Police cycling operation in Darlington continues
“I’m just a bit of an erratic driver.”
“I didn’t realise.”
“My back light must have just fallen off, officer.”
Just some of the excuses we heard today whilst conducting Operation Close Pass in Darlington.
Part of the national 2 Wheels campaign, the educational operation is designed to educate car drivers on the importance of allowing adequate space when passing cyclists.
The operation saw us send out one of our PCSOs on a bicycle and those who passed him too closely were asked to pull into designated bays at Darlington College and given words of advice as well as a quick health check for their vehicle.
And whilst everyone we pulled up for passing too closely to our cyclist was happy to receive a bit of guidance on the required 1.5m distance, it did raise some interesting issues around vehicle safety when they were given a quick check-up.
One white van driver didn’t seem to understand that being an erratic driver wasn’t a good thing and whilst one of the lights on his trailer didn’t work, the other one was missing altogether. Added to the fact the car on his trailer wasn’t secured properly and you had a collision waiting to happen.
Another van driver was also given a ticket for an insecure load when officers found several pallets bulging from the curtains of his vehicle ready to spill onto the road with one sharp turn.
One female driver pulled over did put it nicely though when she said: “I don’t see it as a negative, I see it as a positive and now I know better.”
Officers were also happy to chat and give advice to several teenage cyclists attending the college.
🗣 Durham Constabulary’s Casualty Reduction Coordinator, Nicola Bowman, said: “All road users have an equal right to use the roads and today has been about providing education on general road safety and in particular, how to pass cyclists safely.
“It’s been great to see all of the drivers we have interacted with have been open to improving their driving and our ultimate goal of keeping all road users safe.
“We’d also like to thank all those drivers who took part in today’s operation and for the help of representatives from County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service and the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner’s office who also attended.”
Do you know the rules around passing cyclists? Remember to give 1.5m space for cyclists and 2m for horse riders.
💻To find out more visit: www.durham.police.uk/Advice-Centre/Road-and-Vehicle-Safety/Road-and-Vehicle-Safety.aspx
📲All road users can also report and upload footage online as part of Op Snap here: www.durham.police.uk/Report-It/Road-related-incident-reporting/Road-incident-reporting.aspx