Inside Transport

Undercover police officers are working to save cyclists’ lives, says Alastair Dalton

Undercover policing has been getting a bad name this week, but in one aspect of road safety there may be a case for encouraging it.

Drivers and cyclists have never been good at sharing the roads, and as both types of traffic increases, it’s likely to only get worse.

Without wanting to trigger a repeat of the backlash from cyclists when I previously mentioned this, there is wrong on both sides.

Careless and dangerous drivers rightly irk cyclists, but motorists are equally right to fume at errant riders, such as those who cycle without lights in the dark.

However, it’s an unequal relationship, both in terms of sheer numbers and in vulnerability and injury risk should there be a collision.

Many if not most drivers recognise this, and surveys have found some are nervous passing cyclists as a result.

But too often, impatient or just plain thoughtless motorists pass riders too close for comfort. What some drivers might be surprised to hear is that it’s not just a matter of courtesy, but a criminal offence and one which would fail a driving test.

That’s where Police Scotland comes in, because rather than officers just waiting at the roadside to catch offenders, they work as unmarked cyclists – complete with bike cameras. Operation Close Pass is simple. Motorists caught passing too close are pulled over for a “chat on the mat” – a large image laid out on the ground showing the correct minimum passing distance of 1.5m. In more serious cases, drivers can be fined £100 and have three penalty points added to their licence, or reported to the procurator fiscal for dangerous driving.

It also gives the police an excuse to check whether the motorist has broken any other laws, such as having no MOT or insurance.

The initiative originated with West Midlands Police, which has seen a 20 per cent reduction in cyclists killed and seriously injured since it was introduced in 2016.

It was launched in Edinburgh last year and has been spread to areas such as Falkirk and Inverness. The scheme is now about to be extended to Glasgow, backed by a display in a major city centre car park and adverts on the back of parking tickets.

Close Pass is important because vehicles passing cyclists too close is a major disincentive to riding. While some cyclists appear to relish “battling the traffic”, asserting their legal right to ride on the busiest roads, it is not for everyone. A few take it one stage further, posting online cycle camera footage of close passes, and of them then remonstrating with the drivers involved.

Call me timid, but I vividly recall the rush of fear when I first cycled on narrow, busy streets in Edinburgh 20 years ago.

Despite commuting by bike since then, I actively seek out quieter streets, even if it involves a longer route, but that’s not always possible or feasible, as many other cyclists will also have found.

Close Pass has the potential to have a far greater deterrent effect than campaigns against drink driving and mobile phone use at the wheel, because you never know if that cyclist is a cop. But it shouldn’t end there – motorists also routinely encroach on other cycle safety space such as bike lanes and advanced stop lines at traffic lights, which it is also an offence to block.

No driver was prosecuted during a pioneering campaign in Edinburgh four years ago.

Time for someone to be made an example of?