The driver has been fined £400 for being “too close” to cyclists on the other side of the country lane – but opinions are divided

This is the shocking moment a motorist almost got plowed into a group of cyclists on a country lane – but online, opinions are divided.

The driver of the Peugeot car was slapped with a £417 fine and three points for the close call near Deepcar, South Yorkshire.

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The penalties were the result of what police described as “negligent driving” and “driving too close” with cyclists at “excessive speed”.

Footage shows the driver of the silver motor appearing to cross the white road markings as the cyclists – who were riding in single file – overtake a parked car.

The car then sped past the cyclists at high speed, leaving inches between one of the cyclists and the speeding vehicle.

Police shared the footage on social media and warned: “If anyone thinks this is acceptable driving, let this be your warning.”

A spokesman for the Sheffield North West Neighborhood Policing Team said: “The driver of this vehicle decided to overtake a group of cyclists at speed and way too close.

“Total fine of £417, five point driving license confirmed.

“If anyone thinks this is acceptable driving, this is your warning.

“If you see him driving carelessly and antisocially in the year since the exhibition, his vehicle will be confiscated.”

But the footage and subsequent sentences have divided opinion online, with many unsure if the sentence fits the crime.

And some road users believe that the driver has done absolutely nothing wrong.

One person broke out on Twitter, saying: “The car was completely on the right side of the road, I suggest an appeal is in order.”

Another remarked: “The Highway Code says that if the obstacle is on your side of the road, you have to give way to oncoming traffic, doesn’t it?”

While campaign group Alliance of British Drivers retweeted the footage with the caption: “If you weren’t already convinced the police were after you…”

But cyclist Ian Carey angrily hit back, saying: “A reasonable conviction.

“If the driver had slowed down and let the cyclists pass, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

If you haven’t already been convinced the police are after you…

Alliance of British Drivers

“The delay to the driver would have been a few seconds.”

While cyclist Rendel Harris slammed: “What you have to do is stay on your own side of the dividing line when other traffic is approaching in the oncoming lane, as that driver has not done so.

“If you find that a problem, hand in your driver’s license, you are not fit to drive.”

After a backlash from angry motorists who claimed the parked car on the cyclist’s side of the road, police said: “Not only did the driver endanger one cyclist, he was too close to the following ones.

“He would have seen a group of bikes in a line and decided to accelerate to a speed that increased the danger to all of them and dodge towards them across the white lines.

“If he had simply driven to the conditions at a less dangerous speed and stayed on his own side of the road, he would not have been prosecuted.”

WARNING

They warned drivers that they “will be happy to ensure that there are consequences for endangering others” as they set the law.

The row comes after motorist Paul Miley, 52, was slapped with a £1,008 fine for driving without due care or attention after a female cyclist fell off her bike as he passed her.

His engine did not touch the cyclist as he overtook her on a country lane in his Land Rover Defender in Ashby St Ledger, Northants.

But video footage from a helmet camera showing the woman falling into a ditch has been shown to Northamptonshire Police.

Police said it was “proven beyond a reasonable doubt” that Miley had no regard for other road users.

Miley pleaded guilty to driving without due care or attention when he appeared in Northampton Magistrates Court last month.

At the beginning of the year, a risk-based “hierarchy of road users” was introduced in the new version of the road traffic regulations.

The pyramid is based on the idea that those who can do the most damage have the greatest responsibility not to hurt other, more vulnerable road users.

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