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

West Midlands Police say all 16 forces who attended a close pass training day showed a "real keenness" to take on the initiative...

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.

*This article was amended on 19th January to say Cycliq donated the cameras; it previously said Madison UK donated the cameras. Madison UK has since taken on distribution of Cycliq and is now working with UK close pass operation police forces to provide cameras.

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49 comments

Avatar
BrokenBootneck | 6 years ago
0 likes

Hampshire rolled theirs out in April.  Then rolled it away again never to seen. 

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Sepulchre | 6 years ago
0 likes

#OpClosePass on Twitter if anyone's interested in following this.

 

Camden borough in London are using this initative to crush cars instead of fines.

http://road.cc/content/news/211546-drivers-north-london-borough-caught-close-passing-cyclist-twice-year-could-have

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dassie | 7 years ago
1 like

Abingdon Road, Oxford would be a good one to trial; catch drivers using their mobiles while driving at the same time.

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RockhopperJ | 7 years ago
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Love the sound of this and more should be done in to the wider media so the people that matter i.e. the motorists get to hear more about it... I worry about the reality of enforcement especially where I live in the countryside as these things happen incredibly fast and usually for me when there isnt a lot other traffic around.  

I would even say my local Solihull Police Force need some awareness training... having been twice 'close passed' by the same copper driving a 3-series BMW and once whilst he was either texting or playing candy crush (who knows!) on his smartphone! Video on my Youtube channel but no response from Solihull Police, despite me reporting it to them! 

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Ray Ford | 7 years ago
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I wonder why it is not one North East England Police Force attended the close pass policing initiative given how congested our roads are?

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Guanajuato | 7 years ago
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Kendal red, I share your disappointment with Cumbria police to an extent. But I've shared it on Twitter with the roads police unit and they are interested, but it's much harder to do in such a sparsely populated area. There's some bits where there's a definite problem (ambleside/Windermere comes to mind). But with a huge network of narrow lanes, it's a tricky proposition. Don't know about you, but I've had several lovely rides spoiled by the idiot drivers within Kendal itself. Something strange happens to motorists as soon as they pass the signs on the a6, a65 etc.

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WiznaeMe | 7 years ago
1 like

More than ninety per cent of Driving Instructors are self-employed and most are middle aged non-cyclists.  Facebook forums on cycling quickly descend into the usual 'tax disc, no insurance', rubbish that is seen elsewhere on social media.

The only body that can put them under pressure to change their priorities is the DVSA through their Standards Check system.  This is a review process every three or four years which each instructor has to undergo.  If that was skewed towards the vulnerable road user then change may occur.  

To be fair most instructors will teach their clients to be careful and give an appropriate distance when overtaking cyclists, but it doesn't mean they will feel any affinity towards us.

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jollygoodvelo replied to WiznaeMe | 7 years ago
1 like

WiznaeMe wrote:

To be fair most instructors will teach their clients to be careful and give an appropriate distance when overtaking cyclists, [...]

That's literally all I ask.  Just enough space and an acceptance that I have a right to be on the road even if I'm going a little slower than a car.

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ktache | 7 years ago
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Kil0ran,  I see driving instructors driving in many bad ways all the time, I tend to ask them if that's what they would teach their students.

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brooksby | 7 years ago
1 like

Apparently Avon & Somerset reckon that they will go with the inititive, according to the Bristol Post - http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/police-cyclists-could-soon-be-undercover-in...

(Its a horrible clickbaity local news site, but it's worth reading for the below-the-line comments if you feel your blood pressure is a bit low... yes )

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userfriendly | 7 years ago
2 likes

Quote:

[...] and Police Scotland

Quote:

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

[...]

“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."

yyyYYYYYAAAAAAAAASSSSSssss! yes laugh

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ct | 7 years ago
2 likes

How unsurprising that not a single Welsh service could be arsed attending.

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grumpyoldcyclist replied to ct | 7 years ago
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ct wrote:

How unsurprising that not a single Welsh service could be arsed attending.

North Wales Police didn't need to attend, they already have a scheme up and running. Also operation snap runs to collect camera footage from all sources, cycles and motors, to prosecute bad driving. Had feedback about the footage I submitted last year for hand held phone use and close passes. They were mostly followed up with prosecutions or attending a course (at a cost of £100)

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OldRidgeback | 7 years ago
3 likes

I hope the Met here in London also take up this initiative.

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CumbrianDynamo replied to OldRidgeback | 7 years ago
1 like
OldRidgeback wrote:

I hope the Met here in London also take up this initiative.

Exactly, and if their budgets are being squeezed this would seem an easy way to get themselves back into credit. Could probably give them a few hundred pounds worth of examples each time I venture onto the capital's roads!

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SvenAB | 7 years ago
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Disappointed, but not surprised, to see that Northumbria weren't involved. Shame.

My commuting experiences this winter have made me search the interweb for cycling cameras, but I'm not sure if the local constabulary would even be interested. I had made a resolution to try and be more polite and relaxed about the whole thing, but it's difficult when something seems to happen every single day.

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gthornton101 replied to SvenAB | 7 years ago
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SvenAB wrote:

Disappointed, but not surprised, to see that Northumbria weren't involved. Shame.

My commuting experiences this winter have made me search the interweb for cycling cameras, but I'm not sure if the local constabulary would even be interested. I had made a resolution to try and be more polite and relaxed about the whole thing, but it's difficult when something seems to happen every single day.

