West Midlands Police issues prosecution notices to 14 close-pass drivers

Genuinely impressed. Done more in one week that the entire of Scotland has for similar offences, ever.

Actually wonder if I can FOI that. Find out how many prosecutions have been brought in my area for this type of offence. Then send it in to the local papers. Anyone done that before?

Maybe time to invest in a camera. 

Two examples of terrible driving I could have reported.

1. last week. Lorry aggressively close behind me in a wet urban street.

Zebra crossing up ahead I see the man with a baby buggy start to cross from the right I stop lorry too close and going to fast tries to stop and fails and goes straight over the zebra crossing. Luckily the man with the buggy stopped. Step forward and take a bow Sig interiors delivery lorry reg YK11 HFO

2. This morning. 

Zebra crossing again. Lady waiting to cross  from the left. I stop she edges out nervously looking to check the car coming up behind me stops. They do . She walks out. Moron coming up the other way drives over zebra crossing with his phone to his ear looking at her. Didn't get twats number plate.

I've been looking to see if there are any cycling jerseys or reflective tops for sale with a 1.5metre pass graphic on them. Can't see any. Over to road cc. or some entrepreneurial cyclist perhaps?

We all need to start tweeting and linking our own police service and email the police and crime commissioner.

What West Mids are doing is nothing short of amazing.

  now that the police are doing there bit , we should do the same and stop cyclist riding on footpaths. it is dangerous annoying  to pedestrians and. especially to  elderly. elderly

Issuing 14 drivers with prosecution notices is a start... but convincing a jury of motorists is quite a difficult matter:
http://road.cc/content/news/182000-first-private-prosecution-dangerous-d...

Great news!

Here in Camden, we'd like to see similar across the borough rather than just Primrose Hill (though look forward to seeing results from this area soon).

The outskirts  and the main arterial routes particularly need attention. Non-essential, single-occupancy vehicles pouring in from outer-zones need to be reminded that their behaviour often leaves a lot to be required.

In residential areas where it should be 20mph MAXIMUM, there should be no need for OVERTAKING at all of cyclists trying to find quieter routes. 

Deliberate intimidation by tail-gating rat-runners should be looked at. Or better still - filter all residential areas as a matter of policy.

To paraphrase Brian Deegan, designer of the TfL cycle ways, "London has a great network already. It just happens to have cars all over it!".

ironically I was over taken by a police car in the week well under the 1.5m....more like 0.75m at best....I didn't feel threatened but then overtakes under 0.5m are common south London / Kent so you get used to it  !

Yes!

Great stuff. Truly ground breaking.

If they deleted the 0.75m gauge on the image then they'd be doing even better!

Well done West Mids Police.

"They must not rely on a perception of distance such as a close pass as the apparent distance will vary according to the type camera and settings.” and the next line on the Roadsafe site "There are other issues with video evidence, such as parallax error, which makes objects appear close together when they are seen in line."

Indeed. So, for any force that raises this as an issue, what you (and/or the police) can do is to go out with the camera and a tape measure (or more sophisticated device), find a similar vehicle then film until you recreate the image of your presumed close pass and measure the distance with your tape measure. Bit of a faff but pretty conclusive. Funny the Met don't include anything like this in their guidelines.  

Chapeau to the West Midlands Police!

#chirspylikes

it'd be worth feedback directly to the force. 

Excellent to see this understanding of the reality of what is really going on being put forward by a police authority.

I imagine these will be fixed penalty notices or invitations to attend driver awareness courses? If they really are notices of prosecution then lets hope that, if challenged by the drivers, the magistrates are equally as  enlightened...

I won't be holding my breath.

I don't believe this.... it just seems to good to be true. Rules.... on the road.... which are enforced.... what is that about?

This is the kind of policing that can restore faith in the system. Well done!

Please bring this to Bristol and Somerset.

This is simply fantastic. More Of This Sort Of Thing!

Impressive stuff from the West Midlands! Let's hope others follow suit.

West Midlands Police wrote:

Having analysed several years’ worth of data, it found that in the majority of cycle-related collisions where someone was killed or seriously injured, the cyclist themselves wasn’t to blame....The only way to change driver behaviour and concentrate minds on looking out for vulnerable road users and change driving habits is through enforcement, and the resulting fear of being prosecuted

It's a road to damascus moment - they can see the truth!