Psychology of a close passer
One of the biggest blockers to getting more people cycling as a mode of transport is the perception of road danger. As such we dedicate a fair amount of our time here at Bike Worcester HQ (a bunker 20 floors below sea level) keeping a watchful eye on all things road danger; FYI we’ve dedicated an entire page of our website to it here.
From a personal perspective, I’ve been cycling on UK roads for a long time, and thankfully have been able to avoid any crashes that require any serious medical attention. I’ve also developed a thick skin, and up until recently basically ignored any dangerous and / or illegal driving in my immediate vicinity. What else could I do?
Well, at a meeting with West Mercia about road danger a couple of years back I was persuaded there is something I could do: if I cared about how some drivers routinely ignore the Highway Code and increase the risk to people travelling by bike, I should report the incidents via Operation Snap using video evidence.
By far the most common action by a driver which increases risk to people riding a bike is overtaking without leaving the required 1.50m of space, commonly called a close pass. At best this is surprising (bad surprising) and annoying. At worst an incident can be so frightening and traumatic it can put someone off cycling for good. Any incident can be made worse by the weather conditions, the size of the vehicle, the speed, and the behaviour of the driver; tailgating, use of the horn, revving the engine, post overtake swerve or brake check, various hand signals, and shouting out of the windows (I never quite catch what’s being said; trust it’s something along the lines of ‘have a wonderful day old bean’) are all common enough to get a mention. Some rudimentary research by me on my commute to work puts the frequency at about 5% of drivers who seem to struggle with a basic manoeuvre that I’m guessing would result in a FAIL on their driving test. Amazing.
I’ve just checked my Strava account, and so far this year I’ve spent 651 hours and 32 minutes riding my bike (I imagine some of that is sat eating cake and drinking coffee). Why mention this? Well, that’s a lot of time for a bit of good old thinking, to massage the the grey matter, and in recent weeks I’ve been asking myself the question ‘Why do motorists close pass other people riding a bike?’. Here’s my ruminations on the subject:
Distracted: Most likely to be with the use of a mobile phone while driving. Annoyingly common is being close passed by someone visibly texting, but drivers can also be distracted by a hands free call, using the in car infotainment system, or by other passengers. The distraction might allow us to see the person on a bike, but not to think about the space we should be leaving.
Ignorant: by which I mean ignorant of the rules of the road, as laid out in the Highway Code. Too many of us passed our driving test many years ago, and instead of keeping abreast of any law or guidance changes we stick to what we knew (and forgot) at the time of our tests.
Deliberate: Perhaps the most frightening one is the thought a driver might deliberately close pass someone riding a bike. Reasons? Some sort of punishment, metering out Judge Dredd style ‘justice’ to the perp (the perp being someone riding a bike). Or for shits and giggles, maybe egged on by passengers in the car, or persuaded that such behaviour is acceptable by influencers or politicians winning votes on the back of culture wars. Little bit of politics.
Incompetent: The driver understands the law and the requirement to leave 1.50m, but is either incompetent at assessing the required distance (about a car’s width) or cannot adequately control the vehicle to leave the required distance. This might be an inexperienced driver, an elderly driver who’s abilities and reactions are not what they once were, or perhaps someone who needs to visit an optician.
Tantrum: We all get cross about stuff, sometimes stupid things. And then once we’re in that different mental state we say things and do things that we’re not proud of, and that we regret. It’s reasonable to assume we are all capable of doing the same when driving, particularly when the things we say go unheard, as we’re in a sound proofed metal box. I guess it’s a bit like the keyboard warriors that throw insults around like confetti on the socials. Would we say the same to someone’s face?
Impatient: The driver is knowledgeable and capable, but is frustrated at any delay caused by someone riding a bike (considered a lesser being or loser by some motorists), and this encourages them to attempt an illegal overtaking manoeuvre. This can also be IBP (Impatient by Proxy) where the driver is happy to wait, but feels pressured to overtake by drivers behind them (a reason given for one of the overtakes here).
I did my best to get a snazeroo of an acronym, but in the end of gone for DiDiTi (phonetically it sounds like a wrestling move).
So there it is. Dan’s breakdown of why people close pass me when I’m riding my bike. If you’ve got any I’ve missed, add them in the comments. More importantly if you’ve been on the receiving end of a warning / advice letter or a Notice of Intended Prosecution from West Mercia (or any other forces) we’d love to hear from you, or alternatively you can fill in our questionnaire here.
Finally, I grew up in the 1970s and was scared (scarred?) by many a public information film. They still make them, and this one from Police Scotland is wonderful.
