On 22/08/2023 08:02 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Yesterday (Wednesday 14 June 2023) Greater Manchester Police officers took to the streets of the City Centre as Operation Close Pass got underway for the first time since its relaunch last month.
>
> Officers from GMP’s Road Policing Unit teamed up with Traffic PSCOs and headed to Chester Road off Deansgate, as work continues to make roads safer for all vehicle users throughout the City-region.
>
> An education mat was laid out on the road which gave car drivers a visual diagram of how much space they should be leaving pedal-cyclists when overtaking them.
>
> The PCSOs took to the roads to identify those drivers who fail to overtake them within the Highway Code’s recommended safe passing distance of 1.5 metres.
>
> Once identified, a nearby police patrol will be called-in to intercept the driver and offer them on the spot education on how to safely overtake cyclists.
>
> Two drivers were stopped and received education about the Close Pass scheme and given tips and pointers on how to overtake cyclists safely in the future.
>
> Some motorists were also handed Traffic Offence Reports for various offences and officer on motorcycles stopped several vehicles to advise them about passing cars closely.
>
> Sergeant Bradley Ormesher from the Roads Policing Unit said: “This is the first of two operations that we are running in the City Centre and there will be other operations taking place throughout the whole of Greater Manchester in the coming months.
>
> “We had a lot of questions from the public who were passing about the scheme, with our officers informing and educating them in the hope that they pass the information to their friends and family.
>
> “There has been some significant road traffic collision between vehicles and cyclists in recent weeks, which highlights the need for us to spread the message as far as we can to hopefully bring those incidents down and make Greater Manchester’s roads a safer place.”
>
> https://www.gmp.police.uk/news/greater-manchester/news/news/2023/june/first-close-pass-operation-takes-pace-in-the-city-centre/

A locality called "Greater Manchester" in Norwich?

Who knew?

Police Scotland have this week launched their own version of the close pass operation pioneered by West Midlands Police. The straightforwardly-named Operation Close Pass will see Edinburgh drivers pulled over for passing an unmarked police cyclist too closely and there are plans to later roll out the scheme across Scotland.

PC Dominic Doyle, of Police Scotland, told the Scotsman (link is external): "A lot of drivers see a person on a bicycle riding on the road in a cycle lane and don't consider that passing them closely puts all road users in danger. It could constitute careless or even dangerous driving and you would fail your driving test for that.”

The cycling officer will be capturing footage via a bike-mounted camera should any action need to be taken.

Doyle said that drivers would be shown how closely they passed the unmarked officer on specially-designed mat funded by Cycling Scotland with further support from Road Safety Scotland.

"You should allow at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car when passing a person on a bicycle, giving consideration to the maximum speed limit and time and distance available to you."

In a post on its Facebook page (link is external), Edinburgh Police Division reported that 13 drivers were spoken to on the first day of the operation..

That post also says that if you wish to report your own close pass encounters, footage needs to be sent to police as soon as possible following the incident. “A notice of intended prosecution would have to be served on any potential accused within 14 days of the offence. This allows reasonable time to draw up and process the paperwork.”

Members of the public are also discouraged from posting the footage to social media, “as this may compromise court proceedings.”

Martin McDonnell, of cycling campaign group Spokes, said: “We have seen what’s happened in the West Midlands and elsewhere round the country and it seems to be having a real impact on driver behaviour and making people feel safer being out on the road on their bikes.

“There have been some studies done that if somebody does close passes they are more likely to be involved in a collision subsequently so it’s better to catch it early on in the process rather than later.”

https://road.cc/content/news/221478-police-scotland-launch-operation-close-pass-edinburgh

What we need now is a method of making pedestrians on pavements ’feel
safe’.

No more Auriol Greys!

What about it, police?

