In today’s episode we take a look at an incident on Sunday, 18th August 2024, in which a white Seat Ibiza crossed into the path of a cyclist while passing parked cars on Main Street in Menston.
The map shows the location of the incident and the direction the cyclist was travelling in.
Let’s take another look at that failure to give way in slow motion.
The footage was submitted to West Yorkshire Police via the Safer Roads Media Submission Portal on the same day. A reply was received providing a unique reference number confirming the submission.
West Yorkshire Police responded on Monday, 19th August 2024, to inform us that enquiries were ongoing to trace the driver for the identified offences.
This process starts with a Notice of Intended Prosecution, or nip being issued to the vehicle’s registered keeper. Receiving a nip doesn’t automatically mean a prosecution will occur; it’s a formal warning that one may follow. The recipient then has 28 days to identify the driver. Providing false information may constitute the serious offence of perverting the course of justice, and failing to comply with the nip is also an offence under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which carries six penalty points and a maximum fine of £1,000 on conviction.
Results from Operation Snap for the period July 2024 to September 2024 show the driver was dealt with for the offence R T 8 8 5 7 6: ‘Drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or public place without reasonable consideration’. This falls under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and applies when a driver’s actions inconvenience another road user.
This incident violates two key rules in the Highway Code.
Rule 163 states “Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so” and “give way to oncoming vehicles before passing parked vehicles or other obstructions on your side of the road.”
Additionally, Rule 167 states, “DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users.”
In this case while the cyclist was passing parked vehicles, they remained on their side of the road. Meaning any obstruction was on the car drivers side as they had to pass in the opposite lane. The car should have waited after seeing the cyclist.
So, what was the penalty? Operation Snap data shows 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 such course in a three-year period. The driver had 28 days to book the course and 120 days from the offence date to complete it, while still retaining the option of a fixed penalty or having the matter heard in court.
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We will be back with another edition of West Yorkshire Cycling soon. Until then, please take care when out cycling.
