Very Close HGV- Complaint

 On the 24th March I unfortunately suffered the following incident

I believe I now know the company that owns the vehicle so I have written the following complaint. It should be noted that the company hasn't been confirmed, therefore, I have anonymised the letter to reflect this.


Dear Sir/madam,


I am unfortunately writing to you with a complaint about the driving of one of your HGV drivers.


I am a cyclist who cycle commutes 12 miles to and from work each day from Torrance to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. Normally I commute on quiet back roads as I don't like holding up traffic along Balmore Road at rush hour, however, on the occasion of the morning of 24th March, I had to use a short section of Balmore Road after having dropped my children of at their place of childcare. It was during my short time on this road at about 8:06am that I experienced some shocking driving from one of your drivers  (HGV with registration SF55AOC).


Having encountered a number of incidents in the past I have resorted to wearing a helmet camera to record such incidents. Therefore, I have footage of the incident that can be viewed here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ6QtxSX4Kw). As you can see from the video a number of vehicles managed to pass me quite safely so there was no reason for the shockingly poor, very close pass by your vehicle, especially as there was no traffic coming in the other direction.


You will also note from the video that I was uncertain about the identity of the HGV operator. However, with help from others, and comparison of the sign on the side of the HGV and comparison with your xxx logo, I am fairly certain it is one of your vehicles. Could you please confirm this for me?


Obviously I would be keen for you to talk to the driver involved in this incident. I am not looking for anyone to loose their job, but I think it needs to be made VERY clear to the driver, and in fact all of your drivers that driving of this standard is not acceptable. Had there been a gust of wind, a pothole or something similar in the road at that point it would have been very easy for myself and the HGV to come into contact, with dire consequences.


I should point out, that in general HGV drivers are the best and most courteous on the road, as they should be, considering the danger such vehicles could pose. I am sure that the majority of your drivers drive to a very high standard.


I would be happy for you to use this footage to show your drivers the effects that driving of this standard can have on a cyclist, and in fact I am more than happy talk to your drivers personally about incidents like this. I have experience working with HGV/PCV companies in the past including First Glasgow as this Evening Times article demonstrates (http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/doc-has-a-cure-for-danger-on-city-roads-1.975448).


I look forward to hearing from you shortly.


Yours Sincerely

Magnatom in Bad Cycling Shocker!!!

NEWS JUST IN: It has been reported that Magnatom, a cyclist who our sources suggest thinks that he is perfect and beyond reproach, has been caught on video by another road user cycling in a dangerous and selfish manner.

Magnatom who normally cycles between Torrance and Glasgow has apparently been sneaking off to Springside, Ayrshire hoping to avoid the paparazzi (that continually follow and speed past him cycling on carbon fibre Bianchi bikes), to let his hair down and to flout the rules of the road.

Professor Von Driver from the Institute of Fast Acceleration STudies (FAST) suggests, 'Magnatom is obviously feeling the stress of being perfect all of the time and has decided to relieve the pressure by heading to the sticks, and you don't get more sticks than Ayrshire, and breaking a few rules'.

Von Driver having viewed the footage thinks, '..the publication of this footage will definitely erode any remaining credibility Magnatom had left after his sheep incident, meaning that he will surely take the car in future.....this will definitely make the roads safer for everyone else....I know I can sleep easier having this menace off the streets.'

We, here at The Daily Mind, can exclusively bring you the footage for you to make your own minds up.

The Daily Mind managed to catch up with Magnatom in his evil layer where he spends his time scheming up new ways of delaying drivers and knocking down little old ladies. Magnatom would not speak to us directly, which was just as well, considering he said he could speak Scots on his recently filled in census form. He did, however decided to give us the following statement written on the back of copy of Primary Position Weekly.

'I must admit, when I first viewed the footage myself I was concerned that I may have let my halo slip, the rider is certainly taking a primary position (on the right). However, look carefully at the footage. The cyclist in the video was holding a copy of The Sun, and possibly had an ice-cream in his other hand. That can't possibly be me, as I only read The Independent, and would be drinking a glass of Merlot, not eating ice cream.'


The Daily Mind remains unconvinced.

In related news go to page 8 to read our story about how wearing lycra can give you cancer....

Readers Comments Below.

Close Passes and Abuse

I had an 'interesting' ride home the other evening. (I'd have posted this earlier had I not had editing problems!)


First I had a very, VERY close pass on a 40mph dual carriage way.

There was absolutely no need for that. I am of a mind to report it, but there is a lot of hassle in reporting incidents like that. You have to either visit the police, or have them visit you which is difficult when you are busy at work and at home.


Oh to have the Roadsafe system like they have in London.


