Close passes

Freedom of Information Act Request No: 22/3163

Version Date: 16/05/2022

I’m writing to you to make a request under the freedom of information act relating to incidents reported in your region where cyclists have been close passed by a motor vehicle such as those made as part of Operation Snap or similar. 

Please could I receive the information broken down by calendar year from 2016 onwards in order to establish trends? 

I’d like to know how many close passes involving cyclists have been reported and how many of them were accompanied by supporting video evidence. 

I’m also interested in the outcomes of the reports.  What are the outcomes and what is their split amongst the reports?  E.g., how many reports result in no further action being taken, how many resulted in the driver being written to, how many resulted in the drivers being asked to attend an awareness course, and in how many instances were drivers prosecuted etc.? 

Also, in how many of the reports did the cyclist receive a warning or prosecution relating to their part in the incident? 

Please note:

• Each Force will have chosen to record its own information and that some of that information could be different in itself or recorded in a different way that is not directly comparable. For example, Devon and Cornwall Police have not placed a requirement on ourselves to record which of our cyclist incidents are ‘close passes’ as opposed to another offence a rider observes.
• A cyclist may see and submit a red light offence that does not impact them and a raw search would not differentiate between a purely viewed offence and an offence that brought the submitter in to conflict with a motorist. We have a comments column that each assessor writes their own notes (or not) as they choose. A common entry is ‘close pass’ but that does not mean that another entry or no entry at all is not a close pass. Other comments could be ‘out of time’ or ‘inconclusive’ or ‘not a close pass’.
• Data refers only to Op SNAP submissions. SNAP was initiated in Devon and Cornwall in 2019 and we did not record specific information around cyclist submissions as a separate category until mid-summer 2020. Therefore, the only figures that have been provided are for the last five and a half months of 2020 and the whole of 2021.
• Before July 2020 cyclists, pedestrians, horse rider, motorists and doorbell owners would have been dealt with together.

See below for cycling specific data: -

Cyclist submissions 

• It may be useful to know that in November 2021 20 % of cyclist submissions were not progressed.
• It may be useful to know that in December 2021 12.5 % of cyclist submissions were not progressed.

The proportion of cyclist and all incidents that are not progressed does not just represent those incidents where the assessor does not believe an offence is shown or cannot prove an offence.

It also includes incidents where a registration cannot be ascertained and a small number of submissions that are, unsuitable, out of time or the submitter has received some guidance to resubmit their incident which has often been successful.

Having submitted many videos to different regions, highlighting what I believed to be obviously dangerous close passes that have resulted in different outcomes, I’d also like to understand how the level of outcome is arrived at and how the consistency of the evidence review is ensured? 

For example:

Is there a minimum level of training required for each person reviewing evidence?

Evidence is reviewed by Police-led Prosecutors, who prosecute traffic offences in the Magistrates Courts. 

Is it ever acceptable for a vehicle to pass close within 1.5m of a cyclist?  If not, how is the proximity assessed from video evidence?  If so, how is the speed of pass or risk presented assessed from video evidence?   

Guidelines for overtaking can be found in The Highway Code: Using the road - Overtaking (162 to 169) - THE HIGHWAY CODE (highwaycodeuk.co.uk)

There are many different factors taken into consideration when reviewing video footage, and there simply isn’t the capacity to review every single incident and visit the scene or analyse the video for complex measurements or calculations. Those reviewing use professional judgement and meet with cycling groups to review how our service is viewed and this feedback is reflected into our working practices and policies. As a result, the number of drivers prosecuted for close passing has risen significantly as described above.

What are the documented guidelines/standards that those reviewing the video evidence follow?

Devon and Cornwall Police comply with the National Working Group guidance in relation to the way we deal with third party reports of traffic offences.

Finally, with respect to the changes in the Highway Code concerning a hierarchy of vulnerable road users, will this be acknowledged in your regions budget spend and what will I notice as a cyclist? 

The Road Casualty Reduction Team have conducted ‘close pass’ operations and will increase the frequency of them. Through our new Vision Zero South West partnership, we have actively promoted the Highway Code revisions and the risks to cyclists remain a key priority being addressed through our prevention activity as a partnership.