Of all the challenges that test we cyclists, surely the close pass is the worst. When we asked 800 riders to share their top gripes, being overtaken too close by a motorist was far and away the least popular aspect of life on two wheels. And it’s hardly surprising given this dangerous practice by drivers is at best frightening and at worst life threatening.
The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has started a petition calling on the Department for Transport to raise awareness of the issue and educate the public, so that close passing is not only illegal, but socially unacceptable.
“LCC has successfully campaigned for the introduction of Dutch-style cycling infrastructure in London – such as physically protected cycle lanes. But on a lot of our roads, cars and cycles will still have to share the same space. That’s why it’s great and long overdue news that Transport Minister Jesse Norman has just announced that “training materials and support” will be provided to police forces across the UK to help them crack down on close passing of cyclists by drivers. However, this alone won’t keep people cycling safe: from the moment someone starts learning to drive they need to be trained in how to overtake safely, and a public education campaign is needed to make sure all drivers share the road responsibly. Please sign the petition today, calling on the Department for Transport to raise awareness of the issue and educate the public, so that close passing becomes socially unacceptable.”
Close passes by motorists are as much a part of cycling on British roads as potholes, but there can be only two possible explanations for why a motorist overtakes dangerously close to a cyclist – incompetence or malice.
In the absence of widespread and good quality infrastructure to protect cyclists from motorised traffic, The Safer Roads Partnership and operational policing teams from both Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police have pioneered Operation Close Pass – a scheme to reduce the number of cyclists killed or injured on their region’s roads. Close passes are intimidating and nationally account for around a third of all threatening incidents between drivers and cyclists.
The initiative, which is now being adopted by other forces, uses plain clothes officers on bikes equipped with front and rear facing cameras. Any driver seen passing closer than the recommended distance (1.5 metres) is pulled over.
The results are encouraging with the number of cyclists killed or seriously hurt on the region’s roads reduced by 20 per cent since West Midlands Police launched the operation.
Almost 200 offenders have been pulled over during close-pass operations. In 13 cases the standard of driving was so poor that drivers were prosecuted. Another 350 others were fined and received penalty points after officers reviewed helmet footage provided by cyclists.
PC Mark Hodson, from West Midlands Police’s Force Traffic Unit, said of Operation Close Pass: “I am in no doubt the operation has played a big part in that reduction: we regularly speak to cycling groups and their members are telling us that the message is getting through to drivers. They are, on the whole, being more considerate and understand we will prosecute them if they endanger cyclists. To see a fall of 20 per cent in the number of serious collisions involving cyclists is incredible especially against a backdrop of increasing numbers of people cycling on our roads. We’ve seen reports of close-passes halve in the West Midlands since we started the project and it’s great that so many other regions are looking to adopt the approach.”
Operation Close Pass is welcome – not least because it demonstrates that the police forces concerned are proactive in their concern for vulnerable road users.
The photograph at the top the page was taken by a coordinator at the Richmond Borough group of London Cycling Campaign when he was out with his 7-year-old daughter. Luckily the dangerous driving did not injure the little girl…or put her off cycling. Perhaps those drivers putting lives at risk in this way should be asked whether their actions are due to incompetence or malice before they are dealt with appropriately. Motorists who drive carelessly or dangerously to such an extent that they kill or seriously injure a cyclist routinely walk away from court with little more than a slap on the wrist. Little wonder that drivers overtake too close with impunity.
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TVJohn
When I chastised a driver the other day about his close pass I was told to ‘pay road tax’. With such breathtaking ignorance being prevalent I fear we have a long way to go.
EdRowe
Last week I was closely passed by a motorist who sounded his horn just as he was going past and then immediately cut in to within centimetres of the kerb. This seemed to me to be aggressive and dangerous in the extreme. The car stopped a bit further up the road, and I decided to find out why the driver had behaved in this way. I approached the car, making it clear that I was videoing the interaction and had recorded the numberplate, to try to make it less likely that I would be physically assaulted. The response from the driver was that he had beeped at me because I was “doing 5 mph on a dual carriageway”. When I pointed out that it is not illegal to ride a bicycle on a dual carriageway, whereas to use a car horn to intimidate is illegal, he became very abusive and said that he had only sounded his horn “to warn you”. Then he drove off making rude gestures.
