Court case outcome

…guilty on both counts.

The breakdown of the fine is:

Failure to report: 5 points, (range 5 to 10 points), but they accept it was a technicality so no fine (range up to £2500)
Driving badly 3 points (range 3 to 9 points) and £300 fine (range £200 to £800 normal, but can go to £5000 – i.e. it was on the low end – it was not seen as a serious breach)
Costs £500
‘victim surcharge’ £15

Totals: 8 points and £815. Ouch. I’ll pass a hat round later. (No I won’t – I can pay from funds saved for this purpose in my limited company)

Annoying points:
Defending myself I was not permitted to cross examine my own witnesses, which meant I wasn’t able to draw out of Gracey some important points
The policeman who had originally grilled me, when it was his turn to answer my questions his only answers were ‘I don’t know [blank stare]’ and ‘I can’t remember [blank stare]’.

Lessons learned
Despite not being a legal document The highway code is treated as such anyway.
If the police ask you a question and you have even a small doubt about the answer, tell him you don’t know and stare blankly.
While driving carelessly always avoid cyclists
Not knowing about laws doesn’t exempt you from them