Colchester Bike Cam Incidents

Incidents whilst cycling in and around the ‘Cycling Town’ of Colchester; filmed with an Oregon Scientific ATC3K Action Cam mounted on the handlebars of my bikes.

See the YouTube Channel and follow on Twitter

Contact: Malcolm Mitchell

2010

November 16

Wimpole Road

• Reckless motorist:
  This is the last video to be added here. They will now be exclusively shown on the YouTube Channel.
  

November 10

High Street

• Reckless motorist:
  Never mind cyclist ‘red light jumpers’, what about motorists behind the wheel of 4x4s like this one (while a pedestrian is waiting to cross)?
  

Ipswich Road

• Cut-up:
  

November 4

Goldhanger Road, Heybridge

• Close passing:
  

Hackmans Lane, Cold Norton

• Reckless motorist:
  

Latchingdon Road, Cold Norton

• Reckless motorist:
  

Layer Road

• Close passing:
  

Tillingham Road, Asheldham

• Reckless motorist:
  

Witham Road, Wickham Bishops

• Close passing:
  

November 2

Layer Road

• Impatient drivers:
  

October 28

High Street

• Cut-up:
  The yellow sticker in the back window is that of the ‘Think! Bike!’ campaign. “Practice what you preach.”
  

Queen Street

• Gormless pedestrians:
  

October 22

High Street

• Impatient Driver:
  

Lexden Road

• Gormless pedestrian is an irresponsible mother/minder:
  

Rawston Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

Westway

• Cut-up:
  

October 21

Butt Road

• Cut-up (twice):
  

St. Johns Road

• Cut-up:
  

October 19

St. Johns Street

• Cut-up and threatened:
  The scumbag behind the wheel of First East England bus 67004 P504 MNO, deliberately cut me up, then swore at me with his middle finger, and finally stated, “next time I’ll knock you off”.
  

October 14

North Station Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

October 13

High Street

• Cut-up:
  

October 11

Westway

• Close passing:
  

October 9

Brompton Road, London

• Cut-up:
  

September 29

Head Street

• Gormless pedestrians:
  

September 20

Wick Lane, Ardleigh

• Abuse:
  

September 10

Lexden Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

August 31

Woodbridge Road, Ipswich

• Close passing:
  

August 17

Hythe Quay

• Reckless motorist:
  

Mersea Road

• Close passing:
  

August 15

A137, Cattawade

• Close passing:
  

Coram Street, Hadleigh Heath

• Close passing:
  

August 3

Highwoods Approach

• Reckless motorist:
  

August 1

Chitts Hill

• Reckless motorist:
  Note: I am cycling two abreast, within my lane.
  

July 30

Ipswich Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

July 29

The Ave, Wivenhoe

• Close passing:
  

July 19

Hawthorn Avenue

• Cut-up:
  

July 18

Mill Road

• Abuse:
  

July 13

Colchester Road, West Bergholt

• Abuse:
  The lady screaming furiously out of the passenger window can clearly be heard despite the ATC3K’s acclaimed weather-proofing, which tends to muffle most sounds out. I’m just glad she was in the passenger seat and not driving this potentially lethal 4x4… for the record, she shouted, “you’re supposed to be cycling in single-file”, to which I say, “no we are not”.
  

July 9

Oxford Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

Wimpole Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

June 26

South Street, Braintree

• Close passing:
  

June 22

Rawston Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

June 21

Whitehouse Hill, Tolleshunt D’Arcy

• Exemplar passing:
  How much space should a passing motorist give a cyclist? I would like to think this much.
  

June 20

London Road

• Reckless motorist:
  Off camera the driver waiting at right-hand junction pulled out while I was in front of him, forcing me to swerve to the left; if I didn't take avoiding action I would have been hit, and feel it would have been fully intentional as the driver and passenger were both well aware of my presence.
  

June 16

Cowdray Avenue

• Gormless pedestrian:
  Nearly made matters all the worse by stepping backwards once he saw me!
  

June 11

Oxford Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

June 9

Barrack Street

• Close passing:
  

Gosbecks Road

• Impatient driver:
  

May 25

Oxford Road

• Cut-up:
  

May 24

Manningtree Road, Stutton

• Reckless motorist:
  

May 22

Fronk’s Road, Dovercourt

• Abuse:
  The car is clearly doing some speed (I was doing 17mph) and the passenger shouted “boo” as it passed.
  

