Welcome back to West Yorkshire Cycling. I’m Charlotte. Today’s report covers an incident at the junction of Wharfedale Road and Merrydale Road at Euroway, in which a cyclist faced a near head-on encounter after a car cut the corner. The incident occurred on Sunday, 2nd November 2024, and the vehicle involved was a grey Volvo XC60.
The map shows the location of the incident along with the direction the cyclist was travelling.
Let’s take another look at this incident in slow motion.
On a wet, misty morning, the cyclist has moved into the right-turn lane at the Wharfedale Road junction when the oncoming Volvo cuts the corner, crossing the white lines and heading directly towards them. The vehicle only slows at the last second before pulling back into its own lane. The cyclist, correctly positioned throughout, had nowhere to go.
The footage was submitted to West Yorkshire Police via the Safer Roads Media Submission Portal on the same day, and the complainant received an email acknowledgement containing a unique reference number for the submission.
On Tuesday, 5th November 2024, West Yorkshire Police confirmed that enquiries were underway to identify the driver. Once identified, the driver would be processed for the relevant offence or offences, with potential outcomes including an educational course, a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty, or a court hearing.
The process begins with a Notice of Intended Prosecution, or NIP, issued to the vehicle’s registered keeper within 14 days of the offence. Receiving a NIP is not an automatic prosecution; it is a formal notification that one may follow. The keeper then has 28 days to provide the name and address of the driver.
It is essential to be truthful. Providing false details may constitute perverting the course of justice, which can result in a prison sentence or a substantial fine. Failing to comply with the NIP is also an offence and can result in six penalty points and a maximum £1,000 fine on conviction.
Information from Operation Snap for the period October to December 2024 confirms that the driver was dealt with for offence RT88576 — Drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or public place without reasonable consideration. This offence falls under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. A person is considered to have driven without reasonable consideration if their driving inconveniences another road user.
This is a direct violation of Highway Code Rule 160, which covers lane discipline. The rule requires drivers to keep to the left at all times and, critically, to ‘keep well to the left on right-hand bends.’ The purpose is to maintain visibility and prevent conflict with oncoming traffic — precisely the risk this driver created by cutting across the bend into the cyclist’s lane.
Operation Snap records confirm the driver was offered an educational course. Such courses are available only once in any three-year period and are designed to address driving behaviour and reduce the likelihood of 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 reserve the right to withdraw the offer at any point before completion. Although 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 concludes this edition of West Yorkshire Cycling. We’ll return with another episode shortly. Until then, stay safe on the roads.
