“Pure bullying”: Driver who close passed cyclist before deliberately ramming him jailed for 18 months for using “vehicle as a weapon”

A driver who first abused and close passed a cyclist before speeding and deliberately ramming him and knocking him of his bike, causing him injuries, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and disqualified from driving for 21 months, for using his “vehicle as a weapon”.

The cyclist was riding his bike while travelling to work on National Cycle to Work Day in 2021 on Bridgewater Avenue, Bolton when James Outwin, 50, of Della Avenue, Barnsley drove his Vauxhall Corsa very close to him.

The incident was captured on dashcam footage which was played in the Bolton Crown Court, with prosecutor Anthony Wiliams describing the events saying: “He received verbal abuse for about 100 metres before they came across a parked bus. He said to give him some space to pass. 

“The defendant allowed him some space, then closed the distance, which in the complainant's view was deliberate. He kicked the door with his right foot and the defendant did move away, allowing him to pass safely. 

“He then accelerated and parked on the nearby kerb, and as the cyclist passed, he kicked out towards him. The rider manoeuvred around it.”

The cyclist turned left from Bridgewater Avenue onto Lomax Way, before noticing Outwin was “closing” on him “at speed”.

“He mounted the pavement on the right-hand side, the defendant apparently drove parallel in the right-hand lane,” Williams added, The Bolton News reports.

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The cyclist then tried to distance himself by cutting back to the left-hand side of the road, which is when Outwin swerved his car into him, knocking him off. 

The footage also captured the aftermath, which showed Outwin getting out of the car and shouting at the cyclist, who was on the floor. He ended up suffering a minor concussion, bruising, cuts, and abrasions, and went to Fairfield Hospital after the crash.

Bridgewater Avenue and Lomax Way, Bolton (Google Maps)

Outwin, who was sentenced for drink driving in 2023, initially pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving, before changing his plea to guilty. 

Defending, Nicholas Hammond said that he had been “determined to speak to the cyclist” but that the action taken at the end was “out of character”. He also read out the testimony of his wife, who said he had been "remorseful" about the incident. 

He added: “The probation service say that he has a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and there is a long period of time prior where he was a man of good character.”

Sentencing, Judge Abigail Hudson said: “You took offence, abused your power behind the wheel of that car, and what followed was pure bullying. 

"I read the letter from your wife, she spoke of your remorse and guilt at injuring the victim. I detect no such remorse in you."

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Judge Hudson sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 21 months, saying: “Your mitigation is not exceptional and the message has to be sent very clearly — those who use their vehicle as a weapon must go to prison.”

Last month, a Merseyside bus driver who hit a 13-year-old cyclist’s rear wheel, pushing the bike into the road was banned from driving for a year. At the trial, the driver admitted dangerous driving and failure to stop, while the court heard that the teenage cyclist was fortunate to avoid injury.

In June 2023, a driver who used his car as a “highly dangerous weapon” to run over a cyclist in a road rage incident in London, leaving him with life-changing injuries, was jailed for 18 months and disqualified from driving for two years and nine months, in order “to deter similar attacks”.

The driver admitted the offences on the basis that he did not intend to injure the rider but intended only to “scare” him.