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news
Passing distance (West Midlands Police).jpgClose-pass footage has now been used to prosecute 78 drivers, say West Midlands police
Traffic police in the West Midlands say that third-party video footage has so far result in the prosecution of 78 motorists for passing cyclists too closely.
The figure was disclosed in a message on Twitter posted last Friday by the West Midlands Road Policing Unit.
#OpClosepass has now reached 78 prosecutions using 3rd party footage, here's a couple of the latest #GiveSpaceBeSafe #vulnerableroadusers pic.twitter.com/NjsERi7wUY
— CMPG - Road Policing (@Trafficwmp) October 21, 2016
The force launched its Operation Close Pass, which has been widely praised by cycling campaigners, last month.
> West Midlands Police to use cycling officer to target close-passing drivers
The initiative calls on motorists to give people on bikes at least 1.5 metres of room when overtaking – with police warning drivers that they will be prosecuted if they fail to comply.
There have been calls for police forces elsewhere to adopt the approach, with Metropolitan Police officers in Camden in north west London and North Wales Police having said that they will follow the lead of their colleagues in the West Midlands.
> North Wales Police latest to launch close pass operation
Last week, the force said in a message on Twitter that they had also been accompanied by an Edinburgh-based traffic officer from Police Scotland who had come to see their work at first hand.
Other campaigns highlighted on the force’s Twitter feed include seizing vehicles that are uninsured, as well as enforcing speed limits, with Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell among those to applaud its approach.
Every police force in the country should learn from @trafficwmp, who *get* the need for a road danger reduction approach to policing roads. https://t.co/x1rMEI1P2S
— Caroline Russell (@CarolineRussell) 23 October 2016
This blog post from West Midlands Police sets out the type of incidents that should be reported.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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11 comments
The other day RoadCC ran an article about a close-pass victim who submitted his footage to plod and was threatened with prosecution because he (understandably) swore at the driver. Meanwhile they let the driver off scott free!
The initiative described in the current article is a step in the right direction, but it needs to be applied consistently accross the country.
Bring back plods on bikes, (I remember them well) nationwide, that will really set the cat among the pigeons.
Ya dancer!
Please to see that Police Scotland are now saying they are considering doing the same thing. The key to making this work in the long term is to get drivers to understand they do NOT own the road and DO have a responsibility to other road users. Showing some of the worse video passes after successful prosecution, could also help.
Thy breath Kim.
Hold it not.
If they make this work on a decently large scale then it will be a lot more effective than nicking people using a trap. A win win situation really. They get the public to do the hard part of policing for them. Cyclists with cameras get to feel that the law is on their side and the ultimate goal is that enough prosecutions means everyone knows somebody that got prosecuted so it starts a conversation about the issue.
Yes.
North Wales police are asking for incidents too :
http://www.north-wales.police.uk/advice-and-support/safer-roads/operatio...
If you have any problems though - you need to get the footage to them asap as they say they have to give notice to prosecute within 14 days for some reason ?
Parliament set the limit at 14 days in the Road Traffic Act because they thought that car owners would not be able to remember who was driving after such a period.
The 14 day rule 'refreshes' each time a new driver is identified. So a car hire company will give the name of whoever paid them to hire the car. The hirer may then say it was one of their employees. The first employee may then return the paperwork identifying a colleague, and then lastly the driver is normally identified. Failure to identify is an offence.
78 in a month. Pretty good going! Finally the police are starting to take cyclists seriously, perhaps every local force will eventually adopt the scheme.
78 in a month. Pretty good going! Finally the police are starting to take cyclists seriously, perhaps every local force will eventually adopt the scheme.