‘I don't need people telling me I deserve to die’ – says disabled mum of four as taxi speeds by her cycling with child in Derbyshire town

Kate Ball, 41, a mum of four, shared a video on social media as the taxi sped by her bike when she was cycling through Littleover with one of her children.

She said: “Close passes are hapening every day. It's frightening. If you speak to people and ask them to pass cyclists wider, you'll often get sworn out and threatened. I try not to interact with drivers because its’s very intimidating. I'm quite small, disabled female. I don't need people telling me I deserve to die because I ask them to move off the pavement.

"I've got a camera on my bike since Christmas and this is a second video I submitted to Derbyshire Police portal. The driver got a warning letter, nothing more. This was a professional, taxi driver doing something illegal. The warning letter means police have evidence that an offence has been committed. In that situation you can have a fine and points on your licence, go through a full court prosecution, or take the speed awareness course, and pay for it to learn what you should be doing.

"That taxi driver should have at least got a learning course because what he did was really dangerous. There were vehicles behind me, he could have crashed into one of the cars. I'd really like to see Derbyshire Police doing something instead of either nothing, which is what's happened with my first submission when I had a really close pass by an HGV. I'd like to see a bit more action being taken by police so people who are driving dangerously, learn.

"I ride on roads more when I'm not with my children, but two of them are teenagers, and they ride independently. It’s scary sending them out. I want them to have that freedom to be able to go see their friends and get to school. They're riding sensibly, but at the same time they're still at risk from drivers who just aren't prepared to give them the legal amount of space that they should.”

Following the incident, several cyclists across Derbyshire shared their concerns on dangers on roads across the county.

ReCycling Dave said on Twitter: “Derbyshire has a terrible reputation amongst cyclists who have reported dangerous driving in the area and rarely if ever take adequate action”.

Alastair Meikle, Secretary at Chesterfield Cycle Campaign highlighted issues that Derbyshire cyclists have to face.

He said: “When passing a cyclist a vehicle should leave 1.5m between them and the cyclist. Clearly in this case the taxi driver does not, plus they are accelerating towards the cyclist with little regard for the cyclists’ safety. This example shows that a painted line on a road does not provide the protection cyclists need. The only way to attract more people to cycle safely is to have segregated cycle lanes.

“Derbyshire has a good network of leisure cycling routes but few ‘commuter’ routes. In Chesterfield, this should start to change when the East West Walking and Cycling route is built.

“Cyclists have to be pretty confident to cycle on some of the busier roads in Chesterfield, this is why people ride bikes on the pavement. Having to mix with busy traffic puts off less confident people from using bikes for local transport.

“Historically Derbyshire Police have not taken cyclists’ rights seriously, they initially refused to take part in the ‘Close Pass’ initiative that many forces adopted. Bike theft, as with many other thefts, are regularly ignored.”

Kate added: “Across all of Derbyshire and nationally, our infrastructure isn't good enough. We need to see local authority building infrastructure. That means that if somebody makes a mistake or a bad judgement, it’s not resulting in somebody dying. We need cycle lanes that meet guidance standards, that are wide enough and safe enough to use and separated from traffic.

"Another big thing is that a lot of drivers aren't aware of how they should be moving around other road users. Cycling UK have released data showing that people aren't aware of changes to the highway code. I drive a seven seater myself and I believe we need to repeat theory tests regularly. If you're in a workplace, you re-do your health and safety training every one to three years. If you have a first aid qualification, you re-do that every three years. Same should apply to theory tests.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: “It is important that all road users offer mutual respect and consideration to each other. No matter which method of transport we chose, be it driving, riding a motorbike, cycle or horse, or walking, we should all be aware of each other’s vulnerabilities as it is essential for everyone’s safety.

“Officers will take appropriate action whenever possible where we find offences have been committed. This could include advice, safe driving courses, fixed penalty notices or court convictions.

“When passing a cyclist, drivers are reminded that to ensure they allow sufficient time and distance to do so without compromising safety, making sure you can see far enough ahead to know it is safe to complete the overtake.

“As a police service we support the Operation Close Pass initiative and offer the option for people to report and upload footage of dangerous or other road traffic offences to us as part of Derbyshire Capture.

“With regards to the theft of cycles, officers understand how upsetting it can be and will take these reports seriously. We will follow all investigative avenues available, including acting on information we receive, checking CCTV footage and local area enquiries.

“We will also work with partnership agencies to offer cycle security marking in neighbourhood areas where the theft of cycles has been highlighted as a particular area of concern. We would encourage anyone who has concerns about road safety to contact us.”