[bikes]

I keep getting close passed on a section of my commute. It’s a two lane 30 mph road and the lanes are relatively wide. I ride primary but still get regularly close passed. I often catch up with them at the lights and a common reaction is they’re apologetic and have no idea that passing so close is an issue. I appreciate the generous distances most drivers give but then a lot either haven’t heard of the 1.5m rule, or they ignore it. If the police ran a close pass operation here it would be a busy day for them.

How will the active travel goals ever be reached if this is what it’s like to cycle? Who can I write to? The police, the council (for the road design), my MP? Is it a waste of time?

Topic

[bikes]

Would your local paper like
Would your local paper like this story? 7 years and the police being notified about it is quite something.

[Hirsute]

I don’t think that’s fair,

I don’t think that’s fair, sometimes the system is slow to update !

[wtjs]

Your main and almost

Your main and almost insuperable problem is the almost limitless tolerance and sympathy the police display towards motorists, especially in their interactions with us ‘rats of the road’. WU59 UMH is well known to the police and to my fans on here having today achieved a landmark 7 full years without VED. Didn’t quite make the 7 years without MOT, but was driving around for 6 months after an MOT failed for several “dangerous” defects. It was regularly parked for hours at a time, including most of last Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, outside the pub 150 yards from the police station. If only there was some way for the crack Police Squad to locate the vehicle and owner and view the MOT and VED history of the vehicle! The trailer does not, of course, display a number plate

[wtjs]

You didn’t mention The
You didn’t mention The Scottish Dodge, whereby if, by witchcraft, you manage to force your HD video upon the reluctant Scottish Police and they visit the Alleged Offender: the AO only has to state that he doesn’t recall the incident for the SP to NFA the report

[chrisonabike]

Add Scotland to that list. 

Add Scotland to that list.  You won’t even find a dashcam reporting portal in Scotland either so you can forget that also.

[Hirsute]

Without knowing the police
Without knowing the police force, it is hard to say other than you are wasting your time with lancs, Essex, Surrey, Suffolk, Norfolk.

Get a camera, rear facing and report via the police portal.

[Bungle_52]

I am afraid you won’t be able

I am afraid you won’t be able to stop close passes but you can play your part in trying to hold drivers to account which may reduce the problem in the long term.

First thing to do is work out what police force you come under and see if they run OpSnap or some other system for receiving video footage of incidents during your ride.

If they do then you will need a camera. Battery life will be a major factor when choosing a camera. You can get away with shorter life if you can get spare batteries and change them at work before your return journey. Low light performance is an issue even with some expensive cameras and if this is the case a mic input is useful so you can call out number plates. The ideal would be front and rear fixed cameras and a headcam but this is something to build up to.

You then read the instructions on the police web site and report driving you deem to be inconsiderate or dangerous. At this point you will suffer one or both of the following. The police will take no action against the driver. The police will not tell you the outcome of your report.

You then need to email your PCC and MP to see if they will help. Unlikely. You can also send your videos in to roadcc NMOTD and get advice from commenters who report already, some of whom may be in the same area as you.

It is very easy to get disheartened when reporting but I feel it is important to keep it up. I’ve been reporting in Gloucestershire since 2020. Here is my first ever.

Near Miss of the Day 461: Very dangerous overtake in the rain

In all that time only two drivers have had points and a fine and I think one of those was because the oncoming van had to stop. I still report and in 2024 nearly all my reports have met with (as yet unspecified) action. If it was “just” a close pass then it was NFA but the assessor did take the time to explain why. Things should have changed now though as they have said they are going to send out advisory letters for close passes so I’m going to start reporting them again.

Finally good luck if you decide to join us vigilantes/road safety campaigners. (delete as appropriate)

 

[Author]

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