Or isn’t there enough in that to help the step from CSI to ACC?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Police Scotland have this week launched their own version of the close
> pass operation pioneered by West Midlands Police. The
> straightforwardly-named Operation Close Pass will see Edinburgh drivers
> pulled over for passing an unmarked police cyclist too closely and there
> are plans to later roll out the scheme across Scotland.
>
> PC Dominic Doyle, of Police Scotland, told the Scotsman (link is
> external): "A lot of drivers see a person on a bicycle riding on the road
> in a cycle lane and don't consider that passing them closely puts all
> road users in danger. It could constitute careless or even dangerous
> driving and you would fail your driving test for that.”
>
> The cycling officer will be capturing footage via a bike-mounted camera
> should any action need to be taken.
>
> Doyle said that drivers would be shown how closely they passed the
> unmarked officer on specially-designed mat funded by Cycling Scotland
> with further support from Road Safety Scotland.
>
> "You should allow at least as much room as you would when overtaking a
> car when passing a person on a bicycle, giving consideration to the
> maximum speed limit and time and distance available to you."
>
> In a post on its Facebook page (link is external), Edinburgh Police
> Division reported that 13 drivers were spoken to on the first day of the operation.
>
> That post also says that if you wish to report your own close pass
> encounters, footage needs to be sent to police as soon as possible
> following the incident. “A notice of intended prosecution would have to
> be served on any potential accused within 14 days of the offence. This
> allows reasonable time to draw up and process the paperwork.”
>
> Members of the public are also discouraged from posting the footage to
> social media, “as this may compromise court proceedings.”
>
> Martin McDonnell, of cycling campaign group Spokes, said: “We have seen
> what’s happened in the West Midlands and elsewhere round the country and
> it seems to be having a real impact on driver behaviour and making people
> feel safer being out on the road on their bikes.
>
> “There have been some studies done that if somebody does close passes
> they are more likely to be involved in a collision subsequently so it’s
> better to catch it early on in the process rather than later.”
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/221478-police-scotland-launch-operation-close-pass-edinburgh
>

--
Spike

On 23/08/2023 01:26 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Police Scotland have this week launched their own version of the close pass operation pioneered by West Midlands Police. The straightforwardly-named Operation Close Pass will see Edinburgh drivers pulled over for passing an unmarked police cyclist too closely and there are plans to later roll out the scheme across Scotland.
>
> PC Dominic Doyle, of Police Scotland, told the Scotsman (link is external): "A lot of drivers see a person on a bicycle riding on the road in a cycle lane and don't consider that passing them closely puts all road users in danger. It could constitute careless or even dangerous driving and you would fail your driving test for that.”
>
> The cycling officer will be capturing footage via a bike-mounted camera should any action need to be taken.
>
> Doyle said that drivers would be shown how closely they passed the unmarked officer on specially-designed mat funded by Cycling Scotland with further support from Road Safety Scotland.
>
> "You should allow at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car when passing a person on a bicycle, giving consideration to the maximum speed limit and time and distance available to you."
>
> In a post on its Facebook page (link is external), Edinburgh Police Division reported that 13 drivers were spoken to on the first day of the operation.
>
> That post also says that if you wish to report your own close pass encounters, footage needs to be sent to police as soon as possible following the incident. “A notice of intended prosecution would have to be served on any potential accused within 14 days of the offence. This allows reasonable time to draw up and process the paperwork.”
>
> Members of the public are also discouraged from posting the footage to social media, “as this may compromise court proceedings.”
>
> Martin McDonnell, of cycling campaign group Spokes, said: “We have seen what’s happened in the West Midlands and elsewhere round the country and it seems to be having a real impact on driver behaviour and making people feel safer being out on the road on their bikes.
>
> “There have been some studies done that if somebody does close passes they are more likely to be involved in a collision subsequently so it’s better to catch it early on in the process rather than later.”
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/221478-police-scotland-launch-operation-close-pass-edinburgh

So Norwich not only contains a locale known as "Greater Manchester" (May
Sun's posts, passim.) but also has a "Scotland".

Shouldn't they think up their own placenames?

West Yorkshire Police are the latest force in the country to adopt the widely praised close pass initiative introduced last year by West Midlands Police and since taken up by roads policing units nationwide.

The scheme is being introduced on popular cycle commuting in Leeds, says the force, and besides targeting motorists who fail to give people on bikes sufficient space when overtaking will also focus on distracted drivers and those who do not give way at junctions.

As elsewhere, plain clothes police officers will identify offending motorists, who will be shown safe passing distances with the help of a specially designed mat. Drivers deemed as having failed to look will be subjected to an eyesight test at the roadside.

