On Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 8:17:24 PM UTC+1, Pamela wrote:
On 19:59 16 Jun 2020, Simon Mason said:

QUOTE:
Following replies on Twitter from Inspector Kevin Smith (see further
down the page), South Yorkshire Police also sent road.cc this statement:

"Enquiries are underway into reports of dangerous driving on Manchester
Road in Crosspool, following reports of a cyclist being overtaken by a
car on a double white line on Sunday 14 June.

"Officers are in contact with the rider and enquiries are on-going to
identify the driver of the car. "

Only an obsessional cyclist would report such a thing and go ont to believe
it's so important that the police are actually looking into it.

Everyone else knows this went straight to file 13.

That was indeed the police's first response.

QUOTE:

Footage shows a driver crossing solid double white lines to pass a cyclist on a bend on the A57, narrowly avoiding an oncoming car in the process, on Saturday afternoon.

The cyclist concerned reported the ‘crazy overtake’ to South Yorkshire Police (SYP) and claims he was initially told by an officer that the motorist responsible would be fined for the offence and have points added to their licence.

But he was disappointed to get a follow-up call soon after saying police ‘were no longer pursuing it as I was a cyclist’.

The cyclist, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I think what is most depressing about this is that I thought for a moment SYP were starting to be active about protecting cyclists. I even started to write a letter of praise about them, then I got this phone call. Letter binned.

“My main anguish is with SYP's attitude towards cycling and the lack of enforcement over the last decade, rather than this specific incident. I've had several friends squashed by cars and just want to see a change of attitude. Cars are lethal, and it needs to be taken seriously.”

The footage has gone viral on Twitter, racking up more than 15,000 views, with many commenters calling on police to get tougher on motorists endangering cyclists’ lives.

It was shared with Dame Sarah Storey, the multiple Paralympic cycling champion who was made active travel commissioner for Sheffield City Region.

She tweeted: “I am shocked by the response. This is not OK and I’m going to try again to engage on the importance of keeping vulnerable road users safe.”

The Highway Code states that drivers should only cross solid double white lines if the road is clear and they are passing a stationary vehicle or overtaking a bicycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle travelling at 10mph or less.

GPS data included on the video footage shows the cyclist was travelling at 20mph at the time.

The Star has contacted South Yorkshire Police.

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/trans...ffield-2885345