Don’t forget the cyclists! It’s summer, so people might want to use their bicycles to get around. As a fellow road user, you must remember there’s a minimum passing distance. This Audi Q8 driver didn’t manage to pass according to the law and got a hefty fine after Police reviewed the recording.
Planning on keeping your car for the summer, even though gas prices are continuing to rise? Well, then you should remember that some very important rules are set in place for passing other road users. This was an expensive lesson for an Audi Q8 driver.
A cyclist recorded the moment when a fellow traffic participant passed him without leaving any room for error. In the UK, the law states that drivers must make sure there are at least 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) of space when passing someone on a bicycle.
In the U.S., the safe distance for passing a cyclist is generally set at three feet (0.9 meters). This is available only for 32 states. Others like Pennsylvania made it mandatory to leave at least four feet (1.2 meters) between the car and the cyclist. State laws continue to vary.
The cyclist decided to send the recording to the Police and submitted a complaint. The officers verified the footage, identified the SUV driver, and fined him $2,300 (£1,887).
Four points have also been put on the person’s driving license (which in the U.S. is added against one’s driving record) as a penalty. If they get just eight more in three years, then a driving ban might be enforced. The points received now by the Audi driver will be deleted only after four years have passed.
In the UK it has become very easy to contact the Police about events like this one. The rules are simple. The video must be at least two minutes in length, the footage must be accompanied by a signed statement, the plaintiff must agree that they are willing to go to court, and the recording can’t be edited in any way.
According to the footage published by The Telegraph, this happened in a little Welsh village named Heol-y-Cyw.
As a cyclist, it’s always a good idea to use a small camera that records your surroundings. You never know what might happen since you’re exposing yourself to multiple dangers. Having proof that can back your claims is always a good idea. Motor vehicles are heavy, can reach insane speeds, and you might find that a constant threat looms around while you try to share the public roads with other traffic participants.
Even though newer cars, vans, and trucks are built in such a way that an impact would not always result in a bad injury, cyclists should still take all the precautionary measures they can.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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