South Worcestershire Police Commander Steph Brighton said his force would place plainclothes officers on bicycles to catch passing motorists. “The threat is too great,” he tweeted on September 14.
“I intentionally endangered officers,” added Superintendent Brighton.
Many police forces in the UK have ‘stings’ in which plainclothes officers display themselves in front of their uniformed colleagues when they pass motorists too close to them.
“The Highway Code states that motorists deserve to give bicyclists at least the same area as [motor] cars when passing,” said a member of the West Midlands Police, who presented their “Operation Closure” initiative. Pass ”in 2016.
The force said it is the first in the UK to “proactively target drivers crossing nearby who put them at risk”.
According to traffic code rule 163, motorists will have to give bicyclists, as well as drivers and motorcyclists, “at least as much room as you can to pass a car. “
“Anyone walking within this passing distance, which is seen as a minimum of 1. 5 meters, runs the risk of being prosecuted for driving without due care and attention,” say West Midlands Police.
Several British police forces have carried out diversifications of ‘Operation Close-Pass’, it seems that, neighboring the West Midlands Police, the West Mercia Police is not one of them.
[UPDATE: West Mercia police have since tweeted that they will carry out Operation Close Pass. ]
“Unfortunately, the Op Close Pass will take a stand [in this region],” Superintendent Brighton tweeted in response to a request from the Bike Worcester cycle advocacy group.
“The protection of the officers is my priority,” he said, “and an assessment of physical condition and protection through a specialist who has spoken with other forces has made us think that the threat is too great. “
The West Midlands Police are proactive.
“Officers are saddling some of the busiest routes in the region looking for drivers who put cyclists at risk,” he said.
“They will radio the main points of the drivers very close to the companions on board to avoid the drivers. Drivers will receive educational information on the road about passing, but repeat offenders, or anyone known to have driven dangerously close to a bicyclist, can expect to be prosecuted and brought to justice.
One year after the arrival of Operation Close-Pass, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on the roads of the West Midlands police region has dropped to a fifth.
Superintendent Brighton said she would expand on the comments she made online, noting that responses to her original tweet distorted her point of view.
“So I advised an assembly instead of trying to use very few words on Twitter,” he said.
“The roads are dangerous: the proposed operation was carried out when there are other means of approaching them for the protection and obtain advantages of all”.
UPDATE: After Superintendent Brighton’s tweet went viral, West Mercia Police tweeted: “We apologize for any confusion surrounding our participation in Op Close Pass; while we consider fitness and protection concerns, we can verify that we will participate.
I am sending journalist of the year 2018 in the Press Gazette. I’m also a historian – my most recent books include “Roads Were Not Built for Cars” and “Bike Boom”, both
Transportation Journalist of the Year 2018 via Press Gazette. I’m also a historian – my most recent books include “Roads Were Not Built for Cars” and “Bike Boom,” published through Island Press, Washington, D. C.