Welcome back to another edition of West Yorkshire Cycling. I’m Charlotte.
In this episode, we take a look at a close pass incident on the A644 Denholme Gate Road near Hipperholme in Halifax. The incident involved a silver Ford Mondeo and occurred on Wednesday, 23rd October 2024.
The map shows the direction the cyclist was riding in and the location of the incident.
Let’s take another look at that close pass in slow motion.
The footage was uploaded to West Yorkshire Police via the Safer Roads Media Submission Portal on the same day. West Yorkshire Police replied by email on Monday, 28th October 2024, to inform us that enquiries were underway to trace the driver involved so that they could be processed for the offence or offences identified in the footage. This may either be by way of an educational course, a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty, or by a court hearing.
This process starts with the police issuing a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP). This informs a potential defendant that they may be prosecuted while the incident is still fresh in their memory. You have 28 days from receiving the NIP to provide the name and address of the driver.
Be warned: providing details of someone else if you were the driver may constitute the offence of perverting the course of justice, which can incur a prison sentence or a substantial fine. It is an offence in itself not to comply with the NIP; failing to provide the requested information makes you liable under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, carrying six penalty points and a maximum £1,000 fine on conviction.
Information from Operation Snap for the period October to December 2024 shows 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 1988. Crucially, a person is considered to have driven without reasonable consideration if another road user is inconvenienced by their driving.
This is covered by Rule 163 of the Highway Code, which states that 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. The rule also states that you should take extra care and give more space when overtaking cyclists in bad weather. If it is unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances, the rule is simple: you should wait behind the cyclist and not overtake.
So, how was the driver dealt with? Operation Snap shows the driver was offered an educational course. You can only attend a course once in a three-year period. These courses are aimed at changing attitudes and preventing re-offending.
The driver had 28 days to book and pay for the course and 120 days from the date of the offence to complete it. The police retain the right to withdraw the offer at any time until completion. While the driver could have opted for a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty or a court hearing, they chose to complete the course at their own expense.
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That’s all from West Yorkshire Cycling for this edition. We will be back with another episode soon; until then, please take care while out on the roads.
