CopperCyclist - How would you amend the law so as your job in prosecuting those who take liberties with the safety of cyclists by not leaving enough space would be made easier?
Bloody hell, the cans open and worms are about to be everywhere. Gulp. Here goes.
The law of the land is fine. Close passes ARE inconsiderate driving - no ifs, buts or maybes on that one. The problem comes with the burden of proof required by our court systems.
As can be seen in another post (that I can't find dammit, Gaz linked to it recently) a cyclist got footage of a van cutting him up, approaching him angrily, and then suddenly cyclists head gets knocked to the side. The bloke had assaulted him. Court didn't convict on the assault as they couldn't be absolutely sure the assault had taken place.
This is common for our court system, where you get a scenario where you, me, your gran, the guy next door, hell everyone would say "THIS has happened". The defendant gets a good solicitor that says. "No, no, ignore common sense, what actually happened COULD have been this" and outlines a much, much less likely version - however, without rock solid proof, the court won't convict.
The following is true for ALL offences, not just the cycling ones like close passes: if you want more prosecutions and convictions, lower the burden of proof.
Its an argument that I will state now I wish to take no side on. See that fence there? Thats where I'm sitting. There are plenty of times I would have loved the court to convict someone who was clearly guilty, but got away with using a nonsense excuse. There are also plenty of well documented times that people have been arrested for something they are innocent of, in which case thank god the burden wasn't less (anyone see the recent story about that nurse).
So to sum up, I don't think the law needs changing. I don't wish to take a side on the burden of proof in court. What is needed specific to 'close passes' is better education for drivers. I personally wouldn't mind a driving licence retest every five years - hell, charge me fifty quid for it and use it as a stealth tax if you must, if it helps hammer out some bad driving habits I'm all for it!