---
title: "Dangerous driving around cyclists"
url: https://www.simonwakeman.com/blog/2014/11/29/dangerous-driving-around-cyclists/
description: "Consultant and fractional COO for scale-up businesses. I help founders, leaders and investors in scaling businesses create sustainably high performing organisations."
published: 2014-11-29T20:49:20+00:00
modified: 2026-04-11T16:24:53+00:00
author: Simon Wakeman
---
# Dangerous driving around cyclists

## Dangerous driving around cyclists

I cycle pretty much every day now, including a six mile round trip to and from work.  
So I see a lot of pretty poor driving around cyclists, including cars pulling out into my path as a cyclist, [dangerous overtaking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3QlxU4OLp0) and passing far too close to be safe.  
And I see some pretty bad cycling too, although that is rarely dangerous to anyone other than the cyclist themselves.  
A little while back I got so fed up of all this that I got myself a helmet camera to record the things I was experiencing far too regularly for comfort.  
On 31st October the driver of YM53 GYW completely ignored my presence on a mini-roundabout and decided to not give way and proceed to drive straight across my path as I turned and signalled right:

I reported this incident to [Kent Police](http://www.kentpolice.uk) and supplied the video evidence.  
I’m not sure realistically what I expected to happen, but given I clearly had right of way and the motorist passed at some speed close to me, I hoped that Kent Police would take some action against the driver – particularly as I had a clear video of the incident.  
I completed the paperwork that Kent Police sent me and supplied a statement about the incident.  
Today I had a letter from Kent Police telling me they wouldn’t be taking any further action about this.  
[![Letter from Kent Police](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/IMG_20141129_195625-SMALL.jpg)](https://www.simonwakeman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/IMG_20141129_195625.jpg)  
In a way I wasn’t surprised. I know how stretched police resources are and this wasn’t the crime of the century I know.  
But what annoyed me was the reason that nothing would happen as a result.  
Between Kent Police and the [Crown Prosecution Service](https://www.cps.gov.uk/) it seems they’ve decided that dangerous driving around cyclists and ignoring the rules of the road is OK for drivers – as long as the cyclist doesn’t have to “brake or deviate from their path of travel”.  
In this incident I actually did have to brake as I’d seen the car not giving way to me at the mini-roundabout and had braked to avoid the car coming into the side of me.  
So if you’re a cyclist and you experience dangerous driving – make sure you brake, swerve and record it all to have any chance of Kent Police actually doing anything about it – even if you have video evidence that shows a vehicle clearly not following the [Highway Code](https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/roundabouts-184-to-190).  
Not impressed…