May 20

Boundary Road

• Baulked:
  

May 19

Rawston Road

• Close passing:
  

May 13

East Hill

• Impatient driver:
  

East Street

• Near miss due to reckless motorist:
  I narrowly avoided collision with this vehicle. The driver (a white male, with dark hair, and glasses) didn’t stop to offer an apology or check I was okay, he just continued on his merry way…
  

May 10

Oxford Road

• Impatient driver:
  

May 6

Haven Road

• Impatient driver:
  

Ipswich Road

• Intimidation by HGV:
  The driver of this lorry is a bully in his cabin. He left his braking late behind me, so I heard the roar of his vehicle bearing down on me frighteningly fast. Once he was able to overtake he pulled alongside me pointing at the cycle lane and shouting that’s where I should be. Yes there’s a cycle lane alongside Ipswich Road, but it isn’t continuous, is shared with pedestrians (but for a white line, which criss-crosses at one point), and has obstacles in it, and walled driveways on one side, parking bays and bus stops on the other. Even if this cycle lane didn’t suffer from the above, whether I choose to use it or not is entirely my choice.
  

Mill Road

• Close passing and impatient driver:
  

May 4

Brinkley Grove Road

• Cut-up:
  

April 24

Oxford Road

• Impatient driver:
  My neighbour is an impatient driver and a liar. It can’t have been that he was in a hurry to get home, because he took several minutes to get out of his car before telling me he “never overtook” me. It must have been the red mist that befalls a lot of drivers when they see a cyclist…
  

April 22

East Hill

• Reckless motorist:
  

April 21

Maldon Road

• Close passing:
  

Maldon Road, Tiptree

• Impatient drivers:
  “If the car in front is going then it must be clear. Either way, I'm going.”
  

April 20

Colchester Road, Little Horkesley

• Reckless motorist:
  

Harwich Road

• Close passing:
  

North Station Road

• Pedestrian free-for-all:
  

April 19

High Street

• Gormless Pedestrian:
  

Northern Approach Road

• Close passing:
  

April 15

Lexden Road

• Reckless motorist:
  Repeat Cycle Lane offender, EF07LFA, a ‘Pestle & Mortar’-branded Jeep, mounts the pavement and drives through a pedestrian crossing to join the road.
  

April 8

Maldon Road

• Close passing:
  
• Cut-up:
  

Cross Road, Maldon

• Near miss:
  

April 7

High Street

• Cut-up:
  

April 1

Lexden Road

• Impatient drivers:
  Why strips of “advisory” cycle lane like the one on Lexden Road are just a cruel joke.
  

Maldon Road

• Close passing:
  Given the wind, speed and bulk of the bus, this was too close for comfort.
  

Southway

• Close passing:
  

March 29

Oxford Road

• Near miss:
  With parked cars on both sides, along its length, Oxford Road is an unpleasant road to cycle.
  

March 26

Berechurch Hall Road

• Impatient learner driver/close passing:
  The problem with learner drivers being instructed by friends and/or family is that they will not be taught best practice, and will instead pick up their “instructors” bad habits. Both the learner driver and “instructor” in this clip know little about the benefits of “early vision, early decision”…
  

March 24

Hawkins Road

• Impatient driver:
  

March 12

Oxford Road

• Reckless motorist:
  

March 4

Queen Street

• Gormless pedestrian:
  

February 23

Hythe Hill

• Close passing:
  Notice how much more space the driver gives parked cars over a vulnerable road user, i.e. a cyclist. Not to mention the apparent speed…
  

2009

December 31

Queen Street

• Impatient driver:
  Another vehicle takes to the pavement.
  

December 30

Hythe Hill

• Close passing:
  Just about as close as can be without actually touching.
  

December 17

Southway

• Cut-up:
  Overtook me around the outside of the roundabout, as I was signalling and drifting left.
  

November 6

High Street

• Foolish pedestrian:
  Thought he would play “chicken”.
  

November 2

St. Johns Street

• Cut-up:
  

October 29

High Street

• Cut-up:
  If the driver bothered to look he would have seen my shiny new ‘One Less Car’ hi-vis vest.
  

