In this episode we take a look at a close pass on Station Road in Norwood Green, which occurred on Wednesday, 23rd October 2024. It involved a grey Mercedes Sprinter van operated by DKS Utilities Ltd.
The map shows the location of the incident along with the direction the cyclist was travelling in.
Let’s take another look at this extreme close pass by the van.
The footage was submitted to West Yorkshire Police on the same day. An email confirming the submission along with a unique reference number was received.
West Yorkshire Police informed us by email on Monday, 28th October 2024, that enquiries were underway to identify the driver of the vehicle so they could be processed for the offence or offences identified from the video footage.
This starts with the police issuing a Notice Of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to the registered owner of the vehicle within 14 days of the offence. A NIP is a warning that you may face prosecution. You have 28 days from getting the NIP to provide the name and address of the driver. Be warned that providing false details may constitute the offence of perverting the course of justice, which may incur a prison sentence or substantial fine. Furthermore, it is also an offence not to comply with the NIP, which carries six penalty points and a maximum £1,000 fine.
Data published from Operation Snap for October to December 2024 shows that the driver was dealt with for the offence RT88576, ‘Drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or public place without reasonable consideration’. This falls under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1998. A person is considered to have driven without reasonable consideration only if someone is inconvenienced by their driving.
As Rule 163 of the Highway Code states, you should overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should give cyclists at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car. As a guide, leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30 mph and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds. Critically, you should wait and not overtake if it is unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances.
So what penalty did they receive? Operation Snap data shows the driver was offered an Educational Course. An educational course is aimed at educating drivers to change attitudes and prevent re-offending. You can only be offered a course if you haven’t already been on one within a three-year consecutive period. You have 28 days from the date of the document to book and pay for the course, and 120 days from the date of the offence to complete the course. The police retain the right to withdraw a course offer at any time up to the point that you have completed the course. You do still have the option of accepting the Conditional Offer of fixed penalty or having the matter heard at court. In this case, the driver accepted the offer of the educational course and attended at their own expense.
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That’s all from West Yorkshire Cycling.
