The End of the 'Punishment Pass'?

[IroningMan]

No idea if there was a thread on here over the summer about West Mids Police's initiative to tackle drivers who close pass cyclists - but it appears to be bearing fruit, with nearly 80 prosecutions in a month and other forces taking a close interest.

Police enforcing driving standards as opposed to just speed limits - who knew?

Story here

[IroningMan]

Sump said:

The reality being that there will just be an influx of those crazy cyclists who go out of their way to cause a confrontation.

In the - perhaps unlikely - event that you encounter someone like that you are apparently entirely free to ignore them.

[IroningMan]

55palfers said:

The interesting / worrying thing about this is that Plod are using "3rd party footage" to form the evidence for a prosecution.

One for the lawyers - What is the actual legal status of this evidence please?

I think it depends on the quality - but how is '3rd party footage' any different to an eyewitness account from a member of the public?

[IroningMan]

yetra said:

So if two militant lycra clad goons cycle abreast does that mean if I pass them as I would any car I will be done for not giving the offside goon 1.5 metre of space?

Imagine there was another cyclist in the middle in this picture, how is the car supposed to give both of them 1.5 metre safe space without mounting the kerb.

.

Maybe you should get a dashcam so that you can record it when it happens?

[IroningMan]

Countdown said:

Why is this even an issue?

How hard is it to leave a sensible/ safe gap between your car and a cyclist? The police aren't going to prosecute unless it's clear-cut that you were too close and if you're not competent enough to know what "too close" is,you shouldn't be on the road.

Quite.

[IroningMan]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Many cyclists ride like tw@ts yet expect motorists to drive like saints.

It's high time cyclists were required to pay for their use of the roads (after all, more and more of the carriageway is being taken over by cycle lanes) and to have clear registration numbers. Enforcement is completely one-sided at the moment.

Have all the nasty cyclists come and upset things in the day room? You poor dear. Here, let nurse make you a nice cup of tea.

[IroningMan]

Johnnytheboy said:

S10GTA said:

Bingo

Oh if only I had the time and patience to make one up for cyclists. I'll start with a box saying "primary position".

Don't forget the one which says 'oh, you appear to have killed me.'

[IroningMan]

spaximus said:

I have no issue with giving cyclists room but this using the cameras is fraught with problems and prosecution based on a one sided view cannot be right.

We have cameras in all our vans. A few years ago a cyclist posted footage on Youtube claiming our driver had nearly killed him and from the footage he had uploaded it looked bad.

When we veiwed the footage from our van, the cyclist without indicating in any way just turned right our van did a wonderful job of swearing and missing him.

We sent him the footage and he agreed that it was his fault. His Youtube feed just said he had received a satisfactory outcome following speaking with our MD.

If the police had just had his footage they would have probably done our driver.

This does nothing to educate people, it does everything to further the dislike between car drivers and cyclists.

When educating the general public a clear, simple message, consistently presented is the key: what could be clearer than 'don't pass cyclists too close'?

You might find this WMP blog entry an interesting read; they have encouraged officers to fit cameras to their bikes, but the door is open to third-party footage of any driving standards incident, whatever the modes of transport involved; it's not about car vs. bike.

[IroningMan]

red rider said:

What is it with this nanny state we live in? The modern roads were built for motorised vehicles, the law should not be changing in favour for cyclists, its about bloody time cyclists was off the road completely and made the roads safer for all. The roads have changed from years ago and so much more busier now and besides generally cyclists dont follow the highway code anyway. Cyclists should have separate lanes to go on....why not! they waste money on building them for buses

Separate lanes, you say? Where will the space for these come from?

[IroningMan]

herewego said:

To me the most dangerous roads for cyclists, sorry bicyclists, are narrow rural lanes without footpaths that cyclists could use. We should be spending money widening these roads for all to use safely or laying separate cycle/walkways along side.

Rural 'lanes' are a terrific place to cycle. Traffic is very thin and speeds are low. Step up to rural roads that are big enough to merit a white line down the middle and you're right, it becomes a very different matter: speeds leap up and there is seldom any escape route.

Move on to rural 'A' roads and cycling becomes no fun at all - but they are also pretty easy to avoid.

[IroningMan]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Sharing the road with cars is fine - sharing it with aholes who drive without regard for other road users is indeed a very unpleasant thing to do.

[IroningMan]

Mr Snrub said:

red rider said:

IroningMan said:

Separate lanes, you say? Where will the space for these come from?

Where did the space come from for the bus lanes? They haven`t all ways been there

Often by turning dual carriageways into single lane roads, drastically increasing congestion and pollution

I can think of a number of places where roadside parking has the same effect - and thousands of miles of urban roads where there would be space for a segregated cycle lane if all the parked cars were removed - sounds like a plan...

[IroningMan]

heebeegeetee said:

...Someone asked where are we going to find the room for cycle paths, and I suggest that if we can find the room to store millions of cars on the roads, we should find the room for moving traffic first. Get rid of the state subsidised motorists who selfishly clog the roads up with their car storage and we'll have plenty of room for bike paths (which are also bloody useful for the disabled's mobilty scooters, car traffic moves quicker too, less congestion, less pollution, win-win all round.

The losers are house-holders with no space for their car but it's time to end the assumption that you just keep your car on the road.

It'll make a whole section of property more affordable too - it just gets better the more you think of it.

Put better than I did.

[IroningMan]

Mr Snrub said:

IroningMan said:

heebeegeetee said:

...Someone asked where are we going to find the room for cycle paths, and I suggest that if we can find the room to store millions of cars on the roads, we should find the room for moving traffic first. Get rid of the state subsidised motorists who selfishly clog the roads up with their car storage and we'll have plenty of room for bike paths (which are also bloody useful for the disabled's mobilty scooters, car traffic moves quicker too, less congestion, less pollution, win-win all round.

The losers are house-holders with no space for their car but it's time to end the assumption that you just keep your car on the road.

It'll make a whole section of property more affordable too - it just gets better the more you think of it.

Put better than I did.

I assume you are not one of these said house holders who would lose out under this plan?

The 'plan' was suggested in response to the demand - not from cyclists - that segregated cycle lanes be provided: where else might the space for such lanes come from?

[IroningMan]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

You may be right, but I'd sooner see something being done about the aholes than give up - hence the OP.

[IroningMan]

I'm going to hazard a guess that someone, somewhere has already crossed that bridge by introducing double yellow lines on a road where people habitually park.

[IroningMan]

In this thread the demand for segregated lanes came from a poster who wanted cyclists off the road - not from cyclists.

[IroningMan]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Have you been to London recently?

The prospect of change is rather more than zero.

[IroningMan]

Mr Snrub said:

London is not the UK though. In most parts of the country cyclists represent a tiny amount of road traffic, to the extent I can go days at a time without seeing one. So it is delusional to think the entire road network should be changed, billions spent and millions inconvenienced, just to accommodate said minority. On 95% of roads there is either no need or no space for a cycle lane, so all road users are going to need to learn how to get along.

Learning to get along = see West Midlands Police initiative on close passes...

[IroningMan]

DoubleD said:

MrTrilby said:

mybrainhurts said:

how, exactly, is one supposed to leave 1.5 metres between oneself and these sweaties on a country lane?

If you need to ask how to safely overtake a slow moving bicycle, this probably isn't the right website for you, and you might want to look into public transport.

I would imagine he knows if this is the right forum for him after posting 85,000 posts!

85,000 posts and he still can't get past his lycra fetish. Or spell his own name correctly.