A cyclist’s camera captured a moment which pretty much sums up what cycling in central London can be like.
The bike rider was narrowly missed by a car pulling in without checking their mirrors and only indicating at the very last second.
Hundreds of people are seriously injured every year and dozens have been killed despite big improvements in infrastructure and safety measures.
Cyclists in any city centre will know the most dangerous thing is a driver not paying attention – and this video is a perfect view of what that looks like from the saddle.
GoPro footage shows the cyclist on the left-hand side of the road alongside the car on Blackfriars Road, going towards Elephant and Castle, near St. George’s Circus.
The driver then pulls in suddenly forcing the cyclist to swerve and hit the wing mirror and the side of the car.
The cyclist is heard saying: ‘You f****g stupid c**t! You f*****g idiot! Are you f****g blind?’
When the driver gets out of his car to check the damage, the cyclist shouts: ‘Woah, woah, why are you bothered about your car, you nearly f****g maimed me!’
The tense situation risked getting out of hand when a passerby got involved to stick up for the driver.
The cyclist, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: ‘I was cycling home after work on Blackfriars Road towards Elephant and Castle.
‘Then out of nowhere, the driver pulled in without indicating before he pulled in.
‘I was forced to swerve but clipped the wing mirror and the passenger-side door.
‘In that split second I thought “this is going to end badly”, but I got a lucky escape from serious injury, only a few bruises.
‘I was pumped full of adrenaline and immediately started having a go at him.
‘I regret the things I said, but it could have been a lot worse and I was raging in the heat of the moment.
‘You can see that he only indicates after he manoeuvres the vehicle – obviously without looking for cyclists.
‘We eventually apologised to each other me for swearing and him for hitting me with his car.
‘One man waiting at the bus stop claimed I should have been in the cycle lane on the other side of the road but I wasn’t even going that way so I told him to pipe down with some choice words.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.