In some cases, including those where the driver has declined the offer of advice or where the offence is sufficiently serious to warrant further action, they may be referred for prosecution.

Implementation of the initiative comes after 2016 saw the highest death toll among cyclists on West Yorkshire’s roads for more than a quarter of a century, with seven riders losing their lives there in road traffic collisions last year.

In the period 2011-15, more than 6,000 cyclists were injured on the county’s roads, 1,210 of those seriously.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom commented: “On average, we record around three incidents every day where a cyclist and vehicle have been in a collision on the county’s roads.

“Frighteningly, seven people lost their lives on our roads in 2016, which is a number we urgently want to address and reduce.

“This initiative isn’t about picking on or penalising motorists, it is about making sure our roads are safer for everyone.

“Following the success of the Tour de Yorkshire we support our partners in wanting to get more people to feel confident in cycling in the county by making sure the roads are safer for cyclists and all vulnerable road users.”

After the initial trial in Leeds, the plan is to roll the initiative out across the county.

Sergeant Gary Roper of the West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Support Unit said: “This initiative has been successfully used by our colleagues in West Midlands Police and has increased driver awareness and alertness in identifying cyclists and other vulnerable road users, giving them safe sufficient space when overtaking and taking more care to look for them at junctions.

“Analysis of road traffic collisions involving cyclists in West Yorkshire identifies that failing to look at junctions is the most common cause for drivers at fault and this failure to look can have devastating consequences,” he added.

“The main aim of this initiative is to increase driver observations to include cyclists and all vulnerable road users thereby reducing the risk of collisions as a result of a failure to look.”

West Yorkshire Police & Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said: "Keeping our roads safe for everyone is a key priority for me and our partners so I am very pleased to see this scheme coming to West Yorkshire.

"We are all aware of the potentially life changing consequences of dangerous and careless driving yet some road users find it all too easy to forget once they get behind the wheel.

"Following the initial launch of this close passing initiative by West Midlands Police last year I spoke to West Yorkshire Police to see if it was something we could pilot in our county.

“I was also contacted by numerous members of the public with support for the scheme so I will be keeping a close eye on the results with a view to seeing if this is something that could benefit other areas in West Yorkshire."

In February, Dr Robert Davis, chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, said that enforcing the law against drivers who pass cyclists too closely could reduce rider casualties by up to a third.

And after Police Scotland brought in a similar scheme in Edinburgh last month, they said that less than a fortnight later that it was already changing the ways motorists drove when sharing the road with cyclists.

https://road.cc/content/news/222234-west-yorkshire-police-latest-adopt-close-pass-initiative

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> West Yorkshire Police are the latest force in the country to adopt the
> widely praised close pass initiative introduced last year by West
> Midlands Police and since taken up by roads policing units nationwide.

This is news from yesteryear: MAY 07, 2017 18:46

> https://road.cc/content/news/222234-west-yorkshire-police-latest-adopt-close-pass-initiative

Someone getting desperate?

--
Spike

Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which covers Bristol and Bath, and a population of 1.5 million, is the latest UK police force to confirm they’ll introduce a close pass operation this Spring, tackling one of the major safety concerns of cyclists – poor overtaking by motor vehicle drivers.

The decision was taken following a demo day on Friday 13 January, run by the operation’s inventors, West Midlands Police, and attended by 16 forces across England and Scotland. Greater Manchester Police, who also attended, say they are still looking into the health and safety implications of the operation, which uses a decoy, plain clothed police officer cycling to identify close passing drivers for education, or prosecution.

Edinburgh, as well as Hampshire Constabulary, which operates its road policing unit in collaboration with Thames Valley Police, confirmed to road.cc this week they will also roll out the operation.

Close pass policing could be rolled out to 16 forces: is yours one?

Chief Inspector Kevan Rowlands, who is head of road safety at Avon and Somerset Police, says the operation will likely focus on the streets of Bristol and Bath, once the force has sourced the necessary cameras and education mat.

Ch Insp Rowlands told road.cc: “We have been following what West Midlands Police have done and the success they have had in their area. We went to the demonstration day and have taken the decision it is something we should be doing across the Avon and Somerset area. We will be working in partnership with our tri force roads policing unit.”*

Avon and Somerset Constabulary will target danger spots based on multiple data sources, via an integrated command and control IT system that can collate information from its fixed penalty unit, intelligence, community speed watch and collision data, as well as a dedicated cycling near miss reporting site (link is external), which has been running for about six months.

