School Run Near Miss

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Heltor Chasca
Posts: 3016
Joined: 30 Aug 2014, 8:18pm
Location: Near Bath & The Mendips in Somerset

School Run Near Miss

Post by Heltor Chasca »

Forgive me for depressurising on this thread. And perhaps forgive me for the the way I confronted the person driving the offending van.

I do the school run on my Surly Big Dummy and my 6 year old daughter perches on the back on a sheepskin seat I made. She holds onto a set of stoker bars in supreme comfort and safety. I have 'see um' type flashing lights on the front and back. 2 of each! She wears a bright pink coat and I wear either a yellow or red coat. I also have a large yellow sticker on the back. I think I am fairly visible.

Today, after school, going up the steep hill to our village I manoeuvred into the centre of the road 1/ because a red and orange tree surgery vehicle was parked up doing work and 2/ this is where we turn right. On being half way across the other side of the road, a long wheelbase van (with sign writing) driven by an engineer for a regional electrical engineering firm manoeuvred to overtake from behind me at at least 30mph (in a 20mph school zone)

Usual story, bike turning right, still OK for vehicles to overtake! [ exclamation modified ]

Driver slams on brakes, but is in wrong gear so vehicle almost stalls! Giving me plenty of time to yell at him. He claimed he 'thought' I was cycling round the tree surgeon. And?

What he didn't know was that I knew where he lived!

So I went round there all of 5 minutes later to have a more 'rational' conversation. His mum answered the door (?!) I asked to see her son outside. All 6'6" of him came out, very red faced. He tried the 'I thought..' excuse again. I said he had given NO THOUGHT to his stupid manoeuvre and assertively asked, "What do you think of this?"...

...My very small, very beautiful and very cute 6 year old daughter was stood on his path looking up at him with big blue eyes. I said to him, with his own mum standing behind him, "Look at my daughter! Look at her now! And next time be careful." They both stood there hanging their heads. He looked like he was 6 years old again. She looked impossibly embarrassed.

A pretty demonstrative way to handle a near miss but that's how I dealt with such a frightening experience. I offered him the 'verbal contract' of drawing a line under what had just happened which he sheepishly accepted. Young people find it hard enough already where we live to find work and it would be a great shame if a report to his large, reputable employer by a member of the public jeopardised that.

I am hopeful today's events have made at least one driver that little bit more careful around vulnerable road users....b
Last edited by Graham on 19 Nov 2015, 7:22pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: exclamation modified
AlaninWales
Posts: 1626
Joined: 26 Oct 2012, 1:47pm

Re: School Run Near Miss

Post by AlaninWales »

Well I for one, forgive you......




And Well Done ! :D


Some (many) years ago having had one of the usual overtakes, I pulled alongside the middle-aged (younger than I now am) male driver and simply said "One of these days you will overtake like that and misjudge it. When you look at the cyclist lying in the road you will realise that it is a friend of your child. How will you explain it to your child and the parents of her friend?".... Lights changed and I cycled off. A few seconds later heard horns behind and looked around - to see him still sitting there, I'd obviously got through to someone.

I tried the same a couple of times afterwards and got the usual "@@@@ off" replies :cry:
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Heltor Chasca
Posts: 3016
Joined: 30 Aug 2014, 8:18pm
Location: Near Bath & The Mendips in Somerset

Re: School Run Near Miss

Post by Heltor Chasca »

AlaninWales wrote:Well I for one, forgive you......




And Well Done ! :D


Some (many) years ago having had one of the usual overtakes, I pulled alongside the middle-aged (younger than I now am) male driver and simply said "One of these days you will overtake like that and misjudge it. When you look at the cyclist lying in the road you will realise that it is a friend of your child. How will you explain it to your child and the parents of her friend?".... Lights changed and I cycled off. A few seconds later heard horns behind and looked around - to see him still sitting there, I'd obviously got through to someone.

I tried the same a couple of times afterwards and got the usual "@@@@ off" replies :cry:


That's quite a deep statement Alan. No wonder he couldn't drive off. I don't expect to repeat my behaviour again with such good effect. I was fully expecting the @@@@ off retort. If that had happened I would have been onto his employer, DMd their Twitter account etc. I would not have let him off. But his reaction (and his Mum's) was enough to confirm he knew what he had done was wrong.
greyingbeard
Posts: 851
Joined: 24 Mar 2015, 10:41pm

Re: School Run Near Miss

Post by greyingbeard »

he probably learnt more from your chat with him than he ever would from you ringing his empoyer, getting a bored clerk with attitude, and nothing being done about it.
reohn2
Posts: 45159
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: School Run Near Miss

Post by reohn2 »

I think you did the right thing and admire you for it.
It'll probably good in deep because of the way it was delivered,good on you :D
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
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