A CYCLIST who finally returned to the saddle 20 years after getting hit by a car filmed himself almost being knocked over by an NHS van.
The unlucky cyclist, Stephen Ramsay, broke a wrist when he was struck by a car in 1997.
But within days of plucking up the courage to return to the roads, Stephen’s helmet-mounted camera showed him coming close to being crushed by a careless health service driver.
The incident in Edinburgh shows the large, white NHS Mercedes van cut up Stephen by pulling in front of him at a busy junction.
The cyclist comes close to being squashed between the van and a parked car before the van suddenly turns left, threatening to crush him under its wheels.
Stephen – who posted the video to his YouTube channel cyclist6079 – slams on his brakes and can be heard screaming: “F*****g t**t!”
Speaking about the frightening experience, Stephen said: “I’ve only just got back on the bike after an unfortunate accident a long time ago.
“20 years ago as a teenager I had a crash on my Road Bike with a car and broke my wrist. After that, I did not get back on a bike until, two weeks ago.
“It’s taken a long time to take the plunge and its because of careless and dangerous drivers like this.”
A spokesman for Scotland’s Worst Drivers said:”I don’t see how the van driver failed to see this cyclist on a very clear road.
“To pull out in front of him was not only illegal but dangerous but then to cut up the cyclist was reckless.
“Thankfully there was no contact however this could have had a very different outcome.”
Last month Operation Close Pass was launched in Edinburgh by Police Scotland in a bid to stop motorists getting too close to cyclists.
Unmarked police cars will be monitoring traffic throughout the city and drivers could face penalties.
Stephen said: “It’s clear that if we are going to encourage cycling more needs to be done. Tackling speeding alone is simply not enough.
“I wholeheartedly welcome Operation Close Pass as a first step, but Police Scotland need to do more to address this kind of dangerous driving. In particular among ‘professional’ drivers.”
It was reported in June 2015 than in the previous 12 months, a total of 885 cyclists had been injured on Scotland’s roads and eight killed.
