Police officers in Portobello and Joppa yesterday were stopping drivers for a ‘chat on the mat’ as part of Operation Close Pass to promote the safe use of shared road space.
A police officer cycling in plain clothes uses cameras to alert a colleague, further up the road, if they are passed too closely by a car.
The ‘offending’ vehicle is then stopped and the driver spoken to.
Officers then demonstrate with a mat to demonstrate the safe distance drivers should leave when they pass a bike user.
In a tweet, the Roads Policing Unit said: ” # EdinburghRP and Craigmillar Community officers carried out a Close Pass operation today in Portobello & Joppa. 7 motorists were brought into the site for a ‘Chat on the mat’ and 4 document offences were detected & reported to the PF (Procurator Fiscal).”
‘Document offences’ include drivers failing to produce a copy of their driving licence or other documents.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
