Close Pass enforcement in Greater Manchester

Thursday, February 9th, 2017 | Filed under .,Law & Enforcement,Press Clips | Posted by

Close passes have repeatedly been cited as uncomfortable and all-too familiar encounters that dissuade or prevent people from cycling on our roads.

So we’ve raised them with GMP Traffic officers since 2014 and more recently encouraged officers to attend two presentations by West Midlands Police.

We are pleased to note that dialogue has continued and GMPolice are now trialling close pass education and enforcement activities:

We agree with the point made by cycle-safety blogger @beztweets – in order to have the desired effect on driver behaviour these new operations must be as good as the original WMP initiative:

So we’d like to take this opportunity to repeat our offer of further dialogue with GMP Traffic officers. By working together and incorporating views and feedback from people who regularly cycle, we hope to ensure that these operations have consistently effective actions and messaging.

We understand that a new online reporting system is being developed which along with improved support for divisions handling general traffic offences could lead to a reduced workload for GMP Traffic and, most importantly, more comfortable and safer roads throughout Greater Manchester.

TfGM’s cycling champion Councillor Chris Paul has suggested that #ClosePass operations should be standalone with dedicated resources:

As an added bonus, Police forces are likely spot other offences during operations:

Read more in this road.cc article: //road.cc/content/news/217236-greater-manchester-police-confirm-new-and-evolving-close-pass-operation-trial

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