Cycling police officer catches dangerous driver red-handed during close pass operation

0-0 wrote:

Is there something in the driver's left hand?

The filthy swine.....

wtjs wrote:

Although the vehicle could have maybe done better, it passed with reasonable space and as rule 163 of The Highway Code is only guidance failure to comply with it will, not in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted

best resposne I had from Police Scotland in Glasgow was when I sent them footage of a driver passing within a few cm while I sat waiting to turn right at a traffic light. There were two lanes but he couldn't be bothered moving left into the other one. Police Scotland took no action, they replied to my video noting that he had passed very close "howver, on this occassion no harm was done..."

So there you have it; break all the laws you like, as long as no harm is done there will be no consequences.

I did think the same, reading this article, if you're a serving policeman or possibly a peer of the realm they'll prosecute. If you just a member of the public...meh, not so much

It seems to me that outcomes from close pass operations are significantly different to outcomes from footage submitted by the public. I'm not sure why this is. Acting on public submissions must be far cheaper than mounting these operations and would presumably have the same effect. I wonder if they are not confident about prosecutions as the jury or magistrate would be more likely to take notice of a police witness rather than a member of the public.

May be the same would apply to a peer of the realm but I doubt many cycle going on what is said by some in the house of lords debates on cycling issues.

It seems to me that outcomes from close pass operations are significantly different to outcomes from footage submitted by the public. I'm not sure why this is

I am! Forces which conduct close pass operations differ markedly from those which don't. Lancashire has never conducted such an operation or prosecuted in court any driver for close passing. I think they have never even issued a FPN or caused any licence points to be awarded either, but it's difficult to get that information from a force which doesn't want to admit failings.

Compare this pass from woman driver of Peugeot 208 MC65 NDF with the pass of the police officer above. No response from Lancashire Constabulary

Unfortunately many it appears, including most crimes against women.

Rigobear wrote:

Unfortunately many it appears, including most crimes against women.

Maybe I'm being dim, but how are crimes against women incompetence?  Unless you mean crimes against women cyclists?

I think it is a reference to the depressingly low prosecution rates for cases of rape , sexual assumptions and also domestic violence. The vast, vast majority of rape cases go unprosecuted

I don't think you can tell anything about his road positioning from the photos posted....

That may be where he ended up to avoid getting hit.

rct wrote:

That may be where he ended up to avoid getting hit.

Or maybe he was pretending to be the average, not particularly experienced cyclist. They're the ones most likely to be passed closely precisely because they are riding in the gutter and leaving just enough space for an impatient driver to squeeze past.

FrankH wrote:

Or maybe he was pretending to be the average, not particularly experienced cyclist. They're the ones most likely to be passed closely precisely because they are riding in the gutter and leaving just enough space for an impatient driver to squeeze past.

*sarcasm alert*

Maybe the police officer was riding like that to trap as many motorists as they could..... because it's all about squeezing money out of the poor motorists...

Fursty Ferret wrote:

That is bloody awful road positioning on the part of the police rider. What happened to riding a metre from the pavement, or even taking primary?

You're looking at 3 still photos, not sure how you can ask about road positioning? 

At least they are doing something about it.  At least this can be used to try and publicise how needlessly dangerous driver behaviour like this is.

Fursty Ferret wrote:

That is bloody awful road positioning on the part of the police rider. What happened to riding a metre from the pavement, or even taking primary?

It's perfectly possible that had he retained his original position the photo would have been from under the car.

In any case the overtake was appalling, contravening 163 of both old and new versions of HWC. There is nothing the rider could have done to justify that driving.

We're only human. 
 

I had to submit a file to court for one of the close passes back in September but looking back at it - I should have taken primary (long stretch of narrow road, just after a blind bend, double white lines). 

the reason I was in secondary? Probably because I was quite tired, after trying to keep up with Dame Storey's usual pace and also I hadn't heard the BMW approaching at what looks like 10mph above the speed limit around the blind bend so didn't have the stimulus to reconsider my position. 

Basically - there are loads of reasons you might end up in a bad position. It's still not an excuse for drivers close passing you though.