Cyclist Who Filmed Driver Using Phone Accused By Police Of Breaking The Law, Faces Trial

A 56-year-old cyclist tried to seize the day like a modern-day knight but found himself being accused of breaking the law instead.

Dave Clifton, who was cycling through Belgravia in London, tried to be a responsible citizen when he spotted a commuter in a Range Rover using his mobile phone while driving.

The cyclist from South West London decided to film the moment with his helmet camera and hand over the video clip to the police. However, after he submitted the footage to the police, Dave found himself being accused of riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road.

Dave “could pose a danger to other road users,” the police said and charged him with riding a bicycle on the road without due care and attention, according to the Standard.

Dave is expected to face trial next month at the Lavender Hill magistrates court. Meanwhile, the driver of the Range Rover is not facing any criminal charges but did receive an “advisory letter” from the police.

Calling the case against him “petty,” Dave told the outlet: “It is ludicrous. I don’t know if it is malicious or incompetence.”

The cyclist said his own footage was the only evidence against him and insisted that he was riding his bicycle on the right side of the road.

It was around 1:30 p.m. on the fateful afternoon in August last year when Dave saw the Range Rover driving in the opposite direction, prompting the 56-year-old to turn around and film the driver with his phone.

While Dave maintained that he was riding the bicycle in the right direction, the police said that he was riding very close to the Range Rover and then towards an oncoming motorbike.

The cyclist was “in the middle of the road” and was then seen “very close to the Range Rover on the opposite side of the road whilst a motorcyclist is oncoming with a passenger,” Natasha Springford, a Met police staff member in the traffic division, was quoted saying.

“You can see the cyclist cycling towards the oncoming motorbike that is filtering between traffic,” she said and noted that the motorbike had to “ride in between the cyclist that is very close and the Range Rover.”

According to Dave’s account, the road does not have any markings, and he said the police appear to be “malicious.”

"The 'other side of the road' doesn’t begin wherever my accuser wants it to begin. This is a ludicrous allegation," he said.

"The police have ignored the filtering motorcyclist and the driver using a mobile phone and have chosen to prosecute me," Dave added. "This seems to be malicious."