'If anyone thinks this is an acceptable manner of driving, let this be your warning'
Sheffield police have released footage of a motorist who drove too close to a group of cyclists, resulting in him getting five points on his license and a £417 fine.
In the video captured by a cyclist's helmet camera, a silver Peugeot can be seen speeding towards the group and past them, with the motorist actually crossing over onto the other side of the road at one point.
The cyclists were overtaking a parked car in single file. Sheffield North West police said the motorist passed the cyclists at "excessive speed and far too closely," adding that the footage and punishment should be a "warning" to anyone who thinks this is acceptable.
https://twitter.com/SheffNW_NPT/status/1517083692690288642
The police explained that there had been more cyclists behind the one who caught the footage, adding that the driver 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."
The force said that if the driver 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."
https://twitter.com/SheffNW_NPT/status/1517757016810430464
The Alliance for British Drivers described the prosecution as "pathetic sucking up to the cycling lobby" and an "idiotic decision that undermines the credibility of the courts and the police."
People were divided in the comments, with several wondering why the cyclists didn't give way for their own safety because of the parked car on their side.
https://twitter.com/americans_dumb/status/1517153909294346241
https://twitter.com/loxleycountry/status/1517094759415918593
But many pointed out that the cyclists stayed on their side of the road at all times, unlike the driver of the Peugeot.
https://twitter.com/revcounter19000/status/1518168573797191687
https://twitter.com/Rendel_Harris/status/1517254647936958465
Last month, Northamptonshire Police
released footage of a similar incident in which a motorist caused a cyclist to fall off her bike.
The motorist doesn't appear to touch the cyclist, but drove close enough to cause her to fall, and was fined £1,008 for driving without due care or attention.
Police described the incident as a "reckless overtaking manoeuvre."
Recent changes to the Highway Code mean that motorists now need to give more priority and attention to other road users such as cyclists in a new 'hierarchy of road users.'
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