Operation Snap prosecutions soar as dangerous drivers put cyclists at risk
Increasing numbers of cyclists are posting footage of careless driving through the police’s Operation Snap scheme – and prosecutions are rising
The number of cyclists submitting footage of poor and sometimes even dangerous driving has sky-rocketed over the past few years, effectively doubling since 2021 – with more than half of those caught now being prosecuted.
A Freedom of Information request by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found that the number of instances of riders submitting video clips to the police of dangerous drivers rose from 7,249 in 2021 to 15,779 in 2024.
The figure comes from 20 different police forces across the UK (43 were approached), with the footage collected as part of Operation Snap – an initiative designed to help process evidence of dangerous driving submitted by the public.
All 20 of the forces that submitted data reported instances of perilously close passes of cyclists by cars – up from 2021, when just 14 forces said they’d received evidence of this. The most common location for this type of manoeuvre was Avon and Somerset, with 3,500 people reporting instances to the police.
Such a figure is not surprising when you consider that of 655 people surveyed by IAM RoadSmart, more than half (58 per cent) didn’t know that drivers must give cyclists a minimum of 1.5 metres of space when overtaking them.
While the number of submissions is rising, it’s worth pointing out that the police are beginning to take action, with roughly one in two (54 per cent) of those caught in the act on camera being served a Notice of Intended Prosecution.
Driving too close to a cyclist is categorised under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as ‘Careless Driving’ and can leave you liable to receiving six penalty points and a fixed fine of £100. Going to court could increase the fine and the number of points issued even further.
Spokesperson for IAM RoadSmart, Harriet Hernando, described the current situation as “extremely concerning”, reminding drivers that “passing too closely to a cyclist can be intimidating and dangerous, especially if they need to move out to avoid a pothole”.
Hernando added: “While it is heartening to see that prosecution rates have increased, it would be better if it didn’t reach that stage and motorists weren’t doing it in the first place.”
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