Charged with careless driving for filtering

I received a court summons for driving without due care and attention. I was on a 20mph road overtaking cars waiting for a red traffic light when one of the cars turned out in front of me causing me to hit his car. I have a witness who confirms I was not speeding. The car driver has admitted fault in my personal injury claim but my lawyer dealing with that says she can’t help with the criminal case?
Josh Compton, by e-mail

Answer

Driving without due care and attention is also known as careless driving which is when the standard of driving falls below the standard expected of a reasonably prudent driver. Driving that falls well below the standard expected is the offence of dangerous driving.

The starting point is that filtering is legal and is, in itself, not evidence of careless driving. You mention the word overtaking rather than filtering. The distinction between filtering and overtaking lies in the comparative speeds of the bike versus the queue of traffic. You say you were not speeding but this could mean you were passing the cars at 20mph which a criminal court could find to be excessive when the rest of the traffic is at a standstill. I suggest you speak to a criminal lawyer for advice on what to do but you should provide the admission of civil liability to the criminal lawyer which may help. Irrespective of the criminal matter, you should still succeed with your injury claim.