How often do you have a 'near miss'?

First.Aspect

Rick Chasey wrote:

Depends how near you mean...

Does actually getting hit count as a near miss?
Anticipation doesn't always help you. Usually, not always. There's always a finite chance of a level of driving competence so far below normal that there is b*gger all you can do. But that's the same if you are walking along the pavement or driving on a motorway.
Answer to the question - a couple of times a week, usually having to brake in order to allow someone to safely complete an overtake. Mostly they have no idea.

tuktuk

Only been commuting around 4 months and had just 2 incidents where I have felt in danger. Both of which are from drivers trying to undertake me on roundabouts and fighting for space when coming to leave the roundabout.

Last one was a taxi and unfortunately I shouted some abuse at him through the window expecting him to drive off, instead he held me in the middle of the road between his car and the traffic flowing on the other side whilst repeatedly asking if i knew who he was. I thought he was going to stop and chin me haha, will have to tone the language down in future!

jonny_trousers

Same as most people above. Moments where I think, "f*ck, that was close," about one every two weeks. Times when I have to take immediate evasive action to avoid an accident, maybe once or twice a year.

thistle_

bails87 wrote:

I should have said, I get uncomfortably close overtakes every day.

Several of these every day, but again it's over so fast that you can't do anything and maybe I have high expectations of others.
Had one today that was very close and another one that was quite close but the driver then stopped to give me a load of abuse because he'd nearly hit an oncoming car

campbellrae1

I probably average one real "OH SH!T" moment a year. The last one I had a van didn't see me and pulled straight out into a roundabout, managed to stop just in time, my front tyre left a black mark on the side of his van so was a close one!

In terms of uncomfortable overtakes it seems to be the same everywhere. Just moved back to Scotland after living near Hertford and it's the same 1 or 2 per ride. But I ride on busier roads up here than I did down south so that probably increases the count!

Origamist

Here's my last three near misses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDOWGJry ... ature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R8OpAID ... ature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWuEdQUJ ... ature=plcp

So about one a month I guess.

EKE_38BPM

It does all depend on how you define a near miss, but I would say maybe a couple a year. I think how I ride and my spidey senses are major factors in this, but you can't expect seriously bad driving so that is where the near misses usually come from.

notsoblue

A couple a year perhaps. Plenty of frustrating little moments when a car pulls out or veers over, or pedestrian walks out into the road without looking. But its very rare that I experience something I'd describe as a near miss.

A few years ago I idiotically squeezed between two lorries at the Notting Hill Gate traffic lights just as they changed and almost got myself crushed to death. If it wasn't for the passenger in one of the lorries peering down and noticing I was there it might have been pretty nasty. Ever since then I've stayed well clear of that kind of situation around large vehicles.

I think experience on the bike has altered my perception of risk such that what to many might be considered near misses I just consider to be part of the daily commute. But it also feel that with experience I've become a safer rider.

EKE_38BPM

notsoblue wrote:

I think experience on the bike has altered my perception of risk such that what to many might be considered near misses I just consider to be part of the daily commute. But it also feel that with experience I've become a safer rider.

+1

gtvlusso

Just to add a little definition:

'Near miss' in my mind means - oh shit I am gonna get hit unless I do something fast, heart stopping moment

So far, 2 this year - one caused by over anxious van driver and the other by a lady who; 'had no idea that she was so close....'

But, I am fairly immune to a 'close pass'....

SteppenHerring

My last "I'm going to die" moment was pretty much of my own making. Turned left onto a bit of a downhill. Was travelling about 30mph so quite spinny (fixed). A way up the road, a van was turning across so I go to slow, have a brain failure and try to stop pedalling. My left foot came unclipped leaving me with the only points of contact with the bike being my two hands on the hoods and one foot attached to a madly spinning crank. I was convinced it was going to come off but somehow hung on and slowed enough to sit down and get the other foot clipped in.

Reane_Machine

I have a couple near ones a day but am yet to have a real light-at-end-of-tunnel moment.

Once a car deliberately swerved towards me as I pootled uphill then zoomed off showing me the bird out his window. That was nice.

I've actually caussed a near miss i'm ashamed to say, caused by a mobility scooter in the cycle lane (!) with no lights in twilight. Luckily my light reflected off of his 'born to be wild' novelty number place with about 10 metres to spare.

airbag

gtvlusso wrote:

Just to add a little definition:

'Near miss' in my mind means - oh shoot I am gonna get hit unless I do something fast, heart stopping moment

That, to me, isn't heart stopping. Heart stopping is "oh shoot I am gonna get hit (or at least "I may well get hit") and there is nothing I can do about it". Maybe I just have extreme self-confidence in my ability to avoid being hit when possible?

jmcc500

Scary enough to get angry about once a week.

Scary enough to get shaky, twice in 2 years, one which ended up with me going over a bonnet (so not really a miss!), second one was a Clio whose mirror clipped my handlebar. Not impressed!

gtvlusso

airbag wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

Just to add a little definition:

'Near miss' in my mind means - oh shoot I am gonna get hit unless I do something fast, heart stopping moment

That, to me, isn't heart stopping. Heart stopping is "oh shoot I am gonna get hit (or at least "I may well get hit") and there is nothing I can do about it". Maybe I just have extreme self-confidence in my ability to avoid being hit when possible?

What you describe is 'actually' getting hit or hitting something.......

Yes, perhaps you are god....

airbag

gtvlusso wrote:

airbag wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

Just to add a little definition:

'Near miss' in my mind means - oh shoot I am gonna get hit unless I do something fast, heart stopping moment

That, to me, isn't heart stopping. Heart stopping is "oh shoot I am gonna get hit (or at least "I may well get hit") and there is nothing I can do about it". Maybe I just have extreme self-confidence in my ability to avoid being hit when possible?

What you describe is 'actually' getting hit or hitting something.......

Yes, perhaps you are god....

Not exactly, just something where I no longer have any reasonable ability to affect the outcome, and not sufficient trust in others. Same way people get spooked over flying but not driving. If I thought I could avoid a crash, and didn't, I'd think myself an idiot surely?

gabriel959

I haven't had any in ages - months! And I had 2 today within 2 minutes of each other.

Going up Newmarket Road back to Cambridge, a woman on a blue Polo brushed past me, I have never had any contact whilst on the bike but I felt the wing mirror brushing past me. I reckon an inch closer and would have meant a serious accident.

Second is at the lights with Newmarket Road and Ditton Lane function the light is green with the arrow for me to turn right, well, 2 cars in the opposite direction ignore their red light and I had to stop for one of them because if not I would have collided against it. I have to say I hurled as much abuse as I could to this driver.

benthic

Less than when I commuted by car. I guess that I'm a smaller target now.

TheEnglishman

well I've moved to a different office and the commute's totally different. It appears the people cycling from Waterloo 'north' are much nicer and the cars/buses and vans are much more accommodating to cyclists. It's weird. Who'd have thought cycling in central London would be better than cycling from Clapham Junction to Shepherds Bush!

Blandiblub

Oh yes, I agree - I've only recently started commuting from SE London (Welling) to work in Westminster and the bits from, say, OKR/NKR onwards are more or less trouble free. I'm much more wary in my home town when I get home!

I guess drivers in more central parts are used to/expect to see cyclists everywhere. And that's wonderful.