Near Miss of the Day 868: Warning for driver who mounted pavement and drove into cyclist after rider's emergency stop to avoid collision

This Near Miss of the Day footage shows the moment an Oxfordshire cyclist was forced to emergency brake on wet roads to avoid a collision with a driver overtaking a bus, only for the motorist to then continue driving forwards, up onto the pavement and making contact with the surprised rider while pushing past.

road.cc reader Tom has since made a complaint to the professional standards department of Thames Valley Police about the handling of the case after his initial report resulted in the driver being "officially warned for careless driving".

During that process the driver denied receiving any paperwork, something TVP acknowledged they had experienced postal problems with in the past, and ultimately received a phone call warning from an officer instead and was offered a place on a course.

> Near Miss of the Day 867: Cyclist gets squeezed out on country road... police's submission email mixup lets driver get away scot-free

The incident happened on 14 January 2023 as Tom cycled to work in Oxford through Abingdon and was reported online the same day...

"The initial pulling round the bus was careless, the driving at me, was in my view totally deliberate and reckless in the extreme," he explained. "I pulled an emergency stop on wet roads at 30km/h.

"I managed to stop about 60cm from the front bumper of the car. So far I think that was careless driving. However, what happened next is, in my view, a deliberate act by the driver. He mounted the pavement and sped off, colliding with me in the process.

"The response from Thames Valley Police is copied below. As you can see, the driver admitted to it, but no further action was taken. I was unhappy with this and so a course was offered to the driver which they have taken at their own expense. No criminal action taken.

"As you can imagine I am not happy with that outcome. The initial outcome is, in my view, a total let off for the driver. Even a course is a let off. He drove a car at me, hit me, mounted the pavement on the off side of the road in relation to him and drove off and has escaped any form of criminal sanction whatsoever."

The incident was so bad, Tom said, that he called 999 at the scene and reported a collision but was told to report it online as it was a traffic incident. Having submitted the footage online, Tom then called TVP within two weeks, fearing that the 14-day deadline for a notice of intended prosecution may pass unanswered.

"They said that as a collision occurred, the 14-day rule did not apply," he explained. "The reply from TVP is on the 23/3/23, two months after the incident."

Tom was told by TVP:

Regarding the Range Rover incident, sorry for the delay, I spoke to the driver yesterday, who denies receiving any paper work from us, which we know there has been a problem with the post, so I emailed him a copy, it was then I noticed that the location on your google map location on the report was in Campion Close not Radley Road, also not sure if you are aware your camera is six years behind, discussed with a decision maker and we have officially warned the driver for careless driving.

I did also point out on the phone to him, about looking out for cyclists, he did apologise and says he will learn from his mistakes.

Tom continued: "I have made a complaint to the professional standards department of TVP about the handling of this case. That complaint was made on the 31/3/2023.

"They are totally overwhelmed and I have absolutely zero expectations of a meaningful response. I received a holding letter from them in the last week telling me it is still pending." 

road.cc contacted Thames Valley Police for comment and the force confirmed as the complaint is ongoing "we wouldn't comment on any aspect as it would be inappropriate to do so".