Close Pass campaign a success in Basingstoke

The latest ‘Give Space, Be Safe’ campaign was successful cyclists and motorists spoken to by officers.

The initiative aimed to target drivers who failed to follow the Highway Code rules on passing distances when overtaking cyclists, sometimes referred to as a near miss or close pass, which put cyclists at risk.

The Joint Operations Road Policing Unit ran the operation this morning, 28 July, in Basingstoke.

One of our officers went on the roads on a bike and those drivers caught driving too close to him when overtaking were stopped.

The campaign also saw officers encouraging cyclists to be more visible, handing out free rucksack covers, neck tubes and temporary lights.

A total of 8 drivers were stopped, all of which opted for the educational course. One driver was given a fixed penalty notice for blocking a pedestrian crossing.

Around 5 cyclists were offered advice and support on cycling safely, and handed some high-visibility freebies.

PC Paul Farquharson said: “Today’s activities were a great success. We have seen a marked improvement with drivers giving plenty of space and time when overtaking cyclists.

“We have not only been targeting poor driving behaviour, we have also been targeting cyclists and other road users whose behaviour may make them more at risk of being involved in a collision.

“Our focus has been about encouraging all road users to share the road together, abide by the law and give consideration to all when using the road.

“It’s also been a great opportunity to engage with other members of the public who came over to our check-point to see what we were doing, all of whom were very supportive of what we were doing.

“We also wanted to say thank you to Cranbourne School for allowing us to use their car-park for our educational check-point.

He added: “A close pass not only presents danger to the cyclist but it’s also intimidating.

“Drivers should be allowing other road users as much room they would a car – but many seem to not know this, or choose to ignore it. Remember that any cyclist you overtake could be our police cyclist.”