Police Scotland are facing criticism after officer drove too close to an Edinburgh cyclist day before the launch of force wide ‘Operation Close Pass’ day.
The incident on Tuesday (13/04/2021) afternoon was caught on camera and happened at 1.10pm on Leven Street in Edinburgh.
Today (Wednesday 14/04/2021), officers in Glasgow and Edinburgh were out in the community educating drivers, about the importance of safely overtaking other road users by leaving at least 1.5m or a car’s width when passing – also informing them of the penalties for not doing so.
Police Scotland tweeted: “It’s #OperationClosePass Day. We’ve been out in the local community educating drivers about the importance of overtaking other road users safely. Always leave at least 1.5m or a car’s width when passing.”
The tweet included a video that advised: “Driving too close to people on bikes is an offence, and can result in three points on your license.
“The police are running Operation Close Pass, stopping drivers who don’t pass bikes safely.
“Give space to people cycling, we’re all just trying to get from A to B.”
Officers in Edinburgh reported they stopped three drivers for a ‘Chat on the Mat’ for close passes on Biggar Road in the south of the city.
Steve known as ‘Edinburgh Cyclist’ shared the footage after the incident online and wrote: “Of all people, I would have thought that the police would be driving better.
“I particularly enjoy the ‘Keeping people safe’ written on the door.”
One user commented: “I was gonna say I thought the Policeman was ok but after watching it again, no, he got away with it but only just.”
Another user said: “What the hell were they doing? You had priority there, not them – shocking driving!”
A third added: “Wow, not good, a complete miss judgement there by the Police driver – well done for staying calm and not shouting out!”
Speaking today Steve said: “I turned left out of Tarvit Street, heading up towards Bruntsfield.
“As I rounded the corner, I saw the police car turning out of Gilmore Place out of the corner of my eye, and I initially thought they were waiting to slot in behind me as most drivers do here.
“The driver presumably then saw the oncoming traffic, and moved further left towards me, and in front of me, giving me very little space.
“As I passed a parked van, the driver then opened their door, narrowly avoiding hitting me, I would normally like to be further to the right (out of the “door zone”), but couldn’t because of the proximity of the police car.
“I muttered a sarcastic “Thank you…” under my breath, and the police car continued slowly up the road, I assume they realised they’d made a poor judgement at that point.
“I’m used to driving like this unfortunately, and if it had been a member of the public driving, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought – but it’s pretty poor driving from a police officer who’s meant to be setting an example.”
Edmund King, AA president, said: “It is important that all drivers give cyclists a wide berth whether in a white van, hatch back, SUV or indeed cop car.
“We support the police ‘Operation Close Pass’ as it reinforces the messages from the AA Think Bikes! campaign.
“We would be happy to offer some Think Bike! stickers to Police Scotland as a reminder.”
After reviewing the clip a spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “No complaint has been received in respect of this footage.
“However, Police Scotland takes the issue of road safety extremely seriously including the driving standards of its own officers and staff.
“Officers have been made aware of the footage and will take appropriate action.”
Cycling Scotland said: “We don’t comment on individual cases.”
Police Scotland first launched ‘Operation Close Pass’ initiative in 2017 after it was developed by West Midlands Police.
