In the same week that West Yorkshire Police have launched a new county-wide Close Pass operation, we’re looking back at an incident that shows exactly why this focus is needed. It took place on the A6038 Hollins Hill on Sunday, 18th August 2024, and involved a grey Volvo XC60.
The map shows the location of the incident and the direction the cyclist was travelling. Let’s review that close pass again in slow motion.
The footage was uploaded to the West Yorkshire Police Safer Roads Media Submission Portal on the same day. An email with a unique reference number was received confirming the submission. On Tuesday, 20th August 2024, police responded to confirm that enquiries were ongoing to trace the driver for the offences identified.
This process involves issuing a Notice of Intended Prosecution, or NIP, to the vehicle’s registered keeper. A NIP is a formal warning that a prosecution may follow, and the recipient has 28 days to identify the driver. It is an offence in itself not to comply with this request.
The driver was dealt with for the offence RT88576: ‘Drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or public place without reasonable consideration’, under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. This applies when a driver’s actions inconvenience another road user.
This is a clear violation of Highway Code Rule 163, which states you must only overtake when it is safe and legal to do so. The rule requires giving cyclists at least as much room as a car and provides a guide of at least 1.5 metres at speeds up to 30 mph. Crucially, the speed limit on this section of Hollins Hill is 40 miles per hour, meaning the driver should have provided even more space than that 1.5-metre minimum. If it’s not possible to meet these clearances, the driver must wait.
The driver was offered an Educational Course. These courses are aimed at changing driver attitudes to prevent reoffending, and a driver can only attend one in a three-year period. They have 28 days to book the course and 120 days from the offence date to complete it. In this case, the driver accepted the offer and attended the course at their own expense, providing a positive resolution.
If you found this video informative, please press the like button and use the share buttons on our webpage to show it to your friends and followers.
That’s all for this edition of West Yorkshire Cycling. We will be back with another episode soon; until then, please take care on the roads.
