Land Rover driver fined after causing cyclist to fall off

[Lopéz]

https://road.cc/content/news/video-driver-fined-after-causing-cyclist-fall-bike-291567

Disclaimer : I'm a cyclist and a motorist.

My own view on this incident is:

Road isn't wide but it isn't narrow either.
Defender isn't going slowly but it isn't going quickly either.
Lead cyclist stops.
Following cyclist has to stop, fails to unclip and falls into ditch, full compo style.
Trailing cyclist swears.

What does the OcUK jury reckon?

 

[Havana_UK]

I'm a bit with you on this, however under the recently updated highway code giving cyclists priority (for safety purposes) over cars etc. the land rover SHOULD have stopped, allowed the cyclists to pass him, then carry on with his journey.

 

[tom_e]

https://road.cc/content/news/video-driver-fined-after-causing-cyclist-fall-bike-291567

Disclaimer : I'm a cyclist and a motorist.

My own view on this incident is:

Road isn't wide but it isn't narrow either.
Defender isn't going slowly but it isn't going quickly either.
Lead cyclist stops.
Following cyclist has to stop, fails to unclip and falls into ditch, full compo style.
Trailing cyclist swears.

What does the OcUK jury reckon?

Pretty much agree, no contact, no one had to dive out the way but they wobbled and fell off. Landy definitely could have slowed down a touch though.

I'm a bit with you on this, however under the recently updated highway code giving cyclists priority (for safety purposes) over cars etc. the land rover SHOULD have stopped, allowed the cyclists to pass him, then carry on with his journey.

Didn't apply 18ish months ago if the vid timestamp is correct though.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

To me the key bit of that shot is when the cyclist turned around. Clearly the road wasn’t wide enough and when the Land Rover was going along it was taking up nearly all of the road.

Everyone should have slowed/stopped to pass.

The driver didn’t seem to slow down at all and just went for it, the cyclists slowed down and stopped. I don’t think the issue is that a cyclist fell off, the issue is the driver didn’t excise reasonable care.

Very poor driving IMO and just unnecessary, slowing down would have cost them 10 seconds at the most. The charge of careless driving seems appropriate.

I see this all the time when I am out in the car and used to experience it all The time when cycling which I rarely do these days because of people like this.

 

[Thekwango]

The driver didn’t seem to slow down at all and just went for it, the cyclists slowed down and stopped. I don’t think the issue is that a cyclist fell off, the issue is the driver didn’t excise reasonable care.

i'd agree with this, failing to slow down is what did for the driver. cyclists give me the diarrhea but in this instance i think the driver is 100% to blame. the toppling off into the ditch, while comical as **** to see would have been rage inducing for the 'victim' and could have been potential serious had the ditch been significantly deeper. still funny to see though, they should post the vid into You've Been Framed, they'll get more readies out of that than they got in compo from the courts.

 

[Howard]

Defender driver was going too fast considering how close he was to the cyclists, but other than that, a non-event.

 

[Fluffybob]

Careless driving from the Land Rover, should have slowed down due to widthof the road.

 

[Lopéz]

I'm a bit with you on this, however under the recently updated highway code giving cyclists priority (for safety purposes) over cars etc. the land rover SHOULD have stopped, allowed the cyclists to pass him, then carry on with his journey.

The incident happened last summer.

 

[d_brennen]

I would have slowed right down before meeting the cyclists, even before the change to the law. There are a huge number of numpties on the road, both 2 and 4 wheeled, treat them all as retards

 

[SDK^]

What does the OcUK jury reckon?

I was a cyclist - riding about 6k miles a year.

This incident doesn't look too bad too me but I know everyone reacts differently though.
They don't appear confident riders, almost like they would lose balance with nothing around.

 

[builder22]

the screaming banshee probably made her fall in the ditch

the land rover has an L plate on the back if you pause at 4 seconds!

