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Oculus Go headsets have been delivered to 11 police forces in England to help them educate drivers who pass cyclists too closely.
The headsets each come programmed with a short virtual reality film produced by Cycling UK.
These educational films allow drivers to experience what it feels like to be close passed by a car from a cyclist’s perspective and explains how to overtake cyclists safely.
The charity ran its ‘Too Close for Comfort‘ fundraiser campaign via Kickstarter to contribute towards the making of the film and the distribution of Oculus Go headsets to all 45 police forces operating in the UK.
It raised £15,000 in eight days and the film was trialled in operation by West Midlands Police in October.
PC Steve Hudson of West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team (RHRT) said: “At West Midlands Police RHRT, we’ve long seen the benefit of using VR film to help educate road users.
“Using Cycling UK’s new film on how to overtake cyclists safely we’re looking forward to helping more people understand not just how to overtake cyclists safely, but also why it’s so important.”
The 11 forces sent headsets were Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Norfolk (joint operations), North Yorkshire, Cleveland and Durham (joint operations), Merseyside, Avon and Somerset, Hampshire, Sussex and West Midlands.
The remaining 34 forces will receive their headsets in the new year.
