Motorist handed five points on licence and £417 fine for driving ‘too closely’ to cyclist

‘If anyone thinks this is an acceptable manner of driving, let this be your warning,’ neighbourhood policing team says

A motorist has been handed five points on his licence and a fine of £417 for driving “far too closely” to a group of cyclists.

A video of the incident was posted on social media by the Sheffield North West neighbourhood policing team, who said the driver was going at an “excessive speed”.

In the footage, the driver of a silver Peugeot appears to cross the dividing line on the road that separates the lanes.

Posting the video of the incident, Sheffield North West neighbourhood police team wrote: “The driver of this vehicle decided to pass a group of cyclists at excessive speed and far too closely. Fined £417 in total, licence endorsed with 5 points.

“If anyone thinks this is an acceptable manner of driving, let this be your warning.”

The force said that, as well as the cyclists seen in the video, there were a number of others following along behind them - one of whom was filming.

They added: “The driver didn’t just endanger one cyclist, he was also too close to those following. He 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.

“If he 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.”

However, news of the fine and penalty points led to a backlash from motoring groups. The Alliance of British Drivers said the decision was an “idiotic” and “undermines the credibility of the courts and the police”.

“We all know there are fanatics who want drivers to stop and bow down before every cyclist. If the police foolishly choose to side with them it will damage the relationship with the public,” the group told The Telegraph.

The incident happened in August 2021 before an update to the Highway Code stipulated drivers should “leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph.”