A 59-year-old man from Warwick has been sentenced for careless driving as he passed a cyclist on Oakley Wood Road, Bishops Tachbrook.

Barry Anthony Field from The Butts, Warwick was sentenced at Warwickshire Magistrates Court on 7 July following the incident which "could have killed" the cyclist on March 5.

Field was recorded on the headcam of the cyclist, with police deciding there was evidence of "an offence of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road/in a public place without due care and attention".

The cyclist - who sent the footage to Warwickshire Police's Operation Snap - was not injured during the incident.

A Notice of Intended Prosecution was served, with options including an offer to attend a What's Driving Us retraining course, a fixed penalty fine and points, or electing to have the matter heard at court.

Field chose to attend court where he pleaded not guilty for the offence.

But he was found guilty and sentenced to a £500 fine and three points on his licence, £620 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service and a £50 victim surcharge.

PC Ken Bratley, Operation Snap coordinator said that was no doubt that it was an "extremely careless pass". 

"Cyclists are much more vulnerable than drivers in cars and that's why the Highway Code has been updated asking drivers to give cyclists more care and attention," he said.

"This includes waiting behind a cyclist until it is safe to pass them and leaving at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds.   

"Whilst we will continue to use Operation Snap and work with Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership to deliver road safety education, operations and initiatives, it's really important that drivers understand their responsibility to look after more vulnerable road users such as cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians by slowing down and giving them extra space. 

"If someone is found to have committed such an offence, where appropriate we have the discretion to offer one of the National Driver Offender Retraining Courses as an alternative to prosecution.

"Through this theory only course, drivers will learn how to reduce risks, recognise things that influence how they drive, and see how they can be safer on the road."

The cyclist said: "I know there are bad drivers and bad cyclists out there but all I want to be able to do is go for a ride and come back home safely to my family.

"His impatience could have killed me.

"Bad cycling mainly causes annoyance to people but bad driving results in five road user deaths a day."

More information about Operation Snap can be found here www.warwickshire.police.uk/operationsnap

In 2021, two cyclists were killed and 28 seriously injured on Warwickshire's roads with 63 per cent of those collisions occurring on 30mph roads.