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Police use close pass footage to highlight dangerous driving... but insisted "no offence was committed" when incident was reported

Wilmslow Police were challenged when a cyclist spotted a still taken from footage he’d submitted to them

Cheshire Police have conceded that they didn’t take action on an incident that they themselves are using as an example of an unsafe pass of a cyclist. When this was pointed out to them by the cyclist who’d actually shot the footage, an officer explained that while the overtake provided an opportunity to highlight the kind of inconsiderate driving that cyclists are subjected to, “no offence was committed.”

Earlier today, Wilmslow Police tweeted the below image while linking to Highway Code rules on overtaking.

This was spotted by Richard from Macclesfield, from whose video the image was taken.

When he'd submitted the footage to the force, he was told: "The footage you’ve supplied doesn’t meet the minimum threshold of an offence so unfortunately on this occasion no action will be taken against another party."

Somewhat put out to see the incident being used in this way given the response he’d had, Richard replied: “Dear Police. That’s my photo. Your dashcam PC said no offence was committed so the driver didn’t even get a warning. Ironic that you are using it in your campaign.”

Another user asked Richard if the force was pretending it had taken action against an unsafe driver.

Wilmslow Police responded: “Sorry that you've miss read [sic] our tweet as at no point does it say or imply that we took action.

“As Richard said no offence was committed, it did however provided us with an opportunity to highlight some of the inconsiderate driving that cyclists have to put up with.”

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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21 comments

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zero_trooper | 3 years ago
1 like

There's a straightforward offence of inconsiderate driving i.e. 'driving without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place'. 
It comes under Sec. 3 of the Road Traffic Act, the same act and section that gives us 'careless driving'.

So Wilmslow police have shot themselves in the (Twitter) foot really.

However, as the overtake is 'driving inappropriately close to another vehicle' I think that this is actually 'careless driving' and that's from the CPS guidelines 

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Robert Hardy | 3 years ago
0 likes

He gives the cyclist a fair bit of room during the actual passing, it is the driver and occupants of the oncoming car who are given almost no room.

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Bungle_52 replied to Robert Hardy | 3 years ago
2 likes

The recommendation for cars doing 30mph is 1.5m with the cyclist .75m from the kerb. That means a gap of 2.25m. It doesn't look any where near that to me. Taking into account this is a lorry travelling at speed with the attendant air disturbances and the terrible consequences for the rider if s/he fell under the wheels I think the cylist was put in a great deal of danger.

That's not to say the oncoming car fared much better. Even more reason for a prosecution in my opinion. Dangerous driving in my book but an easy driving with out due care I would think.

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zero_trooper replied to Bungle_52 | 3 years ago
0 likes

Whilst I'm always cautious with figures, agree with all of the above.

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nniff | 3 years ago
1 like

Observe how the standards change to suit the maker of the standards when those standards become inconvenient to their position.  Thus ".......overtaking them in an unsafe manner"  and "........ how NOT to overtake a cyclist" and "......explaining how to overtake safely" morph into "inconsiderate" when challenged. 

Howver, the use of the word 'safe' supports Cheshire Police's mission, which is "Delivering Even Safer Communities for the Whole of Cheshire' and, in doing so, we must put 'victims first' and protect vulnerable people".

Integrity is a necessary part of delivering a public service and such equivocation in the face of such an explicit mission is duplicitous.  Shameful.

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zero_trooper | 3 years ago
1 like

<facepalm>

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Richard D | 3 years ago
5 likes

Ah, Schroedinger's Motoring Offence.

"no offence was committed, it did however provided (sic) us with an opportunity to highlight some of the inconsiderate driving that cyclists have to put up with.”

So driving in Wilmslow must be considerate to other road users (because inconsiderate driving is an offence, under section 3 of the Road Traffic Act), but where it is inconsiderate to cyclists it doesn't count.

Seems a bit odd to me, as in their list of how driving might be careless or inconsiderate the CPS put "driving too close to another vehicle" in second place.

Makes me wonder how we're supposed to expect road safety to improve.  Might be that my choice to carry a metal water bottle will open up new opportunities for "restorative justice" when close-passed  2

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Mybike | 3 years ago
6 likes

I still think the bravest people are UK cyclist. Its like motiorst can just go around doing anything they want, and think of some crazy excusse to get away with it. The sun was in my eyes, I had to get to work on time, my car to big for this small road, are all valid reason to kill a cycilist in the UK . And the courts still blame the cyclist because they were not wearing a helemt or hi viz over a drunk driver.

