A cyclist has been accused of breaking the law after filming a Range Rover driver using their mobile phone at the wheel, branding the incident "malicious".
Dave Clifton spotted a Range Rover driver holding a phone handset while he was cycling through London in August last year.
The 56-year-old captured the incident on his helmet camera in Belgravia and submitted the video clip to the police.
In response to the footage, the police claimed the cyclist had been riding on the wrong side of the road.
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The cyclist has called the incident 'ludicrous' (stock image)
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They suggested that Clifton could have been “posing a danger to other road users” and charged him with riding a cycle on a road without due care and attention.
According to the Evening Standard, Dave Clifton intends to fight the claim at a trial next month.
Rule 66 of the Highway Code states that drivers should avoid any actions that could reduce their control of the bicycle, in addition to being considerate of other road users.
He said: “It is ludicrous. I don’t know if it is malicious or incompetence,” adding that the case against him was “petty”.
The video shows Clifton riding in Belgravia on August 22, when he spots a Range Rover driving in the opposite direction across the road from him.
In an effort to capture the driver on video, Clifton turned around and followed the vehicle, filming the motorist using a mobile phone.
The only evidence in the case is Clifton’s own video footage, with the cyclist insisting he was not on the wrong side of the road, the Evening Standard reported.
Natasha Springford, a traffic division staff member at the Metropolitan Police, claimed the cyclist was “in the middle of the road”.
She alleged that the cyclist was “very close to the Range Rover on the opposite side of the road whilst a motorcyclist is oncoming with a passenger”.
Springford added: “You can see the cyclist cycling towards the oncoming motorbike that is filtering between traffic.”
In response, Dave Clifton suggested that the road did not have any markings, saying: “The ‘other side of the road’ doesn’t begin wherever my accuser wants it to begin. This is a ludicrous allegation.
“The police have ignored the filtering motorcyclist and the driver using a mobile phone, and have chosen to prosecute me. This seems to be malicious.”
The Highway Code outlines how cyclists should use the roads safely
PA
The Range Rover received a police “advisory letter” but did not face a criminal case for using his mobile phone at the wheel.