As a cyclist in a rural area, I encounter life-threatening situations like this several times a week. The North Wales police force have zero awareness of what it means to cycle. Whenever I approach a police officer and ask for advice about what to do about dangerous motorists, I am told to wear a helmet (which I do, not because I think it makes things any safer, but because it cuts out some of the abusive comments) and use the cycle path (which I do when I am going that way). Which is exactly the same “you shouldn’t be on the road” attitude that the dangerous drivers have.
I’ve wondered whether we should have a #BikeStrike one day a year, when we all refuse to cycle. Maybe on the anniversary of the introduction of the “dangerous cycling” law. Even considering the pitiful proportion of UK journeys made by bike, it seems likely that giving the motorists free rein for a day would cause a spike in pollution levels and casualty rates. But I guess that isn’t justifiable – we should not risk people’s lives by not cycling.
Lee H
Hi, I agree with the dangers of close passing but I think many cyclists also need to stop undertaking vehicles, as this is just as dangerous to both parties. You see this with slow moving traffic or whilst traffic is waiting at lights or a junction. This undertaking (on the road, pavement, verges) then puts the cyclist ahead of cars & lorries that had already passed them (safely) and now have to again, which in turn might cause additional frustrations and might account for some of the close passing we see.
We all need to follow the rules and I’m sorry but my experience of commuter cyclists have a very poor record of this. The undertaking also slows the traffic as we all have to safely pass them again and maybe again on the commute home causing more delays and congestion.
Bob
\”cyclists also need to stop undertaking vehicles”
it’s not undertaking, it’s classed as filtering and its legal for cycles and motorcycles, the highway code rule 160 says
“be aware of other road users, especially cycles and motorcycles who may be filtering through the traffic. These are more difficult to see than larger vehicles and their riders are particularly vulnerable. Give them plenty of room, especially if you are driving a long vehicle or towing a trailer”
Placing the duty on vehicle drivers to avoid them.
Davis Vs Shrogin (2006) ruled “a filtering motorcyclist passing stationary or very slow moving traffic could not be to blame if a collision occurred if the rider had no chance to take avoiding action”.”
Filtering on the left of a lane of traffic is risky though and requires considerable care
Given the number of motorists who believe cyclists & motorcyclists are in the wrong for filtering, It is strange that that is what vehicle drivers are effectively doing when they try to overtake a cycle or motorcycle wholly or partially in the same lane. They consider it unacceptable for cyclists for whom it is legal but perfectly acceptable for them.
Drivers are also happy to ignore highway code rule 163 “give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car” and rule 213 “Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make.” and rule 167 “stay behind if you are following a cyclist approaching a roundabout or junction, and you intend to turn left” and overtaking cyclists in places where you should not overtake (rules 165-168) is endemic (approaching a corner or bend, a hump bridge, the brow of a hill, a road junction on either side of the road, when you would force another road user to swerve or slow down among others),
Bob
The reason for close passes in many cases is quite obvious, drivers are overtaking where they cannot see very far along the road ahead and if they meet oncoming traffic their intention is to pull back in to avoid a head on collision, a manoeuvre that is highly likely to mean they will collide with the cyclist, I refer to it as the ‘kill the cyclist, overtaking manoeuvre’.
Even watching other motorists on single track roads, they seem to believe that keeping as far left as possible will somehow avoid a head on collision, even when the road isn’t wide enough for two vehicles to pass..
This brings me to another change in the motoring law/rules that is desperately needed, more cyclists are killed on rural roads than by lorries in town, the reason for this is pretty obvious to anyone who cycles on rural roads, whether they’re overtaking or meet an oncoming cyclist on a single track road then motorists will almost invariably try to squeeze pass the cyclist.
By far the safest way of cyclist & motorist passing when meeting on a single track road as oncoming traffic is for the motorist to stop and allow the cyclist to pass the car, they virtually never do this. Vehicle drivers can never be totally aware of the precise extent of their vehicle and especially the wake that it produces wheras the cyclist can see the outside of the vehicle. and how close they are getting to it. Of course if the cyclist moves onto the verge then the car can proceed but should not until the cyclist has properly removed themself from the road. Almost always as a cyclist will start to get off (or ride) to go to the edge of the road to let a vehicle by, the vehicle driver will try to squeeze past before the cyclist has got to safety, (the latter problem applies to whether they’re oncoming traffic or a vehicle coming up behind a cyclist.)