Metropolitan Police’s Cycle Task Force arrives in Islington to police and protect two-wheeled road users

Published: 4th February, 2011
by TERRY MESSENGER

IN the balmy summer of last year, the thought of cycling around the city was far more appealing to police pursuit driver Simon Castle than being cooped up in his patrol car.

So Sgt Castle got on his bike – along with 10 PCs – to form London’s first ever bicycle-borne traffic patrol team.

The Metropolitan Police’s Cycle Task Force was set up to target the growing menace of dangerous cycling – speaking on mobiles, listening to music players, careering along pavements, and sailing through red lights.

“We thought we’d get a less hostile reception if we too were on bikes,” explained Sgt Castle, who leads the team.

But the team don’t just target dangerous and illegal cycling – they also identify danger spots and suggest solutions.

Last week the team arrived in Islington for a week-long operation to help make our roads safer for cyclists and from cyclists.

The Tribune caught up with Sgt Castle and a some of his colleagues on a bitterly cold morning at the Angel.

Rubbing his hands and stamping his feet to offset the effects of an icy wind, he said: “This seemed like a good idea in the summer.”

Clad in bright yellow, high visibility jacket, he was soon off  down St John’s Street to the junction with Roseberry Avenue, where he stopped at the lights – only to see a rogue cyclist speed straight past him through the red.

Such brazen disregard for the law prompted the outburst: “Hey you – I am a policeman you know!” 

He caught up with the culprit near Sadler’s Wells and asked, reasonably enough: “If you didn’t notice a policeman in a bright yellow jacket, what else are you going to miss? A pedestrian? A car coming straight at you?”

He fined the contrite young man on the spot giving him a choice – a £30 penalty or £16.33 and an online cycling safety education course. He opted for the cheaper fine and course.

Sgt Castle said: “Our approach is enforcement, education, and engineering. The course, for example, will show you what a lorry driver can see if a cyclist pas­ses in front of the vehicle at traffic lights – which is absolutely nothing. The cyclist is invisible and there have been fatalities because of this.”

As he was talking, a second cyclist sped through the red lights and was given the same talk and penalty by one on the team. And then there was a third – all within the space of 20 minutes.

The team will be advising on engineering projects on a planned “blue route” super highway for cyclists, which is planned for Islington.

As he warmed up over a coffee in the Angel Café, Sgt Castle explained the main reason why he applied for the job when it was advertised last year: “I’m a keen cyclist and in my career as a traffic policeman, I’ve seen too many fatalities among cyclists. I wanted to do something to prevent it happening.”