THIS week West Midlands Police have launched a radical new scheme to improve cycling safety. Plain-clothes police officers on bikes, with the help of their driving colleagues, can pull over dangerous drivers for close passes. The head of campaign group Cycling UK has heralded the move as “quite simply the best cyclist safety initiative by any police force, ever.”

For the first three months of the scheme, once pulled over the erring driver will have the ability to choose his or her own fate: prosecution, or a 15-minute lesson on how to overtake a cyclist in the safest way possible. The most dangerous drivers, or those who continually flout the Highway Code, will be prosecuted without question. In the first four days, some 80 drivers were pulled over – showing just how widespread this problem is.

It may seem heavy handed – particularly to motorists who don’t cycle and have little perception of how it feels to think your number is up on a regular basis. It can’t be denied that travelling on Scotland’s roads feels like you’re under a Sword of Damocles.

But why are cyclists only ever one wrong move away from disaster? Contrary to common opinion, it’s not because we’re clueless or wilfully negligent. It’s a confluence of poor infrastructure, road-user perception, and a fundamental knowledge gap on what good-practice cycling should look like.

People on bikes don’t cycle in straight lines. They simply can’t, and to expect them to do so is antithetical to how cycling works. It’s not straight or predictable, because there’s a constant need for small adjustments side to side in order to stay upright. This “dynamic envelope” means the space a cyclist needs is considerably more than the static width of the bike. And that’s on a straight road with no impediments.

Once you factor in pothole avoidance, uneven surfaces steering, clear of opening car doors, the space needed to cycle safely increases. When we move around on the road, like drivers, we are responding to our environment. We’re making the adjustments needed to stay safe because we don’t have the luxury of size, power or exterior protection. To expect a cyclist to behave in the same way as a car is unrealistic. We’re all just trying to get from A to B unscathed, and that journey looks different for all road users, be they cyclists, drivers, motorcyclist, pedestrians or horse riders.

That’s not to say all cyclists are saints – of course some do run red lights and some do mount the pavements. Most cyclists I know are just as frustrated by this behaviour because it ratifies the negative regard so many motorists hold us in. But, we cannot pretend this is an even match. A cyclist isn’t a car. They are flesh and blood – someone’s mum, dad, child, sister, brother, or friend. They’re people, and not known for their advanced safety features. They don’t have reinforced metal, bumpers or air bags to protect them. Pit a person on a frame against one encased in a tonne of metal, and you can safely hedge your bets on who’s going to come off worst.

In 2014, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reported that some 21,287 cyclists were injured in road accidents, with 3,514 killed or seriously injured. And that doesn’t included unreported incidents or near misses, of which there are a staggering number. It’s even more sobering when you consider how many of that number are children.

Many still think giving an appropriate amount of space is just a common courtesy, but if you take the time to dust off your copy of the Highway Code, you’ll find some pretty clear instruction. Under rule 163 of overtaking, it clearly states “give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car”. How many would remember that detail if asked? Before I gave up my car, I’m not sure I could have. Whenever I get behind the wheel now, I’m constantly aware of the potential to frighten or injure.

Having a car is a privilege – when it comes to safety, motorists really are king of the road. All should bear that in mind when interacting with all vulnerable road users. In a year’s time my eldest and her friends will be doubling their daily cycling distance as they head to high school. As parents of the active travel generation, this is an anxiety many of us will face. Anything that could help make that journey safer for them is a tantalising prospect. Until we have good infrastructure, better education from an early age and a fostering of a courtesy culture, the West Midlands initiative could be an important bridging tactic.

This creative policing gets it right because it’s not overly punitive and is leading with education. The force are using their powers to hammer home a message that many of us were either never explicitly taught or have just forgotten.

The Scottish Government knows it needs to get more people on the bikes. Cycling helps them meet their targets for a healthier, greener and safer Scotland. With the government so committed to increasing active travel, we’re only going to see more cyclists on the road. Adopting an approach like that of West Midlands Police would be a meaningful, cost-effective way for them to deliver on those plans.

When it comes down to it, no matter how we’re travelling, we all just want to get home safely. We all deserve that same opportunity. This novel idea might just help make that a reality.