10 oota 10 – police chief praises Daniel Gear for making roads ‘safer in a humorous way’
USUALLY the cycling social media phenomenon Daniel Gear is the one dishing out the “10 oota 10” ratings.
But this week Gear’s work to promote safe overtaking of cyclists has earned him a 10/10 score – from police chief Chris Sewell.
Gear has become a social media star by virtue of rating drivers as they overtake him on Shetland’s roads, allied with deadpan humour, with many drivers publicly clamouring for that coveted top rating.
Shared across sites such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, Gear has already amassed thousands of followers who tune in to see what rating they themselves, or friends and family, may get for their overtaking skills.
Speaking to Shetland News on Tuesday, area commander Sewell said of Gear’s videos: “I absolutely love the work he’s doing.
“The police have got a role to play in this but I think Daniel Gear has probably done more to raise awareness around this and promote road safety in Shetland than any police publicity recently.
“Credit to him because he’s making Shetland’s roads safer in a humorous way.”
And Sewell repeated his support for Gear’s work at Wednesday’s community safety and resilience board meeting.
Reflecting on road safety measures, Sewell congratulated Gear for his work with the cycle path test account.
“He has been encouraging drivers to pass cyclists safely. He’s done more to raise awareness than a lot of public campaigns,” he added.
Gear said he was “delighted to receive such an exceptional compliment from an esteemed scholar of the law”.
“As you may know from my videos, I (generally) don’t accept (many) bribes, but I do readily accept compliments, so it’s an immediate 10 oota 10 for police chief Chris Sewell.
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“It would be unlightsome of me to hoard that compliment for myself though, so I must share it with my fellow scholars and colleagues of the Shetland highway, who are the real righteous representatives of the road.”
Shetland News will have a more in-depth feature with Daniel Gear about his cycling account in the near future.
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