I was in a rush to get home (parents evening at our oldests school), so further on in my commute I took the fast way home. The horrible A road I mentioned in a previous post. Last time I had an excellent overtake. This time I had exactly the same type of overtake in the same place. Again after I had thanked the driver. It does work, perhaps!


However, things went downhill from there. First there was another very close pass. This time by a driver in a company marked van. Not only that, when I caught up....guess what....yes, you've guessed it, he was on his mobile phone!! This one will get reported to his employer.

Then further down the road (there were road works) as I passed said roadworks, keeping up with traffic, I hear someone shouting:

Get off the f*cking road!

At the time I was travelling too fast to see who had shouted it, but looking back at the footage I can see it was one of the road workers! You can see him in this footage. Unfortunately the microphone didn't pick up the comment, so I can't prove anything (and that's why I've not posted the video).


So why did I have all these problems? My theory is that with the brighter evenings and improving weather, drivers feel a little more able to put their foot down a little bit, and feel aggrieved at anything pereceived to be holding them up.

Either that or they are just d*cks...... 

The Power of Thank You

Yes, I've had a few runs in, in my time.
I've had the odd heated conversation with another road user.
I'm sure we all have.

What doesn't make the headlines of course, are the hundreds of nice interactions that we have with other road users. All the excellent overtakes, the drivers stopping to let us through a gap, the drivers keeping a good distance back etc.

Of course all of the above is how the roads should work.We shouldn't have to say thanks when a road user behaves around us. It should be the norm. However, it doesn't do any harm to spread some karma. To polish the cycling community halo (oh yes we have a nice shiny one!) for that extra bit of sparkle.

Make friends with other road users.

I do this, and have been doing it from the day I started cycling. I go out of my way to say thanks when I feel someone has been driving/cycling/walking/singing well whilst I am out on the bike. I do this because it's nice to do it, and because that person might be even nicer to the next cyclist they meet.

At the end of last week I had to work late and so was coming home in the dark. Wanting to get home quickly I take the not so nice, fast, narrow, country A road that I normally avoid. I avoid it because it is notorious for impatient drivers and dangerous overtakes.

On one particular stretch, on this occasion, I notice a driver has hung back and left me plenty of room. So approaching a roundabout I put my hand up to say thanks. It turns out the driver is going the same way as me, so they proceed to overtake.

I have never seen an overtake like it. See it for yourself here.

Did they overtake like this because they were busy fiddling with their SatNav? Did they forget they weren't on a dual carriage-way?

I'd like to think it was their way of acknowledging my thank you.

So maybe we should all aim to thank at least one other road user on every commute.

Spread the Joy of cycling! :-)

The Biggest Threat to Recreational Cycling?

The majority of my cycling is my commute to and from work, about 23-25 miles a day. However, when I get the chance, which isn't often (3 young kids!) I also hit the tarmac (no-not like that!) for fun.Where I live in Torrance, I am surrounded by some amazing countryside and some very interesting cycling.

For any readers who are not cyclists, interesting cycling means hills. Believe it or not hills are what make cycling  fun! We all start out avoiding hills, but for some unfathomable reason you start to actively seek them out.....

So today, using up some annual leave that I would loose otherwise, I took the day off, with the intention of getting a few miles in. This is particularly important to me as I am supposed to be taking part in Sportive Kinross in a few weeks time.....the BLACK route! Eek! To keep my route interesting I headed over my old enemy, Crow Road (the one over the Campsies not the one in Anniesland!). I have some prior with this one.

It was during todays ride, which was bloomin' hard due to a very nasty head wind (good for my legs I suppose!), that I came across what I think is the greatest threat to recreational cycling in the UK.


The potholes/ruts/crevasses in this picture (just outside Fintry) were entirely typical of the road surface on long stretches of road. It was absolutely no fun, whatsoever cycling on roads like this. It really was so bad in places that you risk damaging your road bike, by riding it on the road. It would be better to cycle across the fields.


I've been cycling recreationally for a few years now, and I love it. I am hooked. There is nothing better than buzzing along a smooth road on a sportive, in a pack, or cruising along a deserted road with only the sound of the birds and flowing water. It really is special.

However, had I just started this year, and this had been my first ride, I might well have just packed it all in then and there. The state of the roads is very depressing. I'm not sure if I can take that route again. My severely vibrated hands couldn't take it!

So councils, I understand that the main roads are a priority, but if you value recreation at all, if you value the benefits of cycling on health and well being of the population and if you want to avoid getting sued to the hilt by a badly injured cyclist/motorbike rider, then sort these roads out.

Otherwise, a lot of new road riders might just stay sat in front of the TV instead and miss views like this I took on today's ride....

Oh, and  before anyone pipes up, cyclists do pay for upkeep of the roads but that's a whole different story.........