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Police to get VR film to teach drivers about close passing following successful crowdfunding campaign
Cycling UK will supply police forces throughout the country with a close pass virtual reality film and VR headsets after raising £15,000 for the project via Kickstarter.
While every cyclist knows the horrible feeling of suffering a dangerously close pass, many drivers don’t. The 360 degree VR ‘Too Close For Comfort’ film puts drivers ‘in the saddle’ to experience a close pass from a cyclist’s perspective.
In one scenario, filmed with specially trained stunt actors, the driver carries out a dangerous close pass manoeuvre. In the second scenario, the driver waits for a suitable passing point and gives the cyclist plenty of room.
Cycling UK needed to raise £15,000 to supply the 45 police forces operating throughout the UK with the film and VR headsets for free. The charity reached its target within eight days.
The film was put into use by West Midlands Police’s Road Harm Reduction Team on Monday, with drivers pulled over for close passes given the opportunity to watch the film in addition to receiving instruction from Woodgate Valley Community Fire Service on how to overtake cyclists safely.
Nine drivers were stopped for close passing over the course of two hours, one of whom had their licence suspended after failing a roadside eye test.
PC Steve Hudson, of West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team said: “This was the first opportunity to put into operational use the new Cycling UK virtual reality film on close passing, and we’re pleased to say the film was well received.
“At West Midlands Police RHRT, we’re always on the lookout for the best ways to make our roads safer and this short VR film will help people learn through experience the dangers of close passing. I hope we’ll see a wider pick-up of the film across the UK, and that other road safety organisations, such as driver training and re-training instructors will be able to make use of the film too.”
One woman who was pulled over – who did not wish to give her name – said afterwards: "That's changed my perspective - I'd never have thought to give cyclists that much room before."
Cycling UK hopes to begin distributing the film and headsets by the end of November.
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns said: “Making sure the police have the tools they need to educate drivers about the dangers of close passing was always Cycling UK’s first priority, and it’s great to see the film has been well received and is already in use by West Midlands Police.
“Now we’ve surpassed our target, Cycling UK is still keen to raise more funding to put an end to driving that’s too close for comfort. Shortly our enforcers will have the tools they need, but our next step must be to target the educators, so that the next generation of drivers has better awareness and understanding for all vulnerable road users.”
Extra funding raised over the next 16 days will go towards ensuring the film seen as widely as possible and you can contribute here.
Plans include:
- Making the film become a part of driver re-training courses
- Having the film included in online materials signposted to learner drivers.
- Convincing the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland to promote the film as part of a vulnerable road user awareness campaign.
- Taking the film to politicians in Westminster, the Senedd, Holyrood and Stormont so our decision makers can understand the dangers they need to tackle.
- Making sure that those police forces actively conducting close pass operations have access to additional VR headsets and close pass mats to maximise operational effectiveness.
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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15 comments
Personally, I prefer this method...
https://road.cc/content/news/182717-video-how-teach-bus-drivers-give-cyc...
I think drivers understand that if half a tonne of horse rolls over your bonnet and into your lap, you’ll know about it. A cyclist, not so much.
So, it really is nothing to do with "not understanding" and whole lot more to do with "not caring".
Don't see how a VR system will teach people to think of other human beings as human beings, if they don't already. (edit
Unless its connected to aversion therapy, electric shocks and some Beethoven...
(Maybe its time to mount a rake or something on my rack, sharpened points... If its self-preservation and risk of damage to their car that saves horses from sociopathic motorists, I mean).
Common sense isn’t.
The unnamed woman in the story says she would never have thought about giving cyclists more room, before. Yet you'd think that it would be common sense, which didn't need demonstrating with a hi tech shiny new vr device. Honestly, why do so many presumably intelligent people think there's nothing wrong with passing a person on a bicycle so closely at speed? It's not bl00dy rocket science, is it?!
Unless you've been a cyclist and suffered close passes, you don't have the knowledge or experience, and if you've close passed people all your life and never actually killed anyone, what reason is there to change? I see the use of this new tech gadget as using the potential of technology to teach people something they otherwise would never find out, and worth every penny.
...and yet motorists will quite happily slow down and go wide around a horse and rider without the motorist ever having ridden a horse.
I don't think close passes happen just because of the motorist's experience - it's more of a socially acceptable thing to completely discount cyclists and forget that they are actually human (even if dressed like a squirrel).
I think drivers give horses a wide berth due to being scared of the animal. A bicycle is not going to rear up and put a large dent in your nice tin box if you get too close. Horses by their very nature are skittish and can easily cause huge amounts of damge to property and flesh.
So for most it's not really respect for the horse or rider, more a self preservation thing.
...and yet motorists will quite happily slow down and go wide around a horse and rider without the motorist ever having ridden a horse.
I don't think close passes happen just because of the motorist's experience - it's more of a socially acceptable thing to completely discount cyclists and forget that they are actually human (even if dressed like a squirrel).
[/quote]
Good point, I hadn't thought of it like that. Perhaps some enterprising cycle clothing manufacturer could make horse costumes? Even so, I think there must be some lack of empathy which might be addressed if they experienced being close passed.
i have a better and cheaper idea.....have the motorist stand at the edge of the curb whilst the Police car passes them at 60mph 8 inch away from them...I guarantee that person will be educated about close passing
I hope they make it available online as a VR film so cyclists can get friends and family to view it.
It's available on the Cycling UK youtube channel as a 360' film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYU7tWmieQ
As above well done CUK
Count me in - Cycling UK doing what our taxes should pay for.
Excellent news, and is actually something concrete, not just admonitions to share the road, which the drivers, insulated in their steel cocoon, don't hear. I'm sure Sir Chris Hoy will be publicising this, and personally handing out copies.
Well done CUK and great that the target was reached in so short a time, but sad that road safety has to be financed by charities instead of the authorities, but I'm sure this will change now that austerity has finally been declared dead at the tory party conference. Ho, ho, ho.