Today we take a look at an extreme close pass by a black Toyota Hi-Ace van on the A646 Rochdale Road in Todmorden. It occurred on Sunday, 11th August 2024.
The map shows the location of the incident along with the cyclist’s direction of travel.
Let’s take another look at the extreme close pass of the cyclist by the black van in slow motion.
The footage of the incident was uploaded to West Yorkshire Police on the same day via the Safer Roads Media Submission Portal.
West Yorkshire Police responded by email on Monday, 12th August 2024, to inform us that enquiries were ongoing to trace the driver of the vehicle so they could be processed for the offence or offences identified in the footage.
The process starts with issuing a Notice Of Intended Prosecution, or NIP to the registered keeper or owner of the vehicle. Receiving a nip doesn’t automatically mean you will face prosecution; it is a warning that prosecution may follow. You have 28 days from receiving the NIP to provide the name and address of the driver, or any information that may lead to their identification. Remember, it is an offence in itself not to comply with a NIP.
The police dealt with the driver for the offence RT88576, ‘Drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or public place without reasonable consideration’, which falls under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. A person is only considered to have driven without reasonable consideration if someone is inconvenienced.
This is covered by Highway Code Rule 163, which states, “Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so.” The rule advises you to give cyclists at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car, with a guide of leaving at least 1.5 metres at speeds up to 30mph, and more space at higher speeds. Critically, you should wait behind a cyclist and not overtake if it is unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances.
The driver was offered an Educational Course. This course is aimed at educating drivers to change attitudes and prevent re-offending, and you can only attend one once in a three-year consecutive period. The driver has 28 days from the document date to book and pay for the course, and must attend and complete it within 120 days of the offence date. The driver always retains the option of accepting a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty or having the matter heard in court. In this case, the driver accepted the offer of the educational course and attended at their own expense.
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