Motorist found guilty of driving without due care and attention after near-miss with cyclist in Northampton

A motorist has been found guilty of driving without due care and attention and fined after a near-miss with a cyclist in Northampton.

Lucy World, aged 32, of Far End in St James, was recorded on a mobile phone fixed to the bicycle’s handlebars driving without due care and attention as she drove past the cyclist on January 7 last year.

Shortly before 8.50am, the cyclist entered the roundabout junction from Wooldale Road in Northampton, and as he rode towards Landimore Road, a black Ford Fiesta cut across him as he went to exit the junction with Newport Pagnell Road.

World appeared to cut across the front of the cyclist, almost colliding with him, causing him to swerve and brake. He was not injured. World drove off without acknowledging the incident or stopping.

The footage was uploaded to the Northamptonshire Police’s Operation Snap online portal. Officers reviewed the footage. World was issued with a fixed penalty notice but opted to plead not guilty.

At Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday December 14, 2022, in her absence she was found guilty of one count of driving without due care and attention.

PC Mo Allsopp-Clarke of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team said: “The video evidence clearly showed that World had no consideration for the cyclist on that day, who had right of way on the roundabout.

“Her driving fell below the standard of a competent and careful driver, which could have very easily ended in tragic consequences, and I’m pleased the courts have dealt with the driver positively.

“Hopefully this case demonstrates that we take all instances of poor driving very seriously and we will prosecute offenders accordingly, which can only be a good thing to help keep our roads safer.”

Following the court’s guilty verdict, World was handed five points on her driving licence, fined £440 and ordered to pay £625 costs and a £44 victim surcharge, totaling more than £1,000.

For more information about Operation Snap or to submit video footage, visit the Northamptonshire Police website.