In today’s episode, we take a look at another close pass incident on the A6038 Hollins Hill in Shipley. It occurred on Sunday, 18th August 2024, and involved a blue Ford Focus.
The map shows the location of the incident along with the cyclist’s direction of travel.
Let’s take another look at that close pass.
The footage was uploaded to West Yorkshire Police via the Safer Roads Submission Portal on the same day. An email was received confirming the submission along with a unique reference number.
West Yorkshire Police responded back on Monday, 19th August 2024, to inform us that enquiries were underway to trace the driver of the vehicle so they could be processed for the offence or offences identified.
This process starts with the police issuing a Notice Of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to the registered keeper or owner of the vehicle. When you receive a NIP, it doesn’t automatically mean you will face prosecution; it is a formal 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. Be aware that 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 1998. A person is only considered to have driven without reasonable consideration if someone is inconvenienced by their driving.
This is covered by Highway Code Rule 163. The rule states, “Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so.” It 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.
So what was the outcome? The driver was offered an Educational Course. This course is aimed at educating drivers to change attitudes and prevent re-offending. Remember, you can only attend a course 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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Join us next time for more from West Yorkshire Cycling.