Most near miss reports to the website have been from Bristol and Bath, which also have the highest pedestrian and cyclist casualties of the Avon and Somerset area. Though the site can accept camera footage, those looking to report a close passing driver to police will for now need to attend a police station to make a statement with the unedited footage.

West Midlands Police: If poor driving makes people too scared to cycle, it's a police matter

“If you want to know where collisions are happening … that gives us a really good intelligence-led basis for targeting the close pass operation,” said Ch Insp Rowlands.

“We are dealing with issues in the areas where cycling is deemed to be particularly dangerous, and we will deal with all kinds of dangerous behaviour and offer advice or prosecution, depending on which is appropriate.”

“I hope the outcome will be that motorists understand the need to give cyclists more space; the ultimate outcome is that less cyclists are killed and seriously injured on our roads.”

As with the West Midlands, Avon and Somerset officers on the close pass operation will be on the lookout for drivers using mobile phones, and speeding..

West Midlands Police say there has been a 50 per cent reduction in close pass complaints since its introduction in September, and the operation has captured the public’s and the media’s imagination.

Part of the appeal, Ch Insp Rowlands says, is the focus on educating drivers, and that it’s evidence-based, targeting known dangerous locations, and uses few staff – he estimates it could be carried out by between three and seven staff.

West Midlands Police to offer "training package" to other forces looking to run close pass operation

He says the operation in the West Midlands has effectively broadcast the need to give cyclists room, and he hopes this will be replicated in Avon and Somerset, and “highlight the dangers of passing cyclists too close and the need to give them adequate room - because they are vulnerable road users.”

Ch Insp Rowlands says improving cyclist safety on Britain’s roads has to be about more than policing, however.

“This isn’t the solution to the whole problem,” he says. “It’s a piece of the puzzle”.

“This needs to go alongside road engineering separating cyclists from traffic when you can, and that is something we will be working with our local partners on.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police told road.cc they are still evaluating with local partners how they might implement the close pass initiative.

“As there are many issues to consider, the primary one being of health and safety concerns, there is no set date for when a conclusion will be reached,” the spokesperson said.

* The tri-force roads policing unit is a collaboration between Avon and Somerset, Gloucester and Wiltshire constabularies, and though there has been no mention of the latter two also running the operation, road.cc is seeking clarification on this point.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which covers Bristol and Bath, and a
> population of 1.5 million, is the latest UK police force to confirm
> they’ll introduce a close pass operation this Spring, tackling one of the
> major safety concerns of cyclists – poor overtaking by motor vehicle drivers.

OLD NEWS!

by LAURA LAKER
SAT, JAN 21, 2017 18:02

--
Spike

A van driver who narrowly avoided clipping a cyclist while carrying out an extremely close pass has been banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £760 in costs and compensation for the dangerous manoeuvre, which also forced an oncoming motorist to take evasive action.

The incident occurred as road.cc reader Chris was riding to work in the West Midlands last October during, remarkably, his first commute since buying a bike camera. Following the extremely close pass – so close, in fact, that Chris is “still not sure” whether he was struck by the van – he reported the footage to West Midlands Police.

Last week, the motorist was found guilty of dangerous driving and banned from the roads for 12 months, with a requirement to take an extended test before regaining their licence. He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and to pay £660 in costs and £100 in victim compensation.

“I’ve commuted by bike for a number of years now and have witnessed some horrendous driving,” Chris told road.cc following the driver’s conviction. “The week before the close pass, I had a driver pull out on me on a roundabout, who then proceeded to try and blame the incident on me as a cyclist for ‘not giving way to a car’. When I arrived at work that morning I ordered myself a 360 camera for the handlebars.”

Describing the incident, Chris said: “I’d approached the usual row of cars parked in the marked bays, checked behind me to see if it was safe to move out and then moved out to pass the parked cars.

“As I was passing the parked cars the van just shot past me – close enough that I’m still not sure whether it struck me or if it was just the wind deflection from the door mirror. It wasn’t until I reviewed the footage when I got to the office that I spotted the car coming the other way having to take evasive action to avoid being hit by the van as well.”

After reporting the footage to West Midlands Police last October, Chris says he “heard nothing” from the force until March 2023, when he was informed that the motorist was happy to admit to driving without due care and attention.

“The police wanted to know if I would accept this, though they did suggest that they would like to push for the higher charge of dangerous driving,” Chris says. “I figured that if the police wanted to pursue a dangerous driving conviction then that was probably what I should do.

“When the case went to the Magistrates’ Court I was a little bit taken aback that once again they wanted to see if I would accept the defendant’s careless driving plea. Why this was something I was given a choice over is a mystery – the CPS were the ones pushing the charges, I’m just the ‘victim’ and witness!

“I was however a little shocked over the severity of the sentencing.. The cynic in me would suggest that West Midlands Police saw the footage, realised it was probably an easy case to win and then ran with it. We’ve all seen the media reports over the lack of prosecutions in the West Midlands despite their close pass campaigns.”

The media reports referred to by Chris include a story featured on road.cc in April, which reported that, according to a Freedom of Information request, of the 286 reports of careless, inconsiderate, or dangerous driving around cyclists considered by West Midlands Police in 2022, only one resulted in a successful prosecution.

In June, the force – pioneers of the award-winning and now-ubiquitous Operation Close Pass – admitted that its processing of public-reported video footage showing driving offences “is currently under review” following the criticism.

“We have seen a 50 percent increase in third-party reporting over the last two years. This process is currently under review around how we can manage the rise in these submissions,” a spokesperson said at the time.

And earlier this month, a meeting of key stakeholders, including West Midlands Police, produced a new package of tougher measures to tackle dangerous driving in the West Midlands, after three cyclists and a pedestrian lost their lives on Birmingham roads in May.

At a meeting requested by West Midlands’ Walking and Cycling Commissioner Adam Tranter – chaired by West Midlands mayor Andy Street and attended by the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, the councillor responsible for transport at Birmingham City Council, Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, as well as Transport for West Midlands’ executive director – a crackdown on dangerous drivers was agreed upon, with the cited aim to “target the most dangerous drivers” with “relentless enforcement of the rules of the road”.

Responding to road.cc’s request for comment concerning the recent conviction of the close passing van driver for dangerous driving, a spokesperson for West Midlands Police told us: “Road safety remains a priority for us and we are continuing our efforts to keep cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists safe across the West Midlands.

“At the start of August, we launched Operation Triton, a crackdown on dangerous and reckless driving involving both police and the local authorities.

“We will continue to carry out regular operations including Close Pass and Speedwatch events, as well as vehicle spot checks and extra patrols in problem areas.”

https://road.cc/content/news/near-miss-day-872-van-driver-banned-12-months-303419

