Near Misses Volume 2 (So close you can feel it)

Certainly one for traffic watch.

Just sent this email to An Post, will post reply if I get one!!

For attention of An Post vehicle manager, Dublin Region.

On Saturday 05/02/22 I experienced a very close and dangerous pass by one of your drivers whilst I was cycling on Aylmer Road towards Newcastle, Co Dublin. The vehicle which passed me was a Transit type van clearly identified with "An Post" logo and travelling in the same direction as me about 1 km from Newcastle. The time of the close pass was approx 10.09AM and conditions at the time were very windy. As you are aware the minimum passing distance for vehicles passing cyclists is 1.5 meters. Your vehicle was literally inches from my right shoulder and I could have touched it with my hand without having to reach out too far. As the wind was very strong your driver should have allowed even more than the minimum 1.5 meters. I'm sure you can identify your vehicle which I assume is fitted with a GPS tracker.

I would suggest that you speak to your driver and maybe arrange to send him/her for further driver training, as your driver is clearly unaware of their responsibilities in regards to vulnerable road users such as cyclists. Your driver would definitely benefit from further training and it may help to save a life.

Regards,

Very frightening! Please report that to trafficwatch.

Got a phone call this morning from the Guard who had received my Traffic Watch complaint of a veeeery close pass by a coach a couple of years ago. Prosecuted in the court for Careless Driving, pleaded guilty and fined €200. The camera never lies I guess! I still have the footage on another laptop so I'll post it shortly.

Proof that Traffic Watch complaints, while time consuming, aren't necessarily a waste of time.

What did occur to me afterwards however, is that when he pleaded guilty it means he was admitting that he had done it on purpose. Which is a pretty scary thing. One thing though, he won't be doing it again!

Kudos to the investigating Garda though. She was extremely professional throughout.

I have another complaint gone in last week which is even worse and also involves a bus driver. I'll post how that one goes (eventually!). What this guy did was utterly disgusting - to a person wearing a gilet with a picture of a camera on the back. And the words' RECORDING MY JOURNEY' 🙄

Private bus drivers are the pits.

That looks insanely close play it in VLC player and step through it frame by frame and you might be able to pick it out. You can take stills from VLC too. If you can get a partial try input it here https://private.carsireland.ie/add.php and it will give back make, model etc. to confirm if you got it right.

Thanks for the replies. I will try the frame by frame but I fear I need an editing package to sharpen image. You can sense check a reg via NCT too. If you have a make and model that could only be the reg in the footage it would hold up as there are not many cars of similar make, model, col and similar reg.

I will try and put the video up on a link as it's the still does not convey how scary and fast it was, and how far they went in one second after passing. What is the best way to do upload. I don't do YouTube.

Can a mod upload it for me? Maybe someone had movie editing software and skills. I will ask a graphic designer if they can improve /sharpen it. I want to report this driver as it was frightening. I am not a shrinking violet and well used to close passes.

In mid Feb I experienced an even closer deliberate close pass in the Scalp heading to Kilternan. The driver tried to pass with on coming traffic but aborted, waited for traffic to pass and then skimmed past me with an open road on the other lane. They barely crossed the centre line and almost hitmy bars, accelerating hard. (it was a fast car). I got clear reg on this. I am averaging 1 very close per day now, one Sunday I had two on the same stretch of road on opposite sides just a few days before this. Again the vehicles passed without changing their line / moving out. They stayed on inside of white line, leaving way less than the 1.5m required in an 80km zone. Less than 1m, maybe as little as 50cm.

Its such a pain having to go to Garda. They need to make it easier to report these.

Drivers don't give a damn now about speeding or close passes as they are not being caught. There are no speed checks on Enniskerry Road. Its manic at times, motorists passing close or on blind Bends, often for little gain as the motorist just gets up to the next cyclist, sometimes passing with oncoming cyclists too. I am so pissed off at this now and it's worse its getting.

Stick your video up on streamable and then post the link. We'll all be able to see the video anyway

But it won't improve the image, I assume it'll make it worse

Yes, I keep a prominent position on the road, well out. Its is essential. I will edge out more approaching a bend to narrow the choice for drivers who would otherwise pass inside the line. With a car coming up and with oncoming traffic I also edge out as much as possible, to deter the pass. That is what I did with the Porsche. I meet this vehicle a lot and rather than slow, they speed up to squeeze in ahead of oncoming. Sometimes the on coming vehicle has to slow or stop and the alway pull in before the pass is full completed ignoring the 1.5m. The, driver aborted on this day as I just left them no option to pass without crossing right over in path of oncoming vehicle. Then I got a punishment pass.

If the Garda do nothing with that then I don't know what they consider a close pass or in this case perhaps more serious charges. There are 1.5m advisory signs on this stretch of road.

These motorists are totally selfish and potentially lethal.