I was using the cycle track on Braunstone Lane East in Leicester, but as is often the case, the cycle track is unfinished and I joined the main carriageway. It was at this point that I suffered this dangerous high speed close pass by the driver of the Skoda.
The vulnerability of people on bicycles is on a par with that of horse riders, and they should be treated as such by car drivers. This driver clearly didn’t care about the safety of other road users.
As a result of my complaint to the police, the driver was offered, and subsequently completed, a driver education course as an alternative to prosecution. I believe that if there are any similar complaints made against this driver in the next three years, the police would normally automatically refer the case to prosecution.
If you wish to report a road traffic incident in Leicestershire, here is the link https://www.leics.police.uk/ro/report/rti/rti-beta-2.1/report-a-road-traffic-incident/
The link to DfT data showing that bicycles are the safest vehicles on the road, and that cars are the most dangerous vehicles on the road, is here. Scroll down to chart 4:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-road-user-risk-2022/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-road-user-risk-2022-data
The best way to improve driving standards, and reduce road deaths, is for drivers to refresh their licence every five years, the same as HGV and forklift drivers.
Hierarchy of Vulnerable Road Users:
Pedestrians
Cyclists/Horse Riders/Horse Drawn Vehicles
Motorcyclists
Cars/Taxis
Vans/Minibuses
Large Goods/Passenger Vehicles
Rule 163 of the Highway Code: (abridged)
Give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders and horse drawn vehicles at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211 to 215).
As a guide:
• leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph, and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds
• you should wait behind the motorcyclist, cyclist, horse rider, horse drawn vehicle or pedestrian and not overtake if it is unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances