Camden police to copy West Midlands close-pass initiative

Met Police are to copy the close-pass initiative recently launched by West Midlands Police. They have warned drivers in Camden to give cyclists room, adding that the rider in question could be a police officer.

West Midlands Police recently announced a new scheme which sees a traffic officer riding the most vulnerable locations for cyclists looking to instantly act upon close passes, distracted driving and so forth. When passed too close, the cycling officer lets a colleague up the road know and the motorist is stopped.

BikeBiz reports that something similar may be on the cards in Camden. Sergeant Clarke of the Camden Town with Primrose Hill police station tweeted:

Copying @WMPolice cycle safety enforcement @MPSCamandPrim will b doing same.If you drive in camden give @camdencyclists room #couldbepolice

— Sgt Clarke (@MPSCamdenTnSgt) September 16, 2016

The new approach came about following analysis of road traffic collisions involving cyclists in the West Midlands region. Police concluded that rather than telling motorists to ‘look out’ for cyclists, their time and effort was best spent enforcing the law, “thus creating a scenario whereby should someone not give a cyclist the time and space necessary or fail to see them completely they should expect to be prosecuted.”

The initiative has been hailed by Cycling UK as the “best cyclist road safety initiative ever.”