Police Scotland has sparked much online discussion after sharing pictures of a close pass operation that was undertaken by officers from the Greater Glasgow division last week, prompting numerous issues to be raised by cyclists and even a chief inspector from another force, one commenter calling it "the worst operation close pass picture I have ever seen".
The much-criticised image shared on social media showed a community officer on a bike, positioned on a close pass mat showing that he was 0.75m away from the edge. However, while this would normally denote being 75cm from the kerb, in this case it meant being 75cm from the door zone of a row of parked cars.
Alan Myles called it "the worst operation close pass picture I have ever seen" and took issue with the aforementioned door-zone positioning, the scenario also being placed at an "inappropriate place to overtake", with cars parked contrary to the Highway Code and a questionable "actual passing distance" once the width of the handlebars and car's wing mirror are accounted for.
Chief Inspector Smith, from Sheffield's Response unit, replied to say that despite having one of the close pass mats, they do not use it due to these issues. He explained that they were made before the Highway Code changes, but added concerns that "it suggests that cyclists need to be 75cm from the kerb which isn't a requirement" and "it doesn't make allowances for handlebar width".
The Highway Code tells cyclists to "take care when passing parked vehicles, leaving enough room (a door's width or 1 metre) to avoid being hit if a car door is opened, and watch out for pedestrians stepping into your path".
Likewise, the idea that cyclists should always ride 0.75m from the kerb is not true either. Rule 72 states: "Ride in the centre of your lane, to make yourself as clearly visible as possible, in the following situations: On quiet roads or streets – if a faster vehicle comes up behind you, move to the left to enable them to overtake, if you can do so safely. In slower-moving traffic — when the traffic around you starts to flow more freely, move over to the left if you can do so safely so that faster vehicles behind you can overtake. At the approach to junctions or road narrowings where it would be unsafe for drivers to overtake you."
The other point made by many responding to Police Scotland's photos was that the mat positions the start of the "overtaking clearance" from the centre of the bike, not its widest point, meaning in reality the 1.5m distance made clear in the Highway Code (at speeds of up to 30mph, if going faster more space should be given) cannot be achieved.
Riders on Facebook pointed out similar concerns with Police Scotland's close pass communication, Debra Storr responding: "Except cyclists needs to be outside the dooring zone and the passing vehicle needs to be at least 1.5m from the widest part of the bike — not the midpoint. Please retire those mats or add a metre to the width to stand in for the dooring zone and put the cyclist in the middle of the 75cm track."
Jamie Emerson added: "It's great that they're making an attempt to educate but as is so often the case, the educators clearly don't cycle in a city."
"That is a really weird picture," Kevin Payne wrote about the door zone set-up seen in the photo below. "As a cyclist, I'd be further over, out of the door zone, and as a driver the last thing I'd be trying is to pass a cyclist on a fairly narrow section of road with parked cars on both sides. To be honest, if the police don't get it, it's no surprise that many others don't!"
Chief Inspector Smith also suggested that a redesign of the close pass mats used would be "helpful".
"At that point the 1.5m figure really was 'guidance' with no explicit backing in the Highway Code. I think now that the code has changed a mat redesign would be helpful — possibly with the 2m for pedestrians/equestrians on there too. And no 75cm marking."
Increased police work surrounding close passes has been seen in recent years, much coming after officers Steve Hudson and Mark Hodson devised West Midlands Police's Operation Close Pass in 2016, it seeing plain clothes officers on bikes monitor overtaking drivers, with anyone found to be carrying out dangerous manoeuvres facing education or enforcement.
> Almost all drivers agree that close passes of cyclists put lives at risk
Back in 2021, Great Britain's most successful Paralympian and now Greater Manchester's Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, joined South Yorkshire Police on a close pass operation that saw almost one in five drivers get pulled over for roadside education.