Drivers in North London borough caught close passing a cyclist twice in a year could have their car crushed

Is nobody else concerned about this? The legislation "was originally intended for 'boy racers screeching around McDonald’s car parks being idiots'". This just exemplifies the fact that if you draft a regulation badly somebody will use it badly. Crushing a car for driving too close seems to me to be an extreme punishment when other motoring offences are dealt with much more leniently. Or will we see the police dishing out section 59 notices for speeding, jumping red lights, mobile phone use etc?

By the way, I'm not a driver but most of you are. You shouldn't be supporting this, they'll be coming for you and your misdemeanors next.

Its not as simple as 2 strikes and your car is crushed, if anything there are virtually no cars crushed.

Basically the car is uplifted and the miscreant then has to pay for the uplift and the storage whilst we keep it. Once they do that they get the car back.

It will only get disposed of if the owner doesn't come to claim it back.

If people are interested just type in Section 59 Police Reform Act 2002  on their search engine and it will list all the forces and their policy in relation to S59.

I've stopped  to speak to drivers at traffic lights (the usual driver zooming past you in a rush to then wait in traffic) and tell them how close they were and they just say 'I was no where near you mate'.  There needs to be some incentive for them to take not and care, although I'm not sure how you would police this, not all riders can afford a helmet cam. 

However, seems a waste of a car and the resources that produced that car.  Is there not another way, fines?

oooh that means an awful lot of Audis are going to be going to the crusher or going cheap... #justsaying

I cannot applaud this amazingly proactive and insightful officer enough, he puts our politicians to absolute shame.  Whilst they continually sit on the fence pandering to powerful motoring lobbyists and ignoring the devastating carnage being inflicted on our streets Sgt. Clarke has simply said bollocks to all this, we can fight back and critically...we will.

This will make such a huge impact on motorists (of which the majority of us as cyclists are also drivers) and perhaps at last we can start to very cautiously look towards the day when a motorist has it etched on their brain to habitually respond to a vulnerable road user around them with instant caution and basic respect for life.

I for one will be writing to Sgt. Clarke and indeed to his superiors congratulating them for such a brave and powerful response to a problem that has plagued society for far too long.  I would politely suggest we all take the time to do similar given our usual criticism of the police (in many cases quite justified) as it's only right we give applause and support when they do something like this...which lets be honest is stunningly powerful and a complete detour from the normal responses we've become so sadly used to.

Does this mean that we all need to start wearing cameras to catch these naughty motorists?  I see no other way of proving a punishment pass and the like has taken place?  Not sure a simple "my word aginst his/hers" would hold much ground!

Still, great idea which I hope works and makes other police departments take note.

It a nice approach, and I personally welcome drivers taking more care.  

But we need to view with caution the idea that this is going to enable more people to cycle.  The public's perception of subjective safety of the roads is not going to be changed by a few fines and crushed cars.  This might change the minds of the hardened 0.1% of the population that were already tempted to cycle, but for most of the population, forget it.  

I hope that the police forces involved are hard enough in their resolve to stand firm when the inevitable backlash comes against them afer they have a few cars crushed.  

I'm a bit sceptical that this is anything more than a PR thing to raise the profile and make people think.  

I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, but it seems like when they doubled the penalty for mobile use and didn't do anything to increase enforcement.  No point having a punishment on the books if it isn't used.  I hope my cynicism is misplaced.

Strange that the police regard Section 59 as a sledgehammer.  From previous articles I've read about it it seemed to be the soft option, used when there was no independent evidence that would facilitate a careless/dangerous driving charge.  

No wonder that those previous articles advised that you should insist the police register the offending car under Section 59 - they clearly don't know enough about it.

What does the law say about people wearing hoods while driving?  Had a driver coming out of a side road today wearing a hoodie in the car with the hood up.  I could not see his eyes as he was coming out of the side road so his peripheral vision was restricted to the point of tunnel vision.

So they are going to let the miscreant drivers get out of their vehicle before it's crushed?
Bleeding heart liberals!

Great idea and I am all for it.  I am also all for bringing this to the attention of as many people as possible so that the average driver stops seeing a cyclist as an obstruction/road furniture/delay, and starts driving with a little care and consideration.

My wife doesn't drive yet when we are in the car and I am taking time to pass a bike safely, she will quite often start ranting about "bloody cyclists causing delays".  FFS!

On the negative side, what chance is there of this actually being enforced?  Wasn't there a case last week of a driver who had been caught texting at the wheel 8 times who had talked the judge into letting him off a ban?

Be ok if they crushed the vehicle with the errant driver inside it prevents repetitive faults...

High KSI in Holborn more likely due to seriously bad road layouts and levels of use.  Examples include Aldwych and Vernon Place many flows with large vehicles  making conflicting movements (R1 buses into Convent Garden ; Small number - high kill rate - trucks & coaches turning left from Vernon Place). More radical action to take lessons from KSI investigations and apply them, eg ban left turns where these have caused multiple deaths at same location - clearly a hazard that must be eliminated or better managed.

Laura you clearly picked up a lot from being there - wave the flag for the retractable lifeguards that are now being used on some Keltbray trucks, and the pressing need to get the development of these units for the front of the truck - where at least 80% of the fatally injured cyclists in London go down and under the wheels. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKpbSN3b_xU

Once your head or torso goes under just one 10T axle you are 100% dead, even the trauma of a limb crushed this way has a high chance of proving fatal.

The permitted clearance cab-road for a NORMAL clas N3 truck is 40cm - for an off-road truck (with the concession to run on road) there is no limit.  However most trucks can travel around with as little as 25cm cab-road gap - which is almost impossible to slide under if you can put up a fight.

Daily Mail ragegasm in 3..2..1...

Hi, didn't see a comment about the very close pass from a Team Sky bus on the Tour of Britain i think. Would love to see crashing a bus ...

i have it http://road.cc/content/news/204005-video-team-sky-bus-driver-makes-extre...

Fairly sure "crushed" is just to shock. They have the authority to do that, but I think most forces eventually get rid of them at auction.

Very un-environmental.  And as someone else pointed out, they'll just get another car, probably a shit heap thats even more dangerous to be on the road.  Give the power for quick-turnaround short term bans (i.e. bans up to three months enforcable within a week) and that will make people think a bit more.  It would also be more even-handed as people who lose a 25k car are getting hit harder than someone with a £200 banger.

10/10 for effort, but not the best idea in the long haul I think.

Legend status for WMP and Camden police, great idea!

Now this could really work. Threaten sociopathic drivers with a three-hour safe driving course and they'll laugh in your face. But the kind of people who go ape-shit if you give their vehicle a light tap to let them know you are there will think twice if their pride and joy could be crushed into a cube roughly the size of their enlarged prostates.

Crush the driver?

Auctioned off would be better, but then the police would face claims of racketeering. This way it just looks like a punishment.

Definitely more practical to auction off the cars and drug hauls though. Okay maybe just the cars.

And the drugs.