Shocking footage shows a Range Rover driver coming within inches of hitting a cyclist – landing him a £500 fine and penalty points. Barry Field, 59, was slapped with a fine for driving without due care and attention.
Headcam footage shows the cyclist riding on March 5 last year.The clip shows Field’s black Range Rover drive past the cyclist who appears to wobble after the frightening near miss. The cyclist passed the video to police’s Operation Snap team who hunt down dangerous drivers using footage from everyday road users.
Field denied driving without due and attention but was found guilty following a trial at Warwickshire Magistrates Court last week. In addition to the £500 fine, he had three points slapped on his licence and he was ordered to pay £620 court costs and a £50 victim surcharge.
The cyclist, who has not been named, said: “I know there are bad drivers and bad cyclists out there but all I want to be able to do is go for a ride and come back home safely to my family. His impatience could have killed me. Bad cycling mainly causes annoyance to people but bad driving results in five road user deaths a day.”
PC Ken Bratley said: “Fortunately the cyclist was not injured and on reviewing the footage there is no doubt that this was an extremely careless pass. Cyclists are much more vulnerable than drivers in cars and that’s why the Highway Code has been updated asking drivers to give cyclists more care and attention.
“This includes waiting behind a cyclist until it is safe to pass them and leaving at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.
"It’s really important that drivers understand their responsibility to look after more vulnerable road users such as cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians by slowing down and giving them extra space.”
