Safer Roads – The PF Guide to Operation Snap


What is Operation Snap?

Operation Snap is a nationwide police initiative of particular relevance to cylists. It streamlines the process for online submission of digital footage showing potential traffic offences.

Type of offences covered

The types of offences covered include driving dangerously or carelessly, unsafe overtaking, using a handheld deivce while driving, contravening a red light and many more. It is not for reporting minor parking complaints or for more serious incidents involving a collision.

Evidence required

Evidence is usually in the form of video footage covering the alleged offence. The footage must be of sufficient quality to show the incident clearly and allow the offending vehicle’s number plate to be read. The information required varies depending on the police force, but the essentials are typically as follows.

  • Incident time and date
  • Incident location
  • A statement describing what happened – the ‘witness statement’
  • Vehicle registation
  • Vehicle make model and colour if known
  • Agreement to be prepared to attend court should that be necessary

The importance of the witness statement

It is important to understand that the witness statement is the primary evidence for the offence. The video footage serves to backup the statement. A witness statement of the form ‘see video’ would not be acceptable. The statement should include all particulars relevant. These can include weather and lighting conditions, clothing worn, use of lights, width of the road and any other details that might be relavent. It can also include a description of the effect of the incident, for example, the type of distress caused.

A good statement:

As I was cycling around the sharp right-hand bend at the top of the steep section after the village centre, the vehicle overtook, leaving insufficient clearance. My speed at the time of overtaking was 14mph. At that location it was not possible to see far enough ahead to determine if there were oncoming vehicles. The overtaking vehicle crossed a solid white line in order to overtake. There was an oncoming vehicle and it was forced to come to a complete stop. I was wearing a bright green cycling jersey and had powerful front and rear lights in operation at the time. The driver of the vehicle forced to take evasive action was visibly distressed.

How to prepare video evidence

Police resources are in great demand so it is important to trim video segments to remove irrelevant sections. The general guidance is to provide 2 minutes of video covering one minute before and one after the incident. Exceptions are where a longer clip is necessary to establish an important part of the evidence. Footage from more than one camera is acceptable if it is relevant, front and rear, for example. Video trimming is acceptable but other forms of manipulation are generally not and should be avoided. Many forces request that the original video be preserved on the original recording device, usually some form of non-volatile memeory such as an SD card. This is not always practical. A typical cyclist using op-snap will rack up a large number of incidents very quickly making preservation non-viable. An acceptable alternative is to copy and securely store both the original clip and the trimmed version on a different device such as a hard drive. The video must not be placed in the public domain – posting on social media is not acceptable.

Time limits

The police are required to contact the driver of the vehicle within 14 days of the incident. It is best to make the submission as soon as possible.

Submitting the evidence and what happens next

Once all the relevant material has been assembled (trimmed video, statement, location etc) it can be submitted online to the police – district links below. Different methods of communication can be requested – email will usually be the preferred option. After submission, most forces send immediate confirmation of reciept which may include a submission reference. It is important to make a record of the reference. Within 14 days a further communication will be send that states whether the incident is deemed ‘actionable’ or ‘non-actionable’. There are several reasons why the incident might be deemed ‘non-actionable’ – problems with the video (number plate not clear), an incident that does not pass the threshold of an offence etc. Where ‘actionable’ the police will take steps to identify the driver and then send a ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP)’ to the driver. This will be an offer of a penalty such as:

  • Attendance of driver awareness course
  • A fine and penalty points
  • Disqualification from driving.

A driver accepting the offer will be given no access to the video evidence. They can reject the offer and challenge in court in which case they will be given a copy of the video. A driver going to court and loosing will face a more severe penalty than the conditional offer. Nationwide, the statistics show that 2% of ‘actionable’ cases end up in a magistrates court. In such a case for a sucessful prosecution, the witness must attend and may be called to give evidence. In approximately 50% of cases, the defence change their plea to guilty once it has been established that the witness is in attendance. Overall, therefore 1% of cases end up with the witness having to appear before the court. The court chosen is that closest to the location of the incident. Where a driver accepts the penalty without going to court, the police will not generally communicate the outcome to the submitter.