October 21

Boxted Road

• Impatient driver:
  Waited no more than two seconds at this junction in appalling conditions, and nearly got it very wrong as a result.
  

October 17

High Street

• Cut-up:
  
• Near miss:
  Probably pulled away on the assumption that if the car ahead did so it must be clear. But it wasn’t.
  

Queen Street

• Cut-up:
  

October 16

Southway

• Cut-up:
  Don’t mind me or the KEEP CLEAR notice.
  

September 22

Osborne Street

• Reckless motorist:
  The driver of this Mercedes was on the phone when I overtook him at the top of East Hill, and still on it in Osborne Street. He proceeds to take the car park filter lane, and instead turn left into St. Johns Street.
  

September 18

East Street

• Near miss:
  Skip red lights at your peril!
  

September 5

East Hill

• Cut-up:
  As an aside, the picture produced by the camera when mounted to a road bike with tyres at more than 100psi is jittery… think I have found the limit of its shock-proofing!
  

August 19

The Albert roundabout, North Station Road

• Cut-up:
  

August 15

Bristol Bridge, ‘Cycling City’ of Bristol

• Reckless motorcyclist, and cycle lane infringements:
  Rider on left claimed cycle lanes are, “for two wheels” and that he was told when he did his test, “it’s okay to use them”! Although Clio-sized, ASL’s are strictly for bicycles only. After buying Venue, it became apparent this sort of behaviour is commonplace.
  

August 12

Lambeth Palace Road, London

• ASL infringements:
  

August 9

Turner Road

• Collision course:
  The motorist should have been more tentative when pulling out, and I could have been further away from the parked cars.
  

August 8

East Hill

• Near miss:
  Terrible road position by cyclist, but the motorist should not have taken it as an invitation to overtake.
  

August 7

Heath Road

• Errant cyclist:
  A cursory look is not enough.
  

August 5

Circular Road South

• Reckless motorist:
  Travelling way over the speed limit and using the wrong side of the road to “dodge” a traffic island. (Only a week after Essex Police announced they will be using handheld speed cameras on this very road.)
  

August 1

Greenstead Road

• Impatient drivers:
  Two more drivers who think it’s okay to mount the pavement when they’re in a hurry.
  

Head Street

• Reckless cyclist:
  If the pedestrians hadn’t seen him coming he would have had no way to stop, and nowhere to go but plough straight into them.
  

July 24

East Street

• Impatient driver:
  Not content with waiting like the rest of Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic, this driver took to the other side of the road, went around a traffic island, and then mounted the pavement.
  

Lexden Road

• Cycle lane infringement:
  

July 17

A134

• Cycle lane infringement:
  Clearly this driver doesn’t realise the engine mustn’t be running whilst talking on a mobile, and that doing it parked in a cycle lane will triple the fine!
  

July 16

St. Botolph’s roundabout

• Impatient driver:
  Overtook me on the inside, using the Colchester Town station entrance, then effectively crossed three lanes to turn-off into Military Road.
  

July 3

East Hill

• Baulked:
  If he wasn’t going to “get on with it” he should just have waited for me to pass.
  

June 24

Balkerne Hill

• Cut-up:
  The bus driver was thanking the car for letting him out, and in doing so failed to notice my approach.
  

June 22

East Hill

• Cut-up:
  Notice also the sunken manhole afterwards (reported to Essex County Council via Fill That Hole on May 12).
  

June 11

High Street

• Cut-up:
  This is an issue of awareness; motorist didn’t see me but was apologetic when stopped at the next crossing.
  

June 10

East Hill

• Blocked:
  I couldn’t understand at the time why this car stopped, and having now reviewed it, still can’t! If the Audi was being courteous as has been suggested, it was entirely unnecessary since there was a 17-second gap to the car behind me and a further 30-second gap to the next. If the road was clogged up, then okay, but not when it was quiet, and at the expense of a cyclist.
  
• Reckless motorist:
  At speed, way before the filter lane, and whilst the traffic was actually flowing. Cars often pull out in advance of the filter lane here, but I have never seen it done from that far back, or that fast.
  

East Street

• Collision course:
  This would have been a carbon copy of when I was struck down by a taxi.
  

