Call for police bike patrols to tackle cycling danger zones
By Jack Dixon, London News Online, January 3, 2017
Police officers should patrol the streets of London on bikes to monitor bad drivers in a bid to improve safety for cyclists, according to a leading Green Party politician.
London Assembly Member Sian Berry said the move would help to reduce the number of near misses on the roads.
Ms Berry said a trial of plain clothes officers on bikes had proved successful in Camden and that the initiative should be rolled out across London in 2017.
More than 90 people have been killed while cycling in the capital since January 2009 and around 80 per cent of the victims were knocked down by heavy goods vehicles, according to campaigners.
Cyclist Filippo Corsini died after being dragged 30 yards across a box junction in Knightsbridge in October last year.
It came only a week after Lucia Ciccioli was killed after being hit by a lorry on her way to work in Battersea.
Ms Berry, who was elected to the Assembly in May, said the Camden pilot in October had taught “valuable lessons” about ways to improve cycle safety.
In only three two-hour shifts in the borough, eight driving offences were reported by officers on bikes.
A further four drivers were spoken to about passing cyclists closer than the safe distance of 1.5 metres and more than 50 road users were stopped and educated about their driving standards.
Ms Berry said: “In just six hours, dozens of people have learned a valuable lesson from this small team of officers in Camden.
“Close passes are highly dangerous and terrifying for people on bikes. More drivers have to learn they should not overtake until they can leave a safe distance between us and their vehicle.”
She added: “Officers in Camden have led the way with this pilot and the Mayor of London should make sure all boroughs are able to have dedicated teams of police for this work.”
The scheme was trialled in Camden following a similar project in the West Midlands.
It followed research from the University of Westminster that found people who commute by bike on London’s roads experience an average of one “very scary” incident every week.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was “committed to improving road safety” across the capital and promised to “tackle road danger at its source” by educating drivers and prosecuting those who commit offences.