Motorists who are caught on camera carelessly close passing cyclists in South Wales will avoid receiving warning letters for the foreseeable future, the police have confirmed, due to the overwhelming amount of footage currently being submitted to its online reporting portal.

This week, road.cc reader Dave – who had submitted footage of what he described as a “bad” close pass to GoSafe Wales’ Operation SNAP portal – was told that the incident will result in no further action being taken.

According to South Wales Police, Operation SNAP, which is used across the UK, enabling members of the public to submit video and photographic evidence of driving offences to the police, is currently under review because, they said, it has “become so successful that the team is no longer able to manage the demand”.

As a result of the review, Dave was told that careless drivers who would have received an advisory notice from the police will now avoid any form of punishment “until further notice”, to allow officers to deal with the most serious cases of dangerous driving.

> “This gives errant drivers carte blanche to do what they like”: Police tell camera cyclists they are “unable to deal” with motorists driving in bike lanes or the wrong way down one-way streets, while warning cyclists to “not confront” dangerous drivers

“I had noticed over the last few months that a lot of my normal submissions for close passes were now coming back ‘no further action’, where previously they would have done something,” cyclist Dave told road.cc.

After submitting footage of a “bad close pass in the rain”, Dave received an email from GoSafe Wales, which manages the Operation SNAP portal, advising him that they are “unable to take any further action”.

“Operation SNAP has become so successful that the team is no longer able to manage the demand submitted by the public,” the email, seen by road.cc, read.

“We are in the process of reviewing the operation to ensure that it remains efficient and effective. Therefore, until further notice, we will not be able to take any further action in cases that would previously have been dealt with by an advisory notice (warning letter), such as this case.

“This means the operation can continue, and that the teams can deal with the most serious cases submitted.”

Reflecting on the decision to review Operation SNAP, and temporarily scrap the use of warning letters in the process, Dave told road.cc: “It makes you wonder how many submissions showing bad driving were handed letters when they could have been given a harsher judgement.

“And what does this mean going forward for road safety? How severe does a close pass now need to be for further action to be taken?”

road.cc has contacted South Wales Police and GoSafe Wales for comment.

> Police sent more footage of dangerous driving than ever before – as officers warn “goal is to make roads safer, not target drivers”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a UK police force has adapted its approach to third-party footage of driving offences due to a combination of overwhelming demand and limited resources.

In February, we reported that the chief inspector at Avon and Somerset Police – the force which receives more third-party video reports of dangerous driving than any other in England and Wales – admitted that it is now forced to focus on the “most urgent cases first” thanks to the ever-increasing volume of slips submitted through Operation SNAP.

“It’s certainly something which we’ve had to adapt to,” Rob Cheeseman said of the recent rise in third-party video reporting, which saw 8,595 video reports from both cyclists and motorists of alleged road safety incidents submitted in 2024.

“It’s certainly a more relatively new version of reporting crime to the police. The community is speaking really loudly that these are dangers on the road.

“The goal is not to be targeting drivers unnecessarily – the ultimate goal is making the roads safer for everyone in Avon and Somerset.”

Avon and Somerset Police close pass
Avon and Somerset Police close pass (Image Credit: Avon and Somerset Police)

And last September, the Metropolitan Police issued new guidance to London road users submitting footage of careless or dangerous driving, informing them that officers are now “unable to deal” with instances of motorists driving in cycle or bus lanes, or the wrong way down one-way streets.

Responding to the guidance, cyclists in the capital claimed the Met was giving “errant drivers carte blanche to do what they like”.

The force was also questioned for advising people on bikes that their complaints will not be dealt with if they “actively” confront or engage with a motorist committing a driving offence, especially if their behaviour could be deemed to be “aggressive, unacceptable, or not conforming to the Met Police values”.

In May 2023, Surrey Police claimed that “in the majority of cases, issuing a warning letter is the most appropriate course of action”, due to the “evidential viability” of the submitted videos and the “associated threat, harm, and risk” of the driving offence committed.

This came after a Freedom of Information request revealed that 80 percent of the almost 1,000 motorists accused of close passing a cyclist in Surrey over the previous 15 months were issued with warning letters, with only three being prosecuted.

Dorset Police close pass operation
Dorset Police close pass operation (Image Credit: Dorset Police)

Likewise, West Midlands Police, it emerged, had prosecuted just one driver from 286 close pass reports, the force admitting it needed to review how reports are managed. Last February, we reported that the force was now taking action of some kind in 97 per cent of cyclist submissions.

Thames Valley Police recently admitted, too, that there are “very valid concerns” about its handling of cyclists’ reports, the force recruiting to fill a “shortage in resources” and staff that has meant “Notice of Intended Prosecutions are not able to be sent to the offending driver within the legal timeframe of 14 days”.

> “A close pass isn’t an offence and a lot of cyclists don’t realise that”: Police chief’s “odd” claim that cyclists need education on driving offences highlighted as evidence of UK’s current road safety “mess”

And even where adequate resources have been available, the implementation of Operation SNAP hasn’t been without its teething problems.

In September, we reported that Gloucestershire Police would be joining in the adoption of Operation SNAP, although the force’s non-crime unit head attracted criticism by claiming “a close pass isn’t an offence and a lot of cyclists don’t realise that”.

We were also contacted last year by a reader who told us Thames Valley Police had instructed her to stop reporting close passes unless there is evidence of careless driving, creating some confusion about whether the act of close passing a cyclist itself is not actually sufficient evidence of careless or dangerous driving.