Close pass case where police told cyclist "maybe you should trade your bike in for a Hummer" ends with conviction

A coach driver has been fined and given six points on his licence following a close pass of a cyclist. When the incident was first reported to Gloucestershire Constabulary, the cyclist was told: "Maybe you should consider trading in your bike for a Hummer." The case was reopened after we featured the incident and initial police response on our live blog.

In January, Matt Coldrey contacted Gloucestershire Police with footage of a close pass executed by a George Young’s Coaches driver.

After reviewing the video, an officer told Coldrey that the driver responsible had not committed an offence because both cyclist and coach had continued on their journeys smoothly.

The police officer also told him: "Maybe you should consider trading in your bike for a Hummer".

Coldrey told road.cc: "I do get that it was a joke, but as I was trying to explain to the police officer that having a coach pass me so closely that I can touch it, as traffic is travelling in the opposite direction, is at the very least careless driving, it didn't seem particularly appropriate response to my legitimate concerns."

Coldrey also said that he was accused of having "a vendetta" against George Young's Coaches, because he had reported a similar incident against them in the past.

When we reported the incident and initial police response on our live blog, Gloucestershire Police's social media team said they were "looking into" the comments that were allegedly made by the officer.

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary later told us: “A senior officer has reviewed the telephone conversation between the police officer and the cyclist. We believe that certain comments made by the officer during the call were unacceptable and do not represent the Constabulary's approach to road safety.

“In the call the police officer made comments they said were meant to be humorous, however it was inappropriate in the circumstances and we completely understand why the cyclist was unhappy with the conversation.

“Since this was brought to our attention we’ve reviewed the footage and believe the cyclist’s complaint is legitimate and that our initial assessment and closing of the investigation was wrong. We’ve now reopened the investigation and will look into this further.

“The senior officer has been in contact with the cyclist who has been made aware of this recent development and we have apologised for the inappropriate comments which were previously made to him.”

The officer in question was given “words of advice.”

Gloucestershire Live reports that Krzysztof Kostrowsk was this week found guilty of driving without due care and attention.

Coldrey said he was pleased with the result, and also pleased for the officer who pursued the case.

"It's satisfying for him. He said it's pretty hard to secure a result in a lot of these cases so I'm pleased it's gone well for him.

"It's also important from a road safety point of view – the vast majority of people are safe and responsible but some aren't and hundreds of people die on the roads every year."

Transport director George Young coaches said the company was unaware of anything relating to the conviction but was nevertheless planning to seek an appeal against it.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "We’re pleased that the victim in this case is happy with the outcome here and would urge people to remember that all road users have equal rights to use the highway safely.

"When overtaking a cyclist motorists are advised they should allow as much distance between them and the bike as they would a car, which is a minimum clearance of 1.5m – approximately a car door’s width."