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Video splits internet after motorist fined for causing cyclist to fall despite ZERO contact

52-year-old Paul Nigel Miley was slapped with a hefty $1,322 fine for driving without due care or attention

There was a major uproar after a motorist was fined for causing a cyclist to fall from their bike, despite video evidence showing no contact was made between the two parties.

52-year-old Paul Nigel Miley was slapped with a hefty $1,322 (£1,008) fine for driving without due care or attention after authorities received helmet camera footage of the incident in Ashby St Ledger, Northamptonshire. Police said the video "proved beyond doubt" that Miley had shown no consideration for others on the road. After the case concluded, Northamptonshire Police shared the footage on social media as an example of a "reckless overtaking maneuver."

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The clip, which was recorded in June last year, showed three cyclists riding along a single track lane when Miley sped past them in his Land Rover Defender. "Slow down you ****!" one rider was heard shouting at the driver, before the camera panned around to show another cyclist falling off their bike and into a ditch. Miley pleaded guilty to driving without due care or attention at Northampton Magistrates Court on Friday, March 18. He was subsequently fined and charged five points on his driving license. He was also ordered to pay $131 (£100) in costs and a $132 (£101) victim surcharge, LadBible reported.

However, the penalty imposed on Miley was widely ridiculed on social media, with many observers claiming it was clearly the cyclists' fault.

"The car didn't touch the cyclist rather it was incompetence by the cyclist that caused her to fall into the ditch," one tweeted.

"The lead cyclist causes her to fall not the car, they choose to stop which the faller clearly wasn’t ready for, as nothing had happened to stop, then the rear cyclist aggravated it by blaming the car!! I’m a cyclist and use roads like this a lot. Cyclists fault 100%," another wrote.

"How did he injure her exactly? He's nowhere near her and passes then they fall off, utter madness, I despise cyclists," someone else added.

Some viewers, however, insisted that it was ultimately the motorist's fault even if he did not cause the accident. "All of this is irrelevant," one argued. "None of them caused the accident, which is what the court has declared. The motorist caused the accident by speeding and driving without due care. So IF the lead cyclist caused the middle cyclist to fall, it was because the motorist caused her to stop," they added. Meanwhile, another offered, "My own opinion is that, setting aside the actions of the cyclists (which were a bit melodramatic), the Land Rover driver was driving like a prick & deserved to be prosecuted. This would have been the correct outcome even if the cyclist did not fall off."

“Miley initially pleaded not guilty to the offense, claiming he had driven extremely slowly past the group and was unable to move further across," PC Mo Allsopp-Clarke, of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team, said in a statement. “The video evidence clearly showed that Miley had no consideration for the cyclists on that day, and when he appeared at Magistrates’ Court, he changed his plea to guilty. His 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." Allsopp-Clarke added, “Drivers should always try to give cyclists and other vulnerable road users at least 1.5m of space and pass slowly. In this instance, on this road, that would not be possible. On this occasion, the correct thing to do would have been to come to a stop to allow the cyclists to pass safely. It takes a couple of seconds and then everyone can continue their journey in safety." 

Disclaimer: This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.