Police close-pass initiatives are vital for encouraging new cyclists.
JFK airport; a hostel in Rosario, Argentina; the B6164 into Knaresborough... I’ve had near-death experiences at all of them.
JFK involved a lightning strike on our plane and horrendous landing in a violent storm. I still hate flying. The hostel was the target of an armed raid – I was hauled out of bed and held hostage at gunpoint. I still don’t like Argentina. And the B6164? Oh, you know, just another close pass where I cheated death again by diving into nettles. The sort of thing we all put up with several times a year. At least I still like cycling.
The thing is, we shouldn’t put up with it. Every month, since the West Midlands started the ball rolling last year, it seems another police force comes on board with a campaign to target close-passing motorists – over a dozen now, and growing. Indeed, much of the enthusiasm for the scheme is coming from cyclist officers themselves.
In Southwark, London, for example, after consulting local cyclists about the worst areas, plainclothes coppers rode around Peckham Rye for an hour. Police vans were conspicuously placed, to self-select the worst drivers, and perhaps rebut allegations of ‘war-against motorists’ entrapment.
Denne historien er fra October 2017-utgaven av Cycling Plus.
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Denne historien er fra October 2017-utgaven av Cycling Plus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
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