On 12/07/2017 11:03, Bod wrote:

A lorry driver has become one of the first people to be prosecuted for
driving too close to cyclists after being caught by a plain-clothed
police biker.

Officers posed as cyclists in Birmingham and the black country to try
and catch drivers putting bikers lives at risk.

The 60-year-old driver was taken to court and ordered to pay £1,038 in
fines and costs. He was also given five points on his licence for the
manoeuvre in Park Lane West, Tipton, last November after being found
court at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.

He was among the first motorists in the country to be taken to court
after the operation to protect cyclists from ‘close passes’.

http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/12/underc...-bike-6772386/

Can anyone quote a section of a Road Traffic Act which specifies this
"1.5 metres"?

Note also the quoted rules in the story:

QUOTE:
When overtaking motorists should give ‘at least’ as much room to
cyclists and horse riders as they would another car, according to the
Highway Code.
ENDQUOTE

And 1.5 metres is a fair bit more than another car will or can be given
in many circumstances.

Does this 1.5 meter "rule" (wherever it is alleged to come from) not
apply when a cyclist pulls alongside a vehicle stopped at traffic
lights? If not, why not? Surely the drivers of vehicles overtaken by
cyclists have just as much right to expect the same safety margin and
the same courtesy that cyclists expect from everyone else on the planet?

QUOTE:
Rules for all road users (including cyclists)

If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and
speed, *slowing* *down* if necessary to let the vehicle pass.

*Never* obstruct drivers who wish to pass.
ENDQUOTE