West Midlands Police has backed up its words about prosecuting close-passing drivers with action, issuing 14 prosecution notices based on helmet cam footage provided by cyclists.
The force recently signalled a change of tack in a blog post focusing on road traffic collisions involving cyclists. 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.
It therefore concluded that it would be “a waste of our time” to concentrate on cyclist behaviour. “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.”
In a tweet published on Monday, the force’s roads policing unit said:
14 drivers receiving prosecution notices this week for close pass offences committed on our regions roads #givespacebesafe #safercycling pic.twitter.com/68IybZbcV1
— CMPG – Road Policing (@Trafficwmp) September 26, 2016
Asked whether the prosecutions had come about as a result of the recently launched initiative in which a cycling officer radios ahead to colleagues after experiencing a close pass, the unit replied: “No these are straight prosecutions from 3rd party camera footage following complaints from cyclists.”
Interestingly this development appears to contrast with the position of the Met Police. Its guidelines relating to submission of video footage of close passes states:
“For prosecution purposes, video evidence can only act as corroboration. This means that you will need to attend a police station and give a written statement and must be prepared to attend court to give evidence in person.
“Videos should not be edited in any way. 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.”
West Midlands’ Police’s Roads Policing Unit has also made clear its feelings about the Department for Transport’s new road safety campaign which warns cyclists to ‘Hang Back’ and not get on the inside of a left-turning lorry.
@bellamyonabike @THINKgovuk Let’s just say we won’t be using it, we might use it to show drivers not what to do though. #S3RTA1988
— CMPG – Road Policing (@Trafficwmp) September 26, 2016
23 thoughts on “West Midlands Police issues prosecution notices to 14 close-pass drivers”
West Midlands Police wrote:
It’s a road to damascus moment – they can see the truth!
Impressive stuff from the
Impressive stuff from the West Midlands! Let’s hope others follow suit.
This is simply fantastic.
This is simply fantastic. More Of This Sort Of Thing!
This is the kind of policing
This is the kind of policing that can restore faith in the system. Well done!
Please bring this to Bristol and Somerset.
I don’t believe this…. it
I don’t believe this…. it just seems to good to be true. Rules…. on the road…. which are enforced…. what is that about?
Excellent to see this
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.
#chirspylikes
#chirspylikes
it’d be worth feedback directly to the force.
“They must not rely on a
“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!
Great stuff. Truly ground
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.
Yes!
Yes!
ironically I was over taken
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
!
Great news!
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!”.
Issuing 14 drivers with
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-driving-ends-motorist-being-acquitted
ChrisB200SX wrote:
These cases won’t go to a jury, they’ll be tried in the magistrates court. Those 14 prosecution notices are also probably the worst examples the police have seen. They won’t prosecute borderline cases and will only go ahead with cases that exceed the evidential threshold test.
now that the police are
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
Flyingwheels wrote:
That seems a bit of a non-sequitor. Just because the police have realised the connection between bad driving and RTCs doesn’t mean that we should concentrate on an arbitrary niggle that doesn’t result in lots of injuries. You might as well say that motorists should stop parking on pavements because of this development.
Cyclists aren’t a single group and there’s very little I can do to prevent other people from cycling on the pavement (short of shouting at them). The statistics point to pedestrians being far more likely to be killed on the pavement by motorised vehicles rather than cyclists (something like 30 times more likely to be hit by cars). The stats don’t measure non-reported injuries or annoyance though so it’s possible that more people get hit by a bike and don’t recquire hospital. It makes far more sense to focus on issues in terms of importance, so how about we stop motorists killing cyclists first before we start on the Daily Mail list of important issues?
Flyingwheels wrote:
Is there anybody there……….
I’m getting a name, or initials…….
Do the letters L W I L L O mean anything to anyone?
davel wrote:
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
— davel Is there anybody there………. I’m getting a name, or initials……. Do the letters L W I L L O mean anything to anyone?— Flyingwheels
Hmm, similar level of trolling, but the spelling/grammar don’t match. There’s lots of idiots out there.
hawkinspeter wrote:
No, I know… They’re just channelling the essence of Willo.
We all need to start tweeting
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.
I’ve been looking to see if
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?
Maybe time to invest in a
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.
Genuinely impressed. Done
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?