 

Indeed.  I'd be very tempted to buy a small GoPro Hero cube (or whatever they are called) if I knew that local police would take any notice of it.  It seems that often video footage clearly showing licence plate/driver/offence somehow doesn't count as evidence!

 

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Kendalred | 7 years ago
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Slightly disappointed but not really surprised Cumbria Constabulary not involved. Knowing a few 'insiders' though various avenues, the budgets are constantly being butchered, and the geography of the county must make this type of thing quite difficult to pull together. I also think that we have perhaps slightly less of a problem than some other parts of the country - but that's not saying we don't have a problem.

I suspect as this project is rolled out to more and more areas, the pressure to join in will increase, and it's up to us to apply that pressure (local press, writing to MP's etc).

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jollygoodvelo | 7 years ago
1 like

I note that Essex Pol weren't listed.  Not that I'm surprised exactly.  Anyone got any ideas how to push them on this?  

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RobD replied to jollygoodvelo | 7 years ago
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jollygoodvelo wrote:

I note that Essex Pol weren't listed.  Not that I'm surprised exactly.  Anyone got any ideas how to push them on this?  

 

Doesn't surprise me either, definitely seems worse here than other places I've ridden, then again, the general drop off of simple things like indicating or using the correct lanes for roundabouts seems to have gotten much worse in the past couple of years around here.

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fatsmoker | 7 years ago
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I've just seen a rozzer on a bike without any lights on. 08.17am, and it is still pretty dark and grim out there. 

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kil0ran replied to fatsmoker | 7 years ago
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fatsmoker wrote:

I've just seen a rozzer on a bike without any lights on. 08.17am, and it is still pretty dark and grim out there. 

Probably legal depending on where you are in the country. Sunrise was around 8am this morning.

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Schweiz | 7 years ago
0 likes

#get safe on road

#road.cc team

#cycleing knowlege

#ROADS BELONG TO PEOPLE

#make progress stay live

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brooksby replied to Schweiz | 7 years ago
1 like

Schweiz wrote:

#get safe on road

#road.cc team

#cycleing knowlege

#ROADS BELONG TO PEOPLE

#make progress stay live

Erm - what?

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steviemarco | 7 years ago
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North Yorkshire and Cleveland Constabulary..... There are lots of cyclists on your roads too, get with the program!

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Rapha Nadal | 7 years ago
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Well, Sussex is in there so let's hope the idiotic driving reduces in Brighton & the surrounding areas!

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WillRod | 7 years ago
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Good to see it being rolled out nationally county by county.

I'm moving from Suffolk to Cambridgeshire soon, but ironically one of the cycling capitals of the UK doesn't seem interested? Looks like I will keep returning to Suffolk for enjoyable bike rides!

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huntswheelers replied to WillRod | 7 years ago
1 like

WillRod wrote:

Good to see it being rolled out nationally county by county.

I'm moving from Suffolk to Cambridgeshire soon, but ironically one of the cycling capitals of the UK doesn't seem interested? Looks like I will keep returning to Suffolk for enjoyable bike rides!

 

Cambridgeshire are great at Bull5hitting on being the County of Cycling..... total crap...it's all Cambridge Centric and the rest of the county gets nowt....  I'm pushing for more Close Pass enforcement & the local Plod in Huntingdon latest initiatives....are Illegal & Bad Parking, Cycling Safety and Bad Driving.... I live in hope

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Cantab replied to huntswheelers | 7 years ago
0 likes

huntswheelers wrote:

WillRod wrote:

Good to see it being rolled out nationally county by county.

I'm moving from Suffolk to Cambridgeshire soon, but ironically one of the cycling capitals of the UK doesn't seem interested? Looks like I will keep returning to Suffolk for enjoyable bike rides!

 

Cambridgeshire are great at Bull5hitting on being the County of Cycling..... total crap...it's all Cambridge Centric and the rest of the county gets nowt....  I'm pushing for more Close Pass enforcement & the local Plod in Huntingdon latest initiatives....are Illegal & Bad Parking, Cycling Safety and Bad Driving.... I live in hope

Cambridge is the enlightened cycling island because the countryside around us is filled with parochial close-pass merchants. Which is also why we aren't getting a close pass initiative because those same hicks keep electing Tory PCCs who only care to satisfy the Daily Hate brigade by targeting 'cycling safety' in the form of driving cyclists off the road (almost literally in the case of some pandas).

Good luck with Huntingdon's law, I've tried to raise issues with Cambridge City constabulary without ever receiving a response.

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armb replied to Cantab | 7 years ago
0 likes

Cantab wrote:

Cambridge is the enlightened cycling island because the countryside around us is filled with parochial close-pass merchants. Which is also why we aren't getting a close pass initiative because those same hicks keep electing Tory PCCs who only care to satisfy the Daily Hate brigade by targeting 'cycling safety' in the form of driving cyclists off the road (almost literally in the case of some pandas).

Cambridge city police and council aren't much better than the county though. Cambridge has a lot of students who aren't allowed to keep cars in the city, and a lot of former students who stayed when they got jobs locally who realise cycling is the best way to get about the city, especially the medieval street layout of the centre, so cycling is seen as normal and most drivers are used to sharing the road with cyclists. (And it's fairly flat, and has relatvely low rainfall.)

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