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Police in Ipswich hold close pass operation

Drivers were given the opportunity to be educated on safe passing distances and the hazards cyclists face

Police in Ipswich have this week held a close pass operation targeting motorists who fail to give cyclists enough room when overtaking them or who put them in danger through issues such as tailgating or left hooks.

The operation, held in the centre of the Suffolk county town yesterday, saw plain clothes officers riding bicycles equipped with action cameras to capture evidence of poor driving, reports the Ipswich Star.

When an incident occurred, they would report them to uniformed colleagues on motorbikes, who would then flag down the motorist concerned.

Except in cases of drug-driving or dangerous driving, motorists were given the opportunity to be escorted to a location where they would undergo voluntary education on how to pass cyclists safely.

Advice given included showing them the recommended 1.5-metre safe passing distance with the help of a mat, crowdfunded by the charity Cycling UK and distributed to police forces around the UK, as well as being informed of hazards cyclists face.

Motorists declining the offer risked being reported for careless driving.

The award-winning close pass initiative was originally developed by traffic officers at West Midlands Police in 2016, and has since been taken up by forces across the country.

Such operations are regularly highlighted to written and broadcast media, meaning that they gain wider exposure beyond just the drivers who were stopped.

According to West Midlands Police, in the first year its initiative was in operation, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on the region’s roads fell by a fifth.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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stonojnr | 4 years ago
1 like

The issue for me is the WMP initiative is in constant use all year,hence they can cite data of its effectiveness over the year, in Ipswich it's a yearly one off, one day on one part of the towns roads, the next day the same team moved to Norwich and did the same thing (because traffic police is combined Norfolk/Suffolk), offering education to over 20 drivers from both days apparently.

Which is positive,but what about the other 364 days of the year as a cyclist in Ipswich? you are left fending for yourself again, did I notice a sudden increase in space for cyclists on Ipswich roads as a result, no the very next day it was same as always multiple overtakes within 1.5m, usual aggressive driver behaviour when you take prime, cars pulling out in front of you,trucks,buses giving you no room etc etc

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Hirsute | 4 years ago
0 likes

When this was done where I live, there were a couple of comments on the local rag that the exercise was 'entrapment' of car drivers

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Sriracha | 4 years ago
3 likes

Could they donate one of those mats to the roads department, so they can check that it fits correctly inside a painted 'cycle lane'.

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CygnusX1 replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
3 likes

It does. Rolled up.

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bikeman01 replied to CygnusX1 | 4 years ago
0 likes

Looks like they've reduced the safe passing distance from 1.5 mtrs to about 1mtr.

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EK Spinner replied to bikeman01 | 4 years ago
1 like

at least they appear to have also removed the dimension between the rider and the kerb, telling us we should ride 750mm from the kerb was outrageous.

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