*Language warning in video*
A CYCLIST and BMW driver have been caught on camera in a furious road rage row over using a mobile phone at the wheel.
The cyclist yells at the driver to get off his phone and is confronted a few seconds later by the motorist, who threatens to “smash” him.
The clip, filmed in central Edinburgh, starts with the white BMW saloon stopping at the crossing despite the green traffic lights and a car behind is heard beeping its horn.
As the cyclist passes the driver he can be heard shouting at the motorist “get off your phone”.
Continuing to cycle up the road, the BMW driver then begins to pass the bike rider very close causing the cyclist to slap the car with his hand and warn the driver.
After biker puts his hand on the car, the driver is then seen slamming on the breaks, forcing the cyclist to stop.
The rider is then heard saying: “First of all get off your phone and second of all learn how to f***ing drive.”
The BMW driver begins to open his door and shouting something back at the cyclist but it is unclear.
The bike rider then point towards his helmet camera and saying: “See this? It’s going to the police.”
The exchange continues as the driver then starts replying to the cyclist: “You just hit my car? Did I hit you? No, f*** off then.”
As the BMW continues up the road, with the cyclist following behind, it then stops at another set of traffic lights.
The angry driver is then seen getting out of the car then stopping the bike rider and walking up to his face, saying: “Hit my car again and I’ll f***ing smash you. You f***ing w**ker.”
However, the equally angered cyclist then replies to the driver as he walks back to his car: “You come that close to me again and I’ll do more than hit your f***ing car, d**k.”
The driver then turns around and approaches the cyclist again before seeing traffic around him and returns to his car.
Continuing to cycle up the road, the bike rider is heard muttering: “Arse.”
As the two road users part ways, one final exchange can be heard with the BMW driver saying to the cyclist: “Can’t afford a car.”
Answering one last time, the cyclist says: “I can afford more cars than you mate. At least I know how to drive anyway.”
A spokesman for Scotland’s Worst Drivers said: “”Mobile phone use behind the wheel and also road rage are two of the more serious issues we still have on the roads of Scotland today, and this is something we want to see stamped out completely.
“While the cyclist did put his hand on the car, you can hear the squeak, the car was too close for comfort for the cyclist.
“Road rage however is what can turn a situation from being a passing moment, to something much worse. Hopefully the driver will learn to keep calm in the future.”
Uploading the clip onto to social media, the cyclist wrote in the description: “Officers came to view the footage, but said that it wasn’t clear that he was on the phone, and wouldn’t be able to report him for being abusive (not that I asked them to) because I swore first, but they gave me the paperwork to report it as a close pass, under Operation Close Pass.
“The police got back to me today and told me that because I had shouted at the driver first, this would be seen as provocation if the driver contested it and it went to court, so they’d be unable to make the driver do the improvement course.
“They said that they would however speak to the driver about his driving.”
“On the whole, I’m a little irked that telling someone to get off their phone can be considered provocation for a close / punishment pass, but I still think that the Operation Close Pass initiative is a good idea.”
Earlier this yearOperation Close Pass was launched in Edinburgh by Police Scotland in a bid to stop motorists getting too close to cyclists.
Unmarked police cars will be monitoring traffic throughout the city and drivers could face penalties.
