A cyclist has been fined £220 after a rare criminal prosecution for ignoring a red light while a mother and child were crossing the road.
Pavanrao Hanchate, 31, was caught in the act by police officers after he flouted the stop signal and almost caused a collision.
Court papers reveal he “rode through a red light, which had a pedestrian with a pushchair and child on the crossing”, and the “pedestrian had to stop mid-crossing to avoid collision with the cyclist”.
Hanchate, who lives in Norwich, was offered a fixed penalty fine but this went unpaid, and he was then taken to court in a full criminal prosecution.
A magistrate convicted him of riding a pedal cycle on a road and failing to comply with the indication given by a traffic signal.
Hanchate was ordered to pay a £220 fine, plus £90 in prosecution costs and an £88 victim surcharge.
Prosecutions against cyclists for road traffic offences are rare, and likely only came about as police officers saw the incident and stopped Hanchate at the scene to get his details.
News of the criminal case comes amid a public debate about cycling safety and consequences for breaking the road rules.
MPs have supported the creation of a new offence of causing death by dangerous cycling, which will come with a maximum 14-year prison sentence.
Conservative politician Sir Iain Duncan Smith put forward the plan, together with the creation of offences of causing serious injury by dangerous cyclingand causing death by careless or inconsiderate cycling.
After gaining support in the House of Commons, the new offences are expected to be included in the government’s Criminal Justice Bill.
“This is not, as is often accused by people who say anything about it, anti-cycling”, Sir Iain told the House. “Quite the opposite, it’s about making sure this takes place in a safe and reasonable manner.”
Campaigners have pointed to the low figures of pedestrian deaths caused by cyclists and questioned the need for a new law.
Lawyer Nick Freeman, who is known as Mr Loophole thanks to his track record of acquittals for star clients accused of driving offences, is among those who has called for numberplates for cyclists, as well as speed limits to be applied to them and a system of penalty points for offenders.
In 2016, Kim Briggs, 44, was knocked down in Old Street by cyclist Charlie Alliston and died in hospital from the brain injuries she sustained.
Alliston, who was riding a fixed-gear bike with no front brakes, was cleared by a jury of manslaughter, but was jailed for 18 months after being convicted of the historic offence of wanton or furious driving.
An offence specifically relating to a cyclist causing a death did not exist.
Pressure for a change in the law has grown recently as a result of reports of at least two deaths due to collisions between cyclists and pedestrians in London.
In one case, police concluded there was little chance of convicting a Credit Suisse banker who was involved in a fatal collision with an 81-year-old dog walker in central London.
Brian Fitzgerald crashed into Hilda Griffiths in June 2022 while doing laps of Regent’s Park with his Muswell Hill cycling club.
Regent’s Park has a 20mph speed limit, but Mr Fitzgerald’s group had been averaging 25mph around the park and had even reached 29mph, accordingto GPS readings.
Royal Parks has urged Strava and other exercise apps to remove the park’s Outer Circle as a segment on their sites, where users can attempt to outdo each other with the fastest time. Strava’s leaderboard shows the record holder had an average speed of 34.2mph on the route.
The criminal prosecution of Hanchate was brought by Norfolk Police, after the incident at 11.43am on December 1 last year in Prince of Wales Road in Norwich.
The case was dealt with in a private hearing under the Single Justice Procedure. Police set out brief details of the incident, including that one officer “witnessed the offence” and another reported Hanchate.
He was charged under section 36(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and accused of breaching the Traffic Signs regulations and General Directions 2016 as well as Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
Hanchate did not enter a plea.
