A horrifying video caught the moment a 4×4 driver reversed at speed towards a cyclist, hitting a dog and causing a quad-bike to swerve.
The footage, shot from the cyclist’s rear-facing camera, captures the incident at just before 10am on July 5 in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Peter the cyclist can be heard shouting ‘watch out’ as he films the black Ford Kuga passing close by him down the single-track country lane, as he is forced to move over to the edge of the road.
The cyclist moves back to the middle of the road, Orcaber Lane in Austwick, after the large vehicle passes.
But in a shocking twist, the driver of the Ford then reverses back down the lane at speed towards Peter on his bike, who was ‘extremely frightened’.
As Peter tries to cycle away, the driver ends up hitting a dog – thought to be a collie – and running it over.
He said he didn’t know what happened to the dog afterwards.
Peter’s front-facing camera shows the moment the driver narrowly drives past him and forces him to go closer to the verge. Pictured: the black Ford Kuga on Orcaber Lane, Austwick, North Yorkshire
Peter the cyclist can be heard shouting ‘watch out’ as he films the black Ford Kuga passing close by him down the single-track lane in the Yorkshire Dales, as he is forced to move over to the edge of the road
Moments after the car passes the cyclist very narrowly and, believing it is clear, the bike moves back to a more central position in the road. The Highway Code, updated in January, says vehicles should leave at least 1.5m when passing cyclists
The incident was captured at just before 10am on July 5
The cyclist believes the road is now clear for him to cycle as normal
But in a shocking twist, the driver of the Ford then reverses back down the lane at speed towards Peter on his bike
The Ford threateningly moves closer to the cyclist as it reverses towards him down the road. Peter said: ‘When I saw in my rear-view cycling mirror that the car’s reversing light was lit and then that the car was approaching faster than I was cycling, I felt extremely frightened’
As the driver of the Ford reverses at the cyclist, a quad-bike and collie dog come into view
The quad-bike, which is later forced onto the verge by the Ford Kuga, can be seen passing by near the start of the video
The quad-bike is forced onto the verge by the reversing vehicle as the dog runs into the road
The collie is now in the path of the reversing car
The driver continues to reverse despite the dog in his path
The car runs over the dog and it can’t be seen anymore. Peter said he didn’t know what happened to the dog afterwards
At the end of the clip, the driver can be seen to have stopped.
He gets out of his car and sits by the side of the road with his head in his hands.
He appears to be stroking the collie before Peter cycles away down the lane.
Peter begins to cycle away as it is unclear what has happened to the dog
The driver of the Ford Kuga stops after hitting the dog
The near-miss was also filmed from the front-facing camera, showing the initial moment the driver narrowly passed by the cyclist.
Peter said: ‘When I saw in my rear-view cycling mirror that the car’s reversing light was lit and then that the car was approaching faster than I was cycling, I felt extremely frightened.
‘The road was so narrow that a serious collision seemed inevitable.
‘It (the dog) seemed immobile but the two drivers didn’t seem to want to speak with me so I left without knowing whether it was dead or alive.’
Peter initially cycles away
Peter cycles back to the Ford and films the driver appearing to stroke the dog and holding his head in his hands
Peter said: ‘It seemed immobile but the two drivers didn’t seem to want to speak with me so I left without knowing whether it was dead or alive’
Peter reported what happened to North Yorkshire Police. He said they told him ‘no traffic offences had been committed’ and they would take no action
In January this year a revised version of the Highway Code said cars should leave at least 1.5 metres when passing bicycles on the road in slow-moving traffic.
If this is not possible, they should wait until it is safe to overtake.
At speeds of over 30mph the code recommends giving a cyclist as much distance as you would a car to overtake safely.
Do YOU know the driver?
Email [email protected] or [email protected]
A new ‘hierarchy of road users’ in the Highway Code means drivers of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm bear the most responsibility to take care of others around them.
Larger and heavier vehicles must take on the most responsibility to reduce risk on the roads.
Peter reported what happened to North Yorkshire Police.
Twitter users reacted to the video
He said they told him ‘no traffic offences had been committed’ and they would take no action.
He claimed they accused him of road rage when he shouted at the driver of the Ford to ‘watch out’.
North Yorkshire Police have been contacted for comment.
Do YOU know the driver? Contact [email protected] or [email protected]
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