Plain clothed PSNI officers have hit the road across Northern Ireland in a special operation aimed at tackling drivers who pose a risk to cyclists on our roads.
'Operation Close Pass' saw officers hit the road on bikes armed with body cams to catch drivers who fail to give cyclists the recommended 1.5 metre distance when overtaking.
The operation was run in conjunction with Cycling Ulster following a number of reports of cyclists being put at risk on our roads.
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"For a long many number of years we have been working with the PSNI on different initiatives and this has come about due to an increase in road use," Tommy McCague, Chairman of Cycling Ulster told Belfast Live.
"Through positive engagement with the PSNI to try and bring an awareness of 'close pass' and we have done different other promotions and different other events with the PSNI. We are very thankful to have them here today.
"We are running Operation Close Pass to promote the 1.5 metre distance that we would like to see for motorists to give cyclists passing."
Tommy said that Cycling Ulster currently have six clubs who are collating information on 'close pass' and one club alone have reported 55 close passes within the last month.
"This is a scary number and for us, it is about promoting the message of a 1.5 metre distance and reducing serious accidents and fatalities of road users."
Superintendent Gary Busch added: "We have police officers on bikes travelling around different areas across Northern Ireland and observing driver behaviour, educating people, telling them about the risks on the road and hopefully improving road safety.
"It's a Northern Ireland wide operation today, hopefully to increase and improve safety on our roads."
Supt Busch advised drivers to demonstrate patience when travelling behind a cyclist.
"Not just drivers, everyone has to demonstrate patience on our roads," he continued.
"They are risky things. Roads present risks to all road users so I would ask for patience.
"Todays 'close pass' operation demonstrates the need for drivers to give adequate distance between themselves and cyclists when they pass, so the advice is 1.5 metres and that is what we are asking whenever motorists pass cyclists, that they give that 1.5 metre gap to make sure everybody stays safe."
Video by Harry Bateman.
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