Fixed penalty notice.

[pejay123]

Hi,my 18 year old daughter got a FPN from an over zealous police officer yesterday for straddling double white lines when passing a pedal cyclist on a clear road.Highway code rule 129 says you can cross the lines to pass a parked car,pedal cyclist,horse etc.
Do you think she can contest this,if not three points on an 18 year olds license wil be catastropic.
Thanks in advance.

[Count-A-Strong]

I think 'catastrophic' is a bit strong. Put it down to experience and warn her not to get another three points or she'll be retaking her test.

[chas2008]

are 110% sure the road was clear ? have you got the full story ? i know shes your daughter but lets be honest how many of us been a bit economical with the truth with our parents...

[sara3]

from the Highway Code

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

if she feels she did this safely, I think she could contest it.

[eyethenkyew]

In order for a driver to safely overtake another road user, it would be impossible to merely end up "straddling" a set of double white lines in order to do so. It would require the overtaker to have to move completely across onto the oncoming lane.

So, without wishing to cast doubt on your 18yo daughter's version of events, remember that the Police Officer(s) concerned have no ulterior motive, despite all the sniping from disgruntled motorists, and do not earn any more, or less, money for doing their job.

[IggyB]

only your daughter can decide whether to contest this - bear in mind that the penalty imposed will be worse should she contest and subsequently lose.

There is every chance that the bike was travelling faster than 10 miles per hour which would have made the maneuver illegal - but this would be difficult for the police to provide in court.

If it were me and the situation as outlined above occurred I think I would fight it

[joko]

eyethenkyew...its was a bicycle being overtaken..

[eyethenkyew]

joko,
Thanks, yes I'm aware of that, but I don't know about you, but how anyone on a single carrieageway with double white lines can safely and responsibly overtake even a cyclist without crossing over the lines is beyond me.

Yes, of course, you could carelessly "squeeze past" them but your manoeuvre to your right in a car would inevitably result in your offside wheels at least being on the oncoming lane. Just ask any cyclist what they think of a lot of overtaking drivers? My wife cycles daily and has many "close shave" stories of selfish drivers overtaking dangerously by not affording the cyclist enough room. Fact.

[joko]

eyethankyow...that wasnt my point

yes of course you would have to straddle the white lines to over take a bike...no-one is denying that...but you dont need to completely move into the oncoming lane in which to do it...as you stated.

there is no need to make a massive gap when overtaking...as long as you are obviously about a metre, metre anbd a half away and traveling very slow so as to not cause a back draft then its fine

i agree some drivers pass dangerously...but it works both ways...if a cyclist is aware they are holding up traffic they should..for their own safety ...move to one side for a minute and let the build up pass...and there wouldnt be so many near misses.
you will never please all the impatient people though im afraid.

[ABerrant]

"...a metre, a metre and a half away..." - that is not nearly enough distance to safely pass a cyclist.

This from the Highway Code - "give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car"

and a helpful picture to demonstrate the point...

http://www.direct.gov...Highwaycode/DG_070314

[joko]

...that picture looks like about metre and half maybe 2 metres to me...

[buildersmate]

Surely the issue is whether she overtook the bike when the road was not completely clear in the other direction? - otherwise she would have passed with a greater clearance?

[alexanderd]

Going by abberants picture you have to cross the line to overtake therefore it comes down to a question of is it safe to do so. only the driver and the policaman can answer that honestly

[pejay123]

thanks everyone for your input,to put you all in the picture,i was called to the scene of this farce as he accused my daughter of having no insurance for the car(mine,she is on the policy).he rang me at work and told(not asked)me to go home and take the policy to him at the scene so he could ring the insurers to verify the insurance policy,i asked him what she had done and he told me nothing if the insurance is legit.when i got there he rang,they verified the insurance for two years on my car,he was p****d off and said he was doing her for contravening double white line systems,passing a cyclist,i nearly fell over!he was a horrible man.no wonder kids have no respect for them.i lost an hours pay from my employers,she's frightened to get back in the car as she's not been passed her test 2 years till february next year and goes to uni in september.its not just a case of putting it down to experience,i dont know how to advise her as what to do.

[tigwig]

Thats disgraceful, you are right to be mad. I would be putting in a complaint and asking to speak to his superiors. Maybe they will be bale to advice you on whether he was being over zealous. I think from what you have said he was totally and acted like right jobsworth!

[themas]

Given what you've now said, I would definitely contest this if your daughter is completely certain that the road was clear - i.e. that there was nothing coming towards her on the other side of the road. You also have to assess how clear & confident she will be in the witness box if it comes to a Court hearing.

[Count-A-Strong]

You also have to take into account that if it does go 'legal' it will be an experienced police officers word against an inexperienced driver. I understand that you feel agreived but, as Ive already said, I would put it down to experience.