BIRMINGHAM, UK: OVERTAKING DISTANCE ENFORCEMENT

-> The Guardian reports on a new cycling safety initiative launched by West Midlands Police, in partnership with Birmingham City Council in the United Kingdom. A plain clothes traffic officer on a bike teams with a colleague in a police car up the road to pull over drivers that give the cycling officer less than 1.5m space (nearly 5 feet) when overtaking (a distance that increases for faster speeds and larger vehicles). That driver will be offered a choice: prosecution, or 15 minutes’ education on how to overtake a cyclist safely. The worst drivers, or repeat offenders, will simply be prosecuted. http://bit.ly/2cCiule

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.