On 23/08/2023 04:23 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> West Yorkshire Police are the latest force in the country to adopt the widely praised close pass initiative introduced last year by West Midlands Police and since taken up by roads policing units nationwide.
>
> The scheme is being introduced on popular cycle commuting in Leeds, says the force, and besides targeting motorists who fail to give people on bikes sufficient space when overtaking will also focus on distracted drivers and those who do not give way at junctions.
>
> As elsewhere, plain clothes police officers will identify offending motorists, who will be shown safe passing distances with the help of a specially designed mat. Drivers deemed as having failed to look will be subjected to an eyesight test at the roadside.
>
> In some cases, including those where the driver has declined the offer of advice or where the offence is sufficiently serious to warrant further action, they may be referred for prosecution.
>
> Implementation of the initiative comes after 2016 saw the highest death toll among cyclists on West Yorkshire’s roads for more than a quarter of a century, with seven riders losing their lives there in road traffic collisions last year.
>
> In the period 2011-15, more than 6,000 cyclists were injured on the county’s roads, 1,210 of those seriously.
>
> West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom commented: “On average, we record around three incidents every day where a cyclist and vehicle have been in a collision on the county’s roads.
>
> “Frighteningly, seven people lost their lives on our roads in 2016, which is a number we urgently want to address and reduce.
>
> “This initiative isn’t about picking on or penalising motorists, it is about making sure our roads are safer for everyone.
>
> “Following the success of the Tour de Yorkshire we support our partners in wanting to get more people to feel confident in cycling in the county by making sure the roads are safer for cyclists and all vulnerable road users.”
>
> After the initial trial in Leeds, the plan is to roll the initiative out across the county.
>
> Sergeant Gary Roper of the West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Support Unit said: “This initiative has been successfully used by our colleagues in West Midlands Police and has increased driver awareness and alertness in identifying cyclists and other vulnerable road users, giving them safe sufficient space when overtaking and taking more care to look for them at junctions.
>
> “Analysis of road traffic collisions involving cyclists in West Yorkshire identifies that failing to look at junctions is the most common cause for drivers at fault and this failure to look can have devastating consequences,” he added.
>
> “The main aim of this initiative is to increase driver observations to include cyclists and all vulnerable road users thereby reducing the risk of collisions as a result of a failure to look.”
>
> West Yorkshire Police & Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said: "Keeping our roads safe for everyone is a key priority for me and our partners so I am very pleased to see this scheme coming to West Yorkshire.
>
> "We are all aware of the potentially life changing consequences of dangerous and careless driving yet some road users find it all too easy to forget once they get behind the wheel.
>
> "Following the initial launch of this close passing initiative by West Midlands Police last year I spoke to West Yorkshire Police to see if it was something we could pilot in our county.
>
> “I was also contacted by numerous members of the public with support for the scheme so I will be keeping a close eye on the results with a view to seeing if this is something that could benefit other areas in West Yorkshire."
>
> In February, Dr Robert Davis, chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, said that enforcing the law against drivers who pass cyclists too closely could reduce rider casualties by up to a third.
>
> And after Police Scotland brought in a similar scheme in Edinburgh last month, they said that less than a fortnight later that it was already changing the ways motorists drove when sharing the road with cyclists.
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/222234-west-yorkshire-police-latest-adopt-close-pass-initiative

Now, even West Yorkshire is within Norwich, according to either the
illiterate road.cc or the semi-literate May Sun.

It isn't really clear which of them is at fault.

It could easily be both.

A newly defined road safety law was enforced on Oxford’s roads earlier this week. And Thames Valley Police have now began prosecuting drivers that pass cyclists closer than the legal distance.

Operation Safe Pass is an initiative that aims to make cycling safer on the city’s roads. Driving behaviour was monitored by a plain clothed officer, on a bicycle, via a GoPro camera and any motorist overtaking within the 1.5 meter legal distance of the cyclist was stopped by uniformed officers nearby.

A £100 fine was issued to anyone caught in breach of the law or drivers had the option to enrol in an on-the-spot educational course. This was run by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Station manager for Oxfordshire’s Fire Service, Andy Ford, emphasised the need for renewed education on road safety. “Today is about reminding drivers that they need to give cyclists space, they need to give motorcyclists space and they need to share the road because we all have a right to use it.”

Recent tragic incidents involving local cyclists has prompted calls from residents to make Oxford’s roads safer.

A representative from the Oxford Cycling Club, Dave Nash, spoke of the fear some cyclists have when drivers aren’t aware of their surroundings.. “Close passes are possibly one of the most frightening incidents that a cyclist can experience.“

Dave says cycling in rural areas of Oxfordshire can present an ever greater danger to cyclists. He added: “Speeds in rural areas are far higher than in urban areas. It’s intimating and unnecessary, especially when this is enough space to manoeuvre around them.”

https://www.oxfordshirelive.co.uk/news/oxfordshire-news/thames-valley-police-launches-crackdown-6917770

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> A newly defined road safety law was enforced on Oxford’s roads earlier
> this week. And Thames Valley Police have now began prosecuting drivers
> that pass cyclists closer than the legal distance.

I must have missed your post about the new law coming in in Oxford.

As it is a law that demands something specific and measurable, how is it to
be measured?

Can I buy or have fitted a ‘bicycle passing clearance meter’? Why not?

Hmm…let’s see:

“Officers launched Operation Safe Pass this week 10:17, 7 APR 2022”

So, you’re talking b*l*x again…

> https://www.oxfordshirelive.co.uk/news/oxfordshire-news/thames-valley-police-launches-crackdown-6917770

PS: How did the crackdown work out?

