A Bristol cyclist who sent a video of a driver on a mobile phone to the police, only for the police to prosecute the cyclist for stopping the traffic for a few seconds, has finally been told the case will be dropped.
Tom Bosanquet had a helmet camera filming as he cycled up Stokes Croft in Bristol and paused for a few seconds to tell a driver waiting at the junction with City Road to get off his phone. A van driver behind had to stop for a few seconds and sounded his horn, before driving past him and through a red light.
Mr Bosanquet sent the footage to Avon and Somerset police, as it showed two drivers breaking the law - but Avon and Somerset police prosecuted him too for the crime of ‘inconsiderate cycling’ for delaying the van driver for a few seconds. The case prompted outrage among cyclists and road safety campaigners nationally, and the 43-year-old from Bedminster was inundated with support and his defence was funded by Cycling UK’s Cyclists’ Defence Fund.
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He was due to go on trial today, October 7, at North Somerset Magistrates Court, but the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case, saying it is not in the public interest to prosecute him. The video filmed by Mr Bosanquet’s helmet camera was shot on March 4, 2021 and shows him cycling from the Bearpit up Stokes Croft.
As he approaches the right turn junction onto City Road he notices a driver waiting to turn right at the lights is on his phone. Mr Bosanquet stops his bike in the left hand lane, and signals to a van driver behind him to wait a second, while he tells the driver to stop using his phone.
“Why have you got a phone in your hand?” he asks the driver. “Put your phone away when you’re driving.” The driver of a white van behind Mr Bosanquet was delayed for just under ten seconds, but after four seconds sounded his horn as the cyclist stopped by the car. At the next set of lights, the driver of the van goes through a red light.
It was for that nine-second delay that Avon and Somerset police - after receiving the video from Mr Bosanquet reporting the motoring offences filmed - decided to prosecute him too. He said the case had been stressful. “This case has been a long, drawn-out and stressful process, and as the first run-in I’ve ever had with the law, I’ve felt shaken by it,” he said.
“The attempted prosecution was heavy-handed and inappropriate, something borne out by the case now being dropped. I am relieved now to move on from this episode, wiser but undaunted in my desire for the ongoing safety of all vulnerable road users.
“Throughout I’ve been humbled by the support shown to me both by individuals and groups such as Bristol Cycling Campaign, and particularly grateful to Cycling UK’s Cyclists’ Defence Fund which was there to take my side and support me,” he added. Cyclist and broadcaster Jeremy Vine raised awareness of the case by tweeting his incredulity at the initial decision to prosecute.
Cycling UK backed Mr Bosanquet and raised money from donations to contribute to its Defence Fund. Chief Executive Sarah Mitchell said the case should never have started in the first place.
“It’s somewhat ironic that Mr Bosanquet was prosecuted in the incident when he was using a helmet camera to catch footage with the intention of supporting the police to collect evidence of bad behaviour on our roads,” she said.
“This is something that police forces across the country have expressed they welcome from the public, and any negligible delay to traffic was caused in part by this. Cycling UK believes the police should never have referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, so we’re pleased it’s now been dropped. Going to court would undoubtedly have been a waste of resources,” she added.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said people who submit video footage as evidence of motoring offences are warned they could be prosecuted too if the video shows them breaking the law. “We are grateful to all members of the public who submit footage detailing suspected road traffic offences and incidents through our website as it greatly helps us carry out effective investigations," the spokesperson said.
"Before submitting footage, we do make clear that ‘if it is identified that the person submitting the footage has also committed an alleged offence, they may also be prosecuted’. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided not to proceed further with this case in relation to an incident from 4 March 2021. We recognise and accept its decision," he added.
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