Forum topic: Police advice to drivers on how to overtake bicycles

Increased police focus on enforcing safe passing of cycle riders by drivers of cars and trucks, originally associated with West Midlands Police, is gradually spreading to other forces, including the Met. It has now been taken up by police in Winchmore Hill ward, who will be doing more to educate drivers.

Earlier this month, at the N21 Fancy Fair, Clare Rogers and Hal Haines of Better Streets for Enfield spoke to PCSO Antony Rivas from the Winchmore Hill Safer Neighbourhoods Team.  A good choice, as Antony not only cycles on patrol, but does all the cycle training for the Enfield Metropolitan Police Service.

One subject they discussed was the Close Pass Initiative that originated with police in Birmingham. This involved the police pulling over drivers who passed plain clothes officers on bikes too closely – in other words, by less than 1.5 metres – and educating them. They produced a mat showing what the safe passing distance is, and how far from the kerb someone riding a bike should be (75cm). Both distances come as a surprise to many drivers.

PCSO Rivens and his colleagues will be doing their bit to enforce the "close pass" rules, and the latest bit of kit issued to the Met will come in very handy.  This is a body-worn camera, which records video and audio in 30 second loops. If an incident kicks off, you press the central button twice and the camera stores the last thirty seconds and keeps on recording.

PCSO Rivens has been using Twitter to explain how drivers and riders should position themselves on the road, as shown in the graphic below (produced by a Twitter user @lstwhl)

 (Click on the graphic to enlarge)

In summary, on a road with a single lane in each direction, drivers should only overtake bicycles when they can move into the empty opposing lane.  There is no requirement for bicycles to keep to the left and cyclists are perfectly entitled to ride abreast - in fact, doing so makes it easier for cars to overtake.