Eight Basingstoke drivers ordered on cycling awareness courses

Let's hope they learned something new.
QUOTE:
EIGHT drivers will be sent on road safety courses after being pulled over by police.

Basingstoke officers were monitoring motorists on Wednesday (July 29) and their behaviour towards cyclists.

Those seen to be passing bikers too closely or dangerously were pulled over by cops and questioned.

One person was slapped with a fine for blocking a pedestrian crossing while eight others agreed to enrolling in an "educational course".

It comes as Basingstoke's neighbourhood policing team launched their 'Give Space, Be Safe' campaign to improve cyclists' safety.

Last year, prolific cyclist David Dry wrote into The Gazette to highlight the dangers of travelling around the town by bicycle.

He described the town as being "a dangerous environment" for cyclists due to the "plethora of roundabouts which may suit a car but leave the cyclist exposed."

PC Paul Farquharson said: “Wednesday's activities were a great success. We have seen a marked improvement with drivers giving plenty of space and time when overtaking cyclists.

“We have not only been targeting poor driving behaviour, we have also been targeting cyclists and other road users whose behaviour may make them more at risk of being involved in a collision.

“Our focus has been about encouraging all road users to share the road together, abide by the law and give consideration to all when using the road.

“It’s also been a great opportunity to engage with other members of the public who came over to our check-point to see what we were doing, all of whom were very supportive of what we were doing.

“We also wanted to say thank you to Cranbourne School for allowing us to use their car-park for our educational check-point.

He added: “A close pass not only presents danger to the cyclist but it’s also intimidating.

“Drivers should be allowing other road users as much room they would a car – but many seem to not know this, or choose to ignore it. Remember that any cyclist you overtake could be our police cyclist.�

https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk...eness-courses/