‘TOO CLOSE’: Motorist passing cyclists found guilty of careless driving divides online opinion
A video shared by police showing a motorist found guilty of careless driving has divided public opinion online.
Sheffield North West Police shared the video clip showing a vehicle passing cyclists on the other side of the road ‘far too closely’ and at speed on a country lane in the area.
A cyclist within the group captured the incident using a helmet mounted camera and passed the footage onto the police force.
The driver has now been prosecuted for careless driving. The motorist was fined £417 in total and received 5 points on his licence.
A Sheffield North West Police spokesperson said via social media: “COURT RESULT: CARELESS DRIVING. The driver of this vehicle decided to pass a group of cyclists at excessive speed and far too closely. Fined £417 in total, licence endorsed with 5 points. If anyone thinks this is an acceptable manner of driving, let this be your warning.”
The prosecution of the motorist divided public opinion across social media and prompted a further response from the police.
The police spokesperson added in further posts: “Quite a few replies seem to focus on the cyclist in the frame as though the footage was obtained from a following car or drone. For clarity - there’s a bike in front of the one you can see, the footage is from another and there are others behind.
“The driver didn’t just endanger one cyclist, he was also too close to those following. He would have seen a group of bikes in a line, and chose to accelerate to a speed increasing the danger to all of them and swerve over the white lines towards them.
“If he had simply driven to the conditions at a less dangerous speed and stayed on his own side of the road he wouldn’t have been prosecuted.”
