The adage ‘paint is not protection’ is a well worn one by now within cycling circles, but its continued importance in the debate on cycling infrastructure was underlined this weekend for one cargo bike rider from Staffordshire, who narrowly avoided colliding with a clumsily U-turning motorist – while riding in a painted cycle lane.

road.cc reader Jim and his seven-year-old daughter were on their way back from a carnival in the Staffordshire market town of Rugeley yesterday when a motorist, travelling in the opposite direction, attempted a U-turn. The driver, however, seriously misjudged their turning circle and veered right across into the cycle lane, almost hitting the oncoming cargo bike rider.

The motorist, who was also driving an untaxed car, has been reported by the cyclist to Staffordshire Police.

***Warning: The following video contains some strong language***

“We live in a village not far from Rugeley town and we’re lucky enough to have a short, quiet rural lane before we join the cycle lane along the main town road. Not segregated unfortunately and dashed lines so drivers park in it but it’s not usually too much of a bother. It’s a 40mph road though,” Jim told road.cc.

“So, rather than taking the car the short journey, I take my cargo e-bike which has small person carrying ability. We do the journey quite a lot to pop into town. We always wear hi vis, helmets, and helmet cam just in case.”

Describing the near miss, Jim continued: “This driver was clearly inexperienced and was attempting to do a U-turn from the opposite carriageway but fluffed the turning circle and veered into the cycle lane.

“As you can see from the footage, the driver had clear visibility of us before they attempted their manoeuvre. I think you can see her dab the brakes a little in a moment of indecision before ploughing ahead anyway.

“To be fair, I did go a bit mental with the expletives but when your child’s life is in danger you just react.

“I reported the driver to Staffordshire police and am currently waiting for a reply to upload the footage. I have been through this process before and had a good response from the police with a warning letter issued to the driver. This one felt far more serious than the last close pass I reported.”

https://road.cc/content/news/near-miss-day-869-302577