first)and it gives you somewhere to go if a close pass is attempted

Yeah, riding along less than 3ft from the kerb…basically asking for it really. 🙄

TJ no position in the road protects you from the poor decisions of other road users. Not even the one you choose/advocate. Sometimes you are just the victim and sometimes your posts are akin to saying to a lady you walked home via that route at that time in those clothes

Being out wide is pointless on fast roads as they are past you before you could react anyway. 60 mph – 27 metres per second – I doubt even you can react that quickly – except perhaps to a thread like this or helmets 😉

Back to the OP the van should have either pulled out wide to block the SUV when they went to overtake you or not overtaken you as the SUV did them – ie brake but stayed close enough to you to make sure the SUV could not hit you once past them

..it’s likely the van driver was on the phone oblivious to anything in the mirrors! Just a lazy slip passed this chap on a bike.

I was going to say broadly the same, except being more charitable, that the van’s attention was on overtaking and not on checking behind. Doesn’t excuse him not mirror signal manoeuvring properly though.