A CYCLIST from Ardrossan says he's been left frustrated by the punishment handed down to a driver after he was nearly hit by an overtaking car during his ride home from work.

Darren Kean has also urged drivers to change their attitudes towards cyclists - or risk more deaths on the roads.

Darren was cycling home from his work at Hunterston B power station on Tuesday, November 22, when his life was taken out of his hands by a fellow road user.

As he cycled along the A78 towards West Kilbride, a vehicle passed by "at speed" and "well within the 1.5m passing distance".

The vehicle was also forced to abruptly cut in front of Darren's bike to avoid a collision with another car which was heading the opposite direction.

The terrifying moment can be viewed in the video below.

Darren, who has been cycling for almost a decade, said the incident was the most terrifying moment he has ever experienced.

He told the Herald: "The overtake gave me the biggest fright I’ve had whilst cycling on the roads in nine years.

"I consider myself to be an experienced cyclist and can deal with cars generally giving me less than 1.5 metres when passing.

"However, I couldn’t believe how close this car came to hitting me and the speed in which it passed at. The roads were not busy."

Darren also wants drivers to urge caution with cyclists on the road, as one misjudgement can lead to such dire consequences.

He added: "Looking at the footage it appears it was a choice between waiting 10 seconds to overtake safely, or scrape past, like the driver did.

"Driving like this is not acceptable. At the end of the day I am a son, brother, husband and father, entitled to cycle on the roads and should not fear being knocked off and potentially killed!

Police Scotland have since confirmed that the driver of the vehicle which overtook Darren has been given a fixed penalty offer for driving without due care and attention or consideration for other road users.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, November 23, 2022, around 6.35am, police received a report of a close pass on a cyclist the previous evening on the southbound A78, near to Seamill.

"The female driver of the car received an offer of a fixed penalty notice.”

After being told what had happened to the driver, Darren said he'd been left frustrated and worried by the outcome.

He told the Herald: "The office left a message saying the driver didn’t see me, which is worrying.

"[I'm] frustrated that it defaults to careless driving rather than dangerous driving.

"Hopefully this changes their driving on the road, and should make drivers aware that people are being penalised."