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Drivers warned not to 'bully' cyclists as Manchester close-pass operation gets underwayClose pass (Greater Manchester Police).jpg

Drivers warned not to 'bully' cyclists as Manchester close-pass operation gets underway

Seven drivers stopped for using their phones in an hour – including one person driving a school bus
by Alex Bowden
Fri, Mar 31, 2017 15:02
11

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) issued warnings to 10 drivers in the first few days of its new close-pass operation. The force also reported stopping seven drivers inside an hour this morning for using their phones at the wheel, including one who was driving a school bus.

The Manchester Evening News reports that a white van driver passed close to an undercover officer on Princess Parkway near Withington tram stop while another honked their horn at a different covert officer on Manchester Old Road in Middleton.

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Gareth Walker, a road policing support officer who has been among those cycling around on bikes mounted with cameras, said: “This is all about trying to educate drivers about what is legally acceptable.

"So far since the operation started in February there have been 13 close passes that we have had to deal with. That is a very worrying number of drivers who think it is acceptable to drive so close to cyclists on the road.”

Offending drivers are being offered ‘on-the spot education’ but those who refuse are likely to be charged and risk fines and penalty points.

The driver of a double-decker bus has been among those spoken to.

Officers have also been cracking down on mobile phone use at the wheel as part of the operation, tweeting this morning:

Announcing the force’s close-pass operation, Inspector Paul Rowe, from GMP’s collision investigation unit, said: “Our warning to reckless drivers is that the next cyclist you overtake could be a police officer. The close pass initiative highlights the need for all road users to be respectful of each other’s space. It is vital that motorists understand that cyclists are given the same rights and protection as any other road user.”

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Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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11 comments

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 7 years ago
1 like

This won't change a thing IMHO, on top of that the 75cm marking is a huge mistake.
We already had a perfectly good law and a diagram in the HC just not enforced and in many cases simply ignored even with evidence which is perverting the course of justice, itself a criminal act(as mentioned above the michael mason caseshould be invextigated and heads roll)
Now this basically states we need a measure to enforce the 'rule' (prove that I'm inside the 1.2m from the riders elbow or 1.5 from centre line) and that people on bikes should only be 75cm from the kerb which as we are discussing on the CUK forum is going to cause massive issues further down the line.

Avatar
Awavey | 7 years ago
2 likes

it would be a useful start even if those forces who werent keen to roll out the scheme themselves, just made it clear to all their officers driving around to follow it as an exemplar. As I firmly believe drivers do take their cue from how the police drive in certain situations and if the police are happy to close pass a cyclist, and two of the close passes I had this week involved police cars, neither were on emergency calls just driving around normally, then everyone following thinks thats the suitable gap to give you, and lo and behold both times the car immediately following the police cars gave virtually the same gap, which Id have said was roughly in line with the "E" of "OVERTAKING" 2

Avatar
cbrndc | 7 years ago
2 likes

"Our warning to reckless drivers is that the next cyclist you overtake could be a police officer."

The next cyclist you overtake will be a human being just trying to get from A to B, going to work, have a family, be a parent, have elderly parents to take care of, have a loving spouse, be a surgeon on the way to perform a life changing operation; or it could be a police officer ehh!!!!  I believe and have experiencev the police will take no notice of video evidence from real cyclists but only act on those drivers that endanger police officers.  They only look after their own.  Micheal Mason I'm thinking of you.

Avatar
bikeman01 | 7 years ago
3 likes

I applaud operation close pass but I really don't think using a graphic where the passing distance is so out of proportion to the rider is helpful. There will be many drivers who look at that graphic and think 'that cyclist could be much closer to the kerb' and 'that's a ridiculous amount of room to pass at'. For many of todays moronic drivers it will be counter productive to use a graphic that so exagerates the distances.

 

This image is much clearer:

 

Avatar
CarlosFerreiro replied to bikeman01 | 7 years ago
0 likes
bikeman01 wrote:

I applaud operation close pass but I really don't think using a graphic where the passing distance is so out of proportion to the rider is helpful. There will be many drivers who look at that graphic and think 'that cyclist could be much closer to the kerb' and 'that's a ridiculous amount of room to pass at'. For many of todays moronic drivers it will be counter productive to use a graphic that so exagerates the distances.

I had the same worries, but this article from SingleTrack puts the WMP process into a lot more perspective and shows they at least are doing the right kind of "get them to think about it" approach.
Unfortunately it also hints that other forces who are doing the same scheme in theory might not be following through with all the effort needed on the ground to make it really effective.

http://singletrackworld.com/columns/2017/03/flaw-on-the-floor/

Avatar
Ric_Stern_RST | 7 years ago
4 likes

wish we had this in sussex.... if anyone from sussex police is reading this... please implement it pronto 1

Avatar
Grahamd | 7 years ago
8 likes

Anybody breaking the law whilst driving a PSV should receive an immediate and lasting disqualification. 

Avatar
burtthebike replied to Grahamd | 7 years ago
2 likes
Grahamd wrote:

Anybody breaking the law whilst driving a PSV should receive an immediate and lasting disqualification. 

Exactly! 

I well remember terminating a call to the manager of a local bus company when it became clear that he wass driving a bus.  Worst I’ve ever seen was the driver of a minibus going through a red light with a phone in his hand.

 

Avatar
Dnnnnnn replied to Grahamd | 7 years ago
0 likes
Grahamd wrote:

Anybody breaking the law whilst driving a PSV should receive an immediate and lasting disqualification. 

Unfortunately, even when hauled up in front of the Traffic Commissioners it doesn't always happen - just a warning in some cases I know of.

Avatar
Dnnnnnn | 7 years ago
13 likes

Combined spotting of close passes AND mobile phone using drivers must be like shooting fish in a barrel...

Avatar
davel | 7 years ago
16 likes

"Our warning to reckless drivers is that the next cyclist you overtake could be a police officer."

Bravo. WMP's spirit is spreading.

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