I've got no strong thoughts on any of it

 

[Scania]

Defender driver driving like a muppet, no great surprise here.

As drivers we all have a duty of care to more vulnerable road users around us be them cyclists, pedestrians, horses etc.

It’s basically common sense.

Had his driving been deemed acceptable, he wouldn’t have got fined.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

It was a bit inconsiderate, nothing criminal imho.
Failure to un-clip caused the fall, nothing else.
Motorist is being stitched up for me!

I am a cyclist.

 

[Conscript]

Defender driver was going too fast considering how close he was to the cyclists, but other than that, a non-event.

This. If that had happened to me, I think I would have been a little annoyed, but just tutted and carried on.
It looks like the second rider only fell off because the first pulled up sharply - but seemingly, there was no reason to, except to shout at the Defender driver.

They don't appear confident riders, almost like they would lose balance with nothing around.

Think they just need to check their pedals, looks like the tension was a tad too high and they weren't able to unclip quick enough.
I'm a confident rider, but I embarrassingly did the same last year after fitting some new cleats - pulled up to a crossing, stopped and couldn't unclip my left foot in time. Over I went like a sack of **** Luckily I wasn't right next to a ditch and suffered no more than a bruised shoulder (and pride).

 

[teenwolf]

This. If that had happened to me, I think I would have been a little annoyed, but just tutted and carried on.
.

exactly what i would have done, was a bit of a lame fall like no good if you cant unclip quickly if needed to.

 

[Hotwired]

There's a lot of assumptions in thinking it's ok to brush past cyclists on a single lane with a motor vehicle.

Maybe they're not particularly good cyclists. But you can be a not particularly good car driver and the balance of the vehicle doesn't rely on that.

The same article says the police didn't give a damn about another incident because the cyclist was being the unreasonable party:

As one example, in October 2018 we published a Near Miss of the Day video showing a motorist making a very close pass on a cyclist, but Northamptonshire Police took no action because they deemed that he was riding too far out in the road and the driver had given him sufficient space.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

The Landy driver should have slowed down and pulled over to give the cyclists a bit more room. It’s a Landy, not a Lambo so pulling onto the shoulder isn’t going to be a problem.

 

[p1RATE]

I was a cyclist - riding about 6k miles a year.

This incident doesn't look too bad too me but I know everyone reacts differently though.
They don't appear confident riders, almost like they would lose balance with nothing around.

I agree. As a cycling that would not have phased me one bit. I don't think the driver was going all that fast tbh. I think the cyclists just panicked and probably not familiar with riding on lanes like those.

 

[Rroff]

One thing which isn't clear from the video is how soon before the event the driver could see the cyclists - the road appears to go around a bend but overall appears to be fairly open country.

A touch fast on the part of the driver giving them limited time to react if a cyclist had swerved or toppled for some reason i.e. pothole, but I think the wide angle/fisheye of the camera is distorting the perception of the true speed of the vehicle possibly making it appear faster than it was. Overall though seemed a massive over-reaction on the part of the cyclists turned a not ideal situation into something more of a problem.

Personally would have slowed right down as a driver.

 

[lordrobs]

https://road.cc/content/news/video-driver-fined-after-causing-cyclist-fall-bike-291567

Disclaimer : I'm a cyclist and a motorist.

My own view on this incident is:

Road isn't wide but it isn't narrow either.
Defender isn't going slowly but it isn't going quickly either.
Lead cyclist stops.
Following cyclist has to stop, fails to unclip and falls into ditch, full compo style.
Trailing cyclist swears.

What does the OcUK jury reckon?

I'm an honorary member of team lycra and I'd say you are spot on.

The Defender should have slowed more, that was poor form on their part.

Lead cyclist had no reason to stop. I'd have slowed and unclipped a foot in preparation to stop at most. When riding in a group you have to be aware of those behind.

Middle cyclist fell off due to a combination of the lead cyclist stopping and their poor observation of the person infront.