A businessman was left furious at being left £4,500 out of pocket after a court said that he did pass a cyclist too closely.
He was prosecuted at Cardiff Magistrates Court for driving without due care and attention, given four penalty points, and ordered to pay a fine of £1,887 on top of court and solicitor costs.
The cyclist, who hasn’t been named, reported the footage to roads policing team GoSafe, a road casualty reduction partnership between councils and police.
Operation Snap, which is ran by GoSafe, is a web portal that encourages and enables the public to upload video evidence which police will review to see if any offences have been committed.
The warehouse boss was contacted over the manoeuvre but refused to accept any wrongdoing and did not attend a course or pay a fixed penalty notice. He was ordered to attend court as a result and hit with the heavy fine.
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A GoSafe spokesman said: 'GoSafe received footage of a white Audi overtaking a cyclist on Pant Hirwaun, Bridgend on Wednesday, 15th September 2021, without leaving enough space to perform the manoeuvre.
'The driver, Wayne Humphreys, from Pontyclun, was contacted and offered a course. The What's Driving Us course is offered to drivers/riders as an alternative to prosecution for the offence of driving without due care and attention.
'Mr Humphreys failed to accept this course and later failed to comply with a fixed penalty notice. This resulted in him appearing in Cardiff Magistrates Court on 8th June 2022. He was found guilty of driving without due care and attention. He received 4 penalty points on his license, given a £1152 fine, £620 costs, and a £115 victim surcharge.
'GoSafe regularly receives similar submissions through Op Snap and has worked closely with drivers and cycling groups to develop Operation Close Pass, which looks to educate both drivers and cyclists on how to stay safe on our roads. This includes promoting one of the fundamental things to remember when overtaking a cyclist, to reduce your speed and always leave 1.5 metres between your vehicle and a cyclist, whenever safe to do so.
'Despite this, unfortunately, GoSafe continues to receive regular Op Snap submissions relating to close pass incidents. This outcome shows that these submissions are taken seriously and given the appropriate amount of attention, as we continue to work towards ensuring that our roads are safer for everyone.
'If you have information on close pass incident or other possible road traffic offence, you can submit the details, along with supporting footage, to GoSafe using Operation Snap.'
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