Met Police Launch Space For Cyclist Campaign

London’s Metropolitan Police have launched a new campaign that’s likely to be welcomed by cyclists around the country, whether they’re riding road bikes in the West Midlands or elsewhere around the country.

For now, however, the Space For Cyclist campaign will run on the streets of London. It will see specialist officers going to specific areas of the capital to check up on drivers’ behaviour.

The officers will be in plain clothes and on unmarked bikes, donated by BMW, wearing video cameras to capture incidents where cyclists are tailgated, overtaken unsafely, or where a vehicle turns unsafely into a cyclist’s path.

A marked police motorcycle rider will then be notified and can pull the offending driver over and give them a short presentation on road safety, as well as asking them to produce proof of insurance, a driving licence, and undertake a roadside eye test.

Sergeant Andy Osborne, of the Cycle Safety Team, said: “This tactic is about education and encouraging motorists who do not comply with the rules of the road to start doing so – for everyone’s safety and protection.”

Cyclists should also do everything possible to ensure their own safety on the roads, including by wearing high visibility clothing, having bike lights and wearing a helmet.

One insurer has recently introduced a helmet compulsion clause to its travel insurance. The Telegraph revealed that Nationwide Building Society has added a clause that means any cyclists injured abroad who are not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident won’t be covered under their travel insurance policy.