HGV driver (whose boss is a cyclist) disciplined after very close pass

The driver of a vehicle subcontracted to Thames Water who made a very close pass on a cyclist in Oxfordshire was disciplined by his employers (and may also face prosecution) – although the bike rider on the receiving end of the dangerous manoeuvre wonders whether the fact the driver’s boss is also a cyclist may have had something to do with the company taking action.

The incident (whihc happens around 2 minutes 20 seconds into the video) was filmed by road.cc reader Tom as he rode home from Oxford towards Thame earlier this month.

“This was one of the closest passes I’ve had in a while, that along with the bus coming in the other direction it was all a bit startling,” he told us, “which is why I’ll give a warning for potential bad language but it all came out at once so the swears merge into one.

“Obviously I’m fearful of my safety here but I was also on my second outing on my new bicycle which had taken 14 months after being paid for to get to me. so I was equally annoyed about the potential for the bike to end up scratching along the road with me.

“Weirdly enough I was expecting slightly more Thames Water vehicle traffic as they were dealing with a big leak in Thame on the day.

“I got in touch with Thames Water after reporting this to Thames Valley Police via their online portal.

“I had the usual guff about how they’ll investigate and couldn’t let me know the outcome (they initially wouldn’t accept a Dropbox link and wanted me to upload the video into the Twitter messages which just seemed to be avoiding taking responsibility).

“I did however get a call on Monday from the subcontractors who provide the vehicles and drivers who told me they’d disciplined the driver (he also mentioned the gaffer was a cyclist himself and was keen to sort this out, which the cynic in me means this may not have happened if he wasn’t) and had been talking with the police who intend to file an NIP [Notice of Intended Prosecution] too.

“I’m still waiting to hear from Thames Valley Police on this and to be fair they normally do give me a call whatever the outcome,” Tom added.

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