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kylemalco | 3 years ago
10 likes

If these close pass situations aren't an offence then the law needs to change. The police cannot be given an easy out. Your passing a vulnerable road user, show some respect for that life and their family.

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Richard D replied to kylemalco | 3 years ago
4 likes

The law is clear.  The problem is with the muppets who are supposed to obey the law, and the even bigger muppets who are supposed to enforce it.

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grumpyoldcyclist | 3 years ago
4 likes

Cheshire police were generally very poor in taking action. I used to regulary submit footage to them, but eventually gave up. Have to be fair though, when I got footage of a van running a red light, they picked that up immediately and took it on. Easy pickings I suppose.

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Les Ed | 3 years ago
4 likes

On a slightly different note. In the dim and distance past when doing my teacher training course one thing we told not to do was give an example of how not to do something as someone wouldn't be listening and think that is how it's done. I do know there is a link there showing how to pass a cyclist that is what they should be showing.

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Pilot Pete | 3 years ago
23 likes

They could really do with getting their act together sharpish - my wife is Cycling and Walking Champion on Cheshire East Council (Wilmslow and Macclesfield are both in Cheshire East) and has worked extensively last year in trialling a close pass operation which is being rolled out on the spring.

It does not fill me with confidence if cyclists are going to have to be hit before Cheshire Police consider an offence has been committed....

I will be drawing my wife's attention to this and asking her to follow it up with the Superintendent who she liases with.

PP

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Bungle_52 replied to Pilot Pete | 3 years ago
7 likes

Please let us know the outcome. On the face of it this seems ridiculous. Not even a letter!!!!!!

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wtjs replied to Pilot Pete | 3 years ago
10 likes

I will be drawing my wife's attention to this and asking her to follow it up with the Superintendent who she liases with

He (or she, no sexism here) is already sniggering himself to death. Remember Essex police (on here somewhere) who claimed a close-pass at speed wasn't an offence because the rider hadn't 'braked or wobbled'? Lancashire has an extensive repertoire of reasons why things aren't offences, beyond the usual 'didn't see the cyclist', 'didn't mean to do it' stuff: 'it was only a momentary loss of concentration', 'we need a confirmatory video from the offending vehicle even though we already have a technically excellent video which proves the offence beyond dispute' or (the final resort) just ignoring the report.

However, in the interests of balance, I should report that Lancashire Constabulary has only today confirmed that BMW psycho-driver of J111 KDW is genuinely still awaiting a court date, and gave me the court reference! He was travelling at least 50 in a 30 limit, when I was doing 20, performed an alarming close-pass and crossed the unbroken white line and had to brake as he came up to another vehicle on the humpback bridge ahead. He committed a very similar offence at almost exactly the same point 2 days earlier. There is good video of both offences and he's guilty as sin, yet he's holding out for a trial. This confirms my opinion that the shyster lawyers employed by such people are advising them to just hold out and the prosecutions will probably all be abandoned.

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Bungle_52 replied to wtjs | 3 years ago
3 likes

A step in the right direction. Thank you for all your efforts and I hope you can keep it up. I'd really like to think we'll get there in the end.

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Steve K | 3 years ago
7 likes

So driving in an "unsafe manner" is not an offence? Says it all, really.

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Oldfatgit | 3 years ago
7 likes

So the close pass wasn't an offence - but overtaking in to path of on comming traffic is.

Not that one should trump the over, but I've noticed that the Police are far more likely to take action when there is another driver of a motorised vehicle inconvienced.

 

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HoarseMann | 3 years ago
18 likes

"We are receiving more and more complaints from cyclists..."

What they really mean to say is:

"Cyclists, please stop bothering us with your close pass videos. Look, even one as bad as this will result in no action from us, go away."

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eburtthebike | 3 years ago
12 likes

WTAF?!  It's dangerous, so they use it to illustrate dangerous overtaking, but it's not an offence?  How can you use something that is dangerous but refuse to prosecute the driver?

I'm going to lie down for a bit; my brain hurts.

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OnYerBike replied to eburtthebike | 3 years ago
20 likes

In another tweet, the police force go on to state "As Richard said no offence was committed, it did however provided us with an opportunity to highlight some of the inconsiderate driving that cyclist have to put up with."

I enjoyed this response from another twitter user: "Would "inconsiderate" be the same as "without reasonable consideration" as in "driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consderation for other road users"?"

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