The importance of keeping records

A cyclist is likely to witness many incidents. Memory becomes vague and record keeping is essential. A good idea is to keep a document summarising the particulars of every incident. An example:

Incident number:48
Name of video file: CQY_002.mp4
Date: 17/09/2024
Time of day: 13:01
Registration: XXXXXX
Make: Hyundai
Colour: Blue
Time of incident in the clip: 0:30
Location: Axxx, Xxxxx Road, travelling north after Xxxx, close to the junction with Xxxxx Lane.
Statement: As I was cycling around the sharp right-hand bend at the top of the steep section after the village centre, the vehicle overtook, leaving insufficient clearance. My speed at the time of overtaking was 14mph. At that location it was not possible to see far enough ahead to determine if there were oncoming vehicles. The overtaking vehicle crossed a solid white line in order to overtake. There was an oncoming vehicle that was forced to come to a complete stop. I was wearing a bright green cycling jersey and had powerful front and rear lights in operation at the time. The driver of the vehicle forced to take evasive action was visibly distressed.
Police district: Lancashire
Date submitted: 17/09/2024
Submission reference: APLxxxxxx
Responce date: 21/09/2024
Responce: ‘Actionable’

How much effort is involved and is it worth it?

Reading all this information, it probably sounds rather daunting. Certainly, finding out all the information and making a first submission can be time consuming. However, after a little experience the time required is not so great – typically around 5 make a submission. Why bother? The experience of many cyclists is that of daily low-level harrasement from motor vehicle users with the occasional more serious incident. Without action this will not change. It is important to realise that with op-snap the emphasis is primarily on changing attitudes and behaviour rather than on punishment. For most cases a driver awareness course will be the action of choice. Op-snap makes a difference. An example: ongoing construction work meant that on a certain road there were several HGVs an hour passing, all from the same company. One performed a dangerous close pass on a cyclist outfitted with a front video camera. The police force deemed the incident actionable. Soon after, a dramatic change in behaviour occured. Now, on the same section of road, and without exception, all of the vehicles from that company overtake correctly – waiting behind if overtaking is not safe and giving adequate clearance when doing so.

Equipment recommendations

PF members are invited to add to this section giving experience of devices not covered here.

Cycliq Fly12 front and Fly6 rear video cameras

The Fly12 front camera from the company ‘Cycliq‘ is currently (2024) in its third version. Previous versions, though having good video quality, suffered from poor mount design, highly suscpetible to failure – ‘junk’ is a fair description of the flimsy handlebar mount. The stock mount of latest Fly12 Sport is greatly improved. Video quality is generally excellent and can conveniently split the footage into 5 minute segments making editing faster. Third part mounts are available, one particularly good option is the bar mounted device that accomodates a garmin on top and the camera underneath. In this case the Fly12 needs an aditional GoPro adapter that can be ordered from Cycliq.

The Cycliq rear camera, Fly6 Pro also has excellent video quality and comes with a number of mounting options including seat post and saddle rail. The seat post mount attaches using a velcro strap while the direct rail mount offers a more solid-feeling option.

One caveat is that handlebar and seatpost mounted cameras are generally placed too low to reliably record dirvers using handheld devices. A helmet mounted camera is much better placed for such cases.

Cycliq video editing software

The ‘CycliqPlus Desktop’ video editing software is available for both macOS and Windows. It capabilities include everything necessary for preparing a clip for submission. A mobile version is available for iOS and Android, it also allows the necessary video editing, though the workflow is not as smooth as the desktop version. In addition, the mobile version can be used to configure the Cycliq cameras over Bluetooth.

Police district submission links

Reports go to the police force covering the location where the incident took place. The links here go directly to the submission portals.

Greater Manchester

Lancashire

West Yorkshire

North Yorkshire