A driver was fined £1,000 after helmet camera footage caught a cyclist falling off when his Land Rover passed by.
Paul Nigel Miley, 52, was driving a Defender when he tried to overtake a group of cyclists on a single track road, injuring one of them.
The footage was sent to Northamptonshire Police’s Operation Snap and Mr Miley was charged with driving without due care and attention on June 11 last year.
The driver, of Ashby St Ledger, pleaded guilty at Northampton Magistrates’ Court this month.
The video divided opinion on social media as some drivers defended Miley, insisting he had nothing wrong.
One person commented: “Can’t see what he did wrong.
“Looks like she just fell over because her feet were attached to her pedals. Maybe she just needs to learn how to get off her bike.”
Another wrote: “Honestly. If someone had been on foot, stepped to the side and fallen in a ditch, it most certainly wouldn’t have been the drivers fault. He left plenty of room.”
But PC Mo Allsopp-Clarke of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team said the video evidence “clearly showed that Miley had no consideration for the cyclists on that day, and when he appeared at Magistrates’ Court, he changed his plea to guilty.
“Miley initially pleaded not guilty to the offence, claiming he had driven extremely slowly past the group and was unable to move further across.”
The PC added that Miley’s driving “fell below the standard of a competent and careful driver, which could have very easily ended in tragic consequences, and I’m pleased the courts have dealt with the driver positively”.
He added that drivers should always try to give cyclists and other vulnerable road users at least 1.5m of space and pass slowly, but he admitted that “in this instance, on this road, that would not be possible”.
PC Allsopp-Clarke said: “On this occasion, the correct thing to do would have been to come to a stop to allow the cyclists to pass safely. It takes a couple of seconds and then everyone can continue their journey in safety.”
Miley pleaded guilty when he appeared before magistrates on Friday, March 18 and received five points on his driving licence, fined £1,008 and ordered to pay £100 in costs and a £101 victim surcharge.
PC Allsopp-Clarke added: “The success of Operation Snap is down to the continued support from the public, who enable us to take action against driving offences we otherwise wouldn’t see.
“Hopefully this case demonstrates that we take all instances of poor driving very seriously and we will prosecute offenders accordingly, which can only be a good thing to help keep our roads safer.”