What are the before-and-after figures for cyclist KSI?

--
Spike

A close pass initiative to protect cyclists could be rolled out by 16 police forces across the UK, covering a population of more than 20 million people, after police from Somerset to Edinburgh attended a training session on Friday.

West Midlands Police devised a simple sting operation last year using a decoy, plain clothed police officer, in a bid to reduce close overtaking and poor driving around cyclists, since which time it has achieved widespread praise, and halved complaints of dangerous overtaking by local cyclists.

The 16 police forces that attended a training and Q&A session near Edgbaston on Friday, covering at least 18 policing areas, were Avon and Somerset, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Humberside, Leicestershire, Merseyside, Norfolk, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Sussex, Warwickshire, West Mercia, and West Yorkshire, and Police Scotland, covering a total population of almost 20 million people.

West Midlands Police to use cycling officer to target close-passing motorists

Following the training session, Hampshire Constabulary, which operates its road policing unit in collaboration with Thames Valley Police, say the scheme will be launched across Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Meanwhile, traffic police in the East of Scotland today confirmed they will be rolling it out in Edinburgh. Road.cc has contacted all forces that attended, but has not yet had responses from all of them.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson confirmed roll out of the scheme to road.cc: “The ‘Close Pass’ initiative looks excellent and we are making preparations to use it across Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police areas. A launch date is anticipated soon.”

Meanwhile, East of Scotland Police today announced they will pilot their own close pass initiative in Edinburgh in the spring.

Chief Inspector Stephen Innes, Local Area Commander for Road Policing in the East of Scotland, said: "The safety of all road users, including cyclists who we recognise as a vulnerable group, is a priority for Police Scotland and we regularly run operations and initiatives to reduce casualties and educate all drivers, riders and pedestrians.

“We will in the spring be launching a new initiative focusing on the close passing of cyclists and are working with partners to pilot the scheme in Scotland's capital city."

Give Space, be Safe uses a plain clothed officer cycling, who radios ahead if a driver overtakes too close; the driver is then pulled over by colleagues and educated or, in the worst cases, written up for prosecution.

Norfolk, Suffolk, Merseyside, Warwickshire and West Mercia confirmed they are now looking into the scheme, and the potential for using it on their beats.

West Midlands Police: If poor driving makes people too scared to cycle, it's a police matter

West Midlands Police’s Steve Hudson, one of two officers who devised the scheme, and ran Friday’s four hour Q&A session, told road.cc all 16 forces were positive about the initiative.

“Everybody that attended there showed a real keenness to take this on. I don’t think they realised how straightforward it was. It’s very rare that we look at a problem in a common sense way and just get on and do it, we usually have to go through so many levels of beaurocracy.”

“We have got a genuine feeling that it’s really going to take off.”

Hudson says the close pass initiative, “Give Space, be Safe” is a rare example of a straightforward policing response to a problem which, he says, has cost West Midlands Police nothing.

Birmingham City Council paid for the mat used to illustrate safe passing distances to drivers, while the Fly bike cameras were donated by Cycliq*, and the work was done in duty time. He believes mats could be purchased for other forces for £800-900.

Road.cc understands West Yorkshire Police, who sent four or five police to the meeting, already ordered their education mat and are planning on introducing the operation, while others are in discussions locally about the initiative.

A spokesperson for Merseyside confirmed its officers had attended the training session and “will look at progressing the initiative in the future.”

“However, full details are not confirmed at present”, the spokesperson said.

West Midlands Police to offer "training package" to other forces looking to run close pass operation

Warwickshire and West Mercia Police told road.cc they are going through the information from the meeting and will brief their chief officers “to see if this is a campaign we can deliver locally”.

The Warwickshire and West Mercia spokesperson added: “I think everyone is in agreement that it’s a great initiative but we’re very much in the information gathering stage at the moment.”

The Norfolk Constabulary press office told road.cc: “I can confirm that we sent officers to WMP to receive a brief on this initiative. It is too early to announce roll-out in Norfolk and Suffolk as we are currently considering all campaigns for the forthcoming year.”

Last year, North Wales Police launched their own close pass operation, called Operation Snap, following observations of what they described as "some awful very close passes and people pulling in and out of junctions, putting cyclists in danger".