High Street, Queen Street, and St. Botolph’s Street

• Intimidation:
  It begins with him sounding the horn at the top of East Hill (technically High Street) traffic lights… what follows is the driver forcing himself alongside me, on the left, the right, then left again.
  I tried to allow him through after the bus station, without being scared off the road entirely, but he just cruised alongside then played chicken with me as I accelerated away. You can then hear him skid to a halt behind me.
  When I stopped at the Osborne Street lights the kind lady who was following the van called out to me, said she had taken down his plate, noted his actions, and stated she would be reporting the incident to the police herself. I have her contact details.
  I reported it to the police at my first opportunity and await a response from an officer.
  Seems like I need to invest in another camera to mount rearward, as in this instance the camera is sadly all but useless. When I turned the bike around to get his plate you can however gauge just how close he was to me, and the road position he was in.
  

Queen Street

• More gormless pedestrians, and a reckless cyclist:
  

June 9

High Street

• Pedestrian free-for-all:
  I took abuse from one of them which is wholly unfair. They all saw me coming but chose to ignore the threat. They wouldn't have crossed had I been a motor vehicle.
  

June 4

Greenstead Road

• Bicycle vs. Car:
  A 50/50
  

High Street

• Cut-up:
  Issue of awareness/reaction to seeing a cyclist; taxi either didn’t see me or continued regardless. So many times a motorist’s reaction is to hit the accelerator rather than to brake when a cyclist is involved.
  

June 1

Cowdray Avenue

• Cut-up:
  I wouldn’t ever normally cycle here (for fear of incidents like this), but today I was filming the signed cycle route.
  

St. Andrew’s Avenue

• Cycle lane blocked:
  No regard for the cyclist or pedestrian.
  

May 30

East Hill

• Impatient driver:
  The Golf may have saved as much as two-seconds by passing me before the junction — putting me at risk in the process.
  

May 22

East Street

• Cut-up:
  

May 15

St. Christopher Road

• Nearly taken out by bus:
  I suppose I invited this action, but bus driver should have realised he couldn’t comfortably round the corner with me there.
  

May 11

Wignall Street, Lawford

• Dangerous passing by HGV:
  
• Impatient driver:
  

April 23

Hythe Quay

• Almost cut-up:
  The pedestrian crossing on the junction was just as close to being hit!
  

April 22

The Albert roundabout, North Station Road

• Cut-up:
  

Middleborough

• Gormless pedestrians:
  

April 20

Head Street

• Cut-up:
  

April 16

Hythe Quay

• Cut-up:
  If I were to go around the painted mini-roundabout by the book as has been suggested, I would be cycling away from destination road and have to slow right down and be in the “danger zone” for longer. It would also put me at greater risk of being hit from behind by motorists ignoring the paint and taking my current line of choice.
  No-one promotes “gutter cycling”, but that is effectively where people are suggesting I ride here.
  Instead of focussing on my riding, look at the bigger picture, and ask yourself why someone who obeys all other traffic laws such as red lights and pedestrian crossings chooses to flout another. The road layout is the issue here, not my riding.
  I would like to see the mini roundabout abolished, and the road changed so Maudlyn Road continues into Hythe Quay (toward Hawkins Road).
  

April 11

East Street

• Almost cut-up:
  

April 8

Magdalen Street

• Cut-up:
  Should have stopped and filmed number plate.
  

April 7

Head Street

• Cut-up:
  

April 1

East Street

• Close passing:
  

March 30

High Street

• Cut-up:
  Admittedly put myself in the situation, but there was no indication of the bus pulling in whilst stopped at the lights.
  

March 27

Osborne Street

• Close passing:
  The driver of this car saved herself no time at all as the lights were all on red.
  

Magdalen Street

• Impatient driver:
  Often receive horn beeps from behind here when I take the central position of the road to get across to the right-hand lane of St. Botolph’s roundabout. Motorists need educating about cyclists’ intentions and road positions, but at the same time this roundabout must have provision for the cyclist. It is not a junction that any cyclist should be placed.
  

March 25

Osborne Street

• Cut-up:
  Note the enormous pothole at beginning (now filled in).
  

March 24

East Hill

• Cut-up:
  Twice, in the dark.