North Wales Police latest to launch close pass operation

Cycling UK, the national cycling charity, welcomed the growing interest in the initiative, but said more consistency is needed across the country.

Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s Senior Road Safety officer said: “Cycling UK knew West Midlands Police were on to a winner when they rolled out their “Give Space, be Safe” campaign last year, which is why we backed it from the start. It’s a cheap, cost effective initiative that has proved highly effective at changing dangerous driving behaviour.

“It’s great to see so much interest in following West Midlands’ example, but Cycling UK is aware that a number of forces are still not getting their very simple message. We want to see more consistency across all police forces in tackling near misses, as these are not isolated incidents happening only in certain pockets of the country, but everywhere, every day".

Cycling UK told road.cc it is currently looking at how the charity can support a wider roll out of West Midlands Police’s close pass initiative and says it will be contacting all forces over the coming weeks to this end.

The way future close pass initiatives work may change over time, according to Hudson. A number of councils and a fire service attended the training session, and West Midlands are looking to pool resources with the local fire services, who can carry out the “chat on the mat”, to free up police resources to tackle other issues such as speeding and mobile phone use. West Midlands Police hope advice from fire service staff will elicit a more positive response from drivers.

Hudson was also keen to point out “99 per cent” of drivers he stops are responsible individuals who respond well to education.

Other larger police forces may look to pool resources with their local fire service, as fire services are given increasing responsibility for road safety, and in order to save money.

A handful of forces weren’t able to attend Friday’s event due to bad weather and rail strikes on the day. Of 38 forces contacted by West Midlands Police, inviting them to the meeting, Hudson said “pretty much all of them” got back in touch. He wouldn’t say which didn’t respond, in case emails had gone to the wrong email addresses in those cases.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> A close pass initiative to protect cyclists could be rolled out by 16
> police forces across the UK, covering a population of more than 20
> million people, after police from Somerset to Edinburgh attended a
> training session on Friday.

So some 29 Police Forces didn’t want to send an officer out on this jolly.

> The 16 police forces that attended a training and Q&A session near
> Edgbaston on Friday, covering at least 18 policing areas, were…

The 29 Forces that didn’t send an officer comprised…

…a much longer list.

> Road.cc has contacted all forces that attended, but has not yet had
> responses from all of them.

Why didn’t Road.cc contact the absentee Forces and give them a rollicking?

--
Spike

“I’m just a bit of an erratic driver.”

“I didn’t realise.”

“My back light must have just fallen off, officer.”

Just some of the excuses we heard today whilst conducting Operation Close Pass in Darlington.

Part of the national 2 Wheels campaign, the educational operation is designed to educate car drivers on the importance of allowing adequate space when passing cyclists.

The operation saw us send out one of our PCSOs on a bicycle and those who passed him too closely were asked to pull into designated bays at Darlington College and given words of advice as well as a quick health check for their vehicle.

And whilst everyone we pulled up for passing too closely to our cyclist was happy to receive a bit of guidance on the required 1.5m distance, it did raise some interesting issues around vehicle safety when they were given a quick check-up.

One white van driver didn’t seem to understand that being an erratic driver wasn’t a good thing and whilst one of the lights on his trailer didn’t work, the other one was missing altogether. Added to the fact the car on his trailer wasn’t secured properly and you had a collision waiting to happen.

Another van driver was also given a ticket for an insecure load when officers found several pallets bulging from the curtains of his vehicle ready to spill onto the road with one sharp turn.

One driver pulled over did put it nicely though when she said: “I don’t see it as a negative, I see it as a positive and now I know better.”

Officers were also happy to chat and give advice to several teenage cyclists attending the college.

Durham Constabulary’s Casualty Reduction Coordinator, Nicola Bowman, said: “All road users have an equal right to use the roads and today has been about providing education on general road safety and in particular, how to pass cyclists safely.

“It’s been great to see all of the drivers we have interacted with have been open to improving their driving and our ultimate goal of keeping all road users safe.

“We’d also like to thank all those drivers who took part in today’s operation and for the help of representatives from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office who also attended.”

Do you know the rules around passing cyclists? Remember to give 1.5m space for cyclists and 2m for horse riders.