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news
Near Miss of the Day 781: Police claim they can’t prosecute close pass driver – because cyclist’s footage only came from one camera
Police told a cyclist who submitted footage of a very close pass in which not only did the driver give a long blast of the horn, but the car’s passenger also put their arm out of the vehicle’s window, possibly in an attempt to strike the rider, that they could not refer the footage for prosecution – because it was only taken from one camera.
It’s the first time we’ve heard of a force taking such an approach, and given we have now featured nearly 800 videos in our Near Miss of the Day series, and received countless other submissions, it’s one that’s left us a bit flummoxed to say the least.
The footage was shot by road.cc reader Kionne, who told us: “Not sure why the extended blast on the horn was required, I was not obstructing traffic, the road was wide enough to easily pass me, my position was good and my pace was good. You can see that all the motorists before were able to pass me without issue.
“As for the passenger, it was unclear whether he was trying to hit or push me but thankfully he missed.
“I reported it to South Staffordshire Police who sent out a warning letter, they told me there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the pass or possible attempted push as I only had footage from one camera.
“They went on to say I need to have at least two, possibly three cameras before they will even consider prosecution.
“In an attempt to appease me they said they see much worse than this and still do not prosecute,” he added.
> Near Miss of the Day turns 100 - Why do we do the feature and what have we learnt from it?
Over the years road.cc has reported on literally hundreds of close passes and near misses involving badly driven vehicles from every corner of the country – so many, in fact, that we’ve decided to turn the phenomenon into a regular feature on the site. One day hopefully we will run out of close passes and near misses to report on, but until that happy day arrives, Near Miss of the Day will keep rolling on.
If you’ve caught on camera a close encounter of the uncomfortable kind with another road user that you’d like to share with the wider cycling community please send it to us at info [at] road.cc or send us a message via the road.cc Facebook page.
If the video is on YouTube, please send us a link, if not we can add any footage you supply to our YouTube channel as an unlisted video (so it won't show up on searches).
Please also let us know whether you contacted the police and if so what their reaction was, as well as the reaction of the vehicle operator if it was a bus, lorry or van with company markings etc.
> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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54 comments
Until cyclists start holding the police more accountable then there will be a huge disparity between forces and how they deal with this stuff. Seems like it more of a lottery as to where the incident happens than how severe it is that dictates the response.
Its pretty clear that some forces simply don't like cyclists and will protect bad drivers. Its nothing to do with not being able to prosecute and everything to do with being unwilling. The police force should be all over this sort of thing if for no other reason than to bring in some extra cash.
We should be escalating these incidents and referring the police to whichever body they are beholden to until they start taking safety seriously.
Unfortunately the police are beholden to no-one for an individual incident unless actual negligence can be shown.
Also the political theatre that are PCC's are also shown up to be worth SFA.
Whilst the PCC is supposed to have oversight and set the democratic priorities, the professional standards sit with https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/about-us/what-we-do/
I agree with your sentiments and understand your anger.
But...
It costs the police a lot to investigate anything, those small fpns costs more to the police than the fine itself. I'm guessing this, I would be perfectly prepared to be corrected, but it does seem reasonable. The cash then goes to the treasury, not the police. Stick in the cost of the magistrate court, and police officer's time it they are sent there to mostly wait around.
The fines should be based more on earnings, but then you have cries of "war on the motorist" always hard working of course, and those motorists, they shout very loudly.
However, we shouldn't be thinking of the police as just a cost centre. When money is spent for police to do some part of their job, then we're just paying for a bit of justice and hopefully safer roads. I'd wager that their return on investment is much greater when they're handed video footage and merely have to watch and action it.
The actual problem is how successive governments have reduced the police resources.
I would be happy for all videos that are not to be used in a prosecution to be forwarded to the car insurance industry. If insurance premiums go up for a year because of such notification then that might start changing behaviour. I appreciate that doesn't address uninsured drivers but it might be a start?
Fully agree with the anger and frustration expressed. Looking from a slightly different perspective I believe it is the result of poor police management. In any modern company looking to eliminate accidents "near miss" investigation is a vital tool. As actual accidents are few not much is learned from them (and it's too late). Process, equipment and behaviour defects are spotted and corrected from "near miss" investigation.
In Scotland where the the polis robustly obstruct camera submission it's a clear case of incompetence at a high level.
A suitable trained person reviewing submissions (not just from cyclists) would be far more cost effective and efficient than any number of officers in cars. It would not take long for the effect of this to be known and change behaviours.
Why can't the Police management see and understand this?
No doubt our forthcoming road safety review will recommend a "bigger picture" view where we look to examine safety at a system level. Rather than just the "each crash ('accident') is unique" "individual responsibility" level we now work at. Albeit they're rather different from the roads but we already have this for air, rail and marine incidents.
Such a framework likely wouldn't immediately be applicable to close passes but with such a system in place there'd be a conceptual framework wherein we could consider preventative safety rather than the largely reactive system we have. Once we've got our collective heads round that we'd likely find the investment in e.g. a national reporting portal would improve safety further. And be cheaper overall than the current system.
I really think that road junctions need to be closed after serious incidents and a proper examination made before they can be considered safe to be re-opened. If the junction requires changes to be made safe, then so be it - keep it closed to motor traffic for however long it takes.
Kionne should lodge a formal complaint and just keep moving up the complaint heirachy. It may not lead to the any action taken against this particular driver but it will mean that the next time a video is lodged those involved will take more care. Doing nothing will acheive even less. I must also say that I second the idea of asking the constabulary in question for an explanation.
Lazy bullshit by South Staffs. The aggressive use of the horn is enough to issue a FPN.
Agree, this is police service specific variation whilst the law and HWC are national. Some might say that it's democratic to set priorities locally, though I don't agree as the harm is national, global really.
It would be nice if Road cc actually asked Staffordshire police for a comment to clarify the rule of law they are enforcing.l by not prosecuting the driver. So typical of this site, it's all about showing the video, the drama and very little about affecting real change to making cyclist's safer on the roads.
Here here!
I wonder if the driver has informed the insurance company that the car has been modified? I doubt that wing is original spec. (though happy to be corrected).
The twin exhaust looks like a mod too. Speaks volumes about the driver's attitude, and could indicate engine performance tweaks, so definitely of interest to insurers.
Do you mean the rear spoiler? Because everyone knows the wings are at the front and they are what you bolt the mirrors to! 😄
Well technically there are also rear wings under the C pillar and above the rear wheels, it's the front wings that have the mirrors in the case of no door mirrors but...😜
OK I'll get my coat
And if you check the MoT history...
I'm surprised they saw the rider to intimidate them.
And if you check the MoT history...
MOT?! You were lucky! In Lancashire we dream of the police exiting Ultra-Indolence Mode long enough to even consider whether vehicles have MOT, insurance or VED, and they're certainly not going to stir themselves into actual action even when the evidence is forced down their unwilling throats. This was first noted by me on 19th May and reported 23rd May- here it is appropriately parked on 9th June at the Old Police Station, Garstang, but it's frequently not there because it's out (I'm belabouring the point, without MOT, VED or insurance) on the public roads
The police say they can't prosecute driver because there's an R in the month.
How bad does it have to be for a conviction in Staffordshire? I'm glad I live in one of the force area's who will at least prosecute people on the basis of video evidence.
I would not accept the outcome in this case, the fact that the driver saw fit to blast the horn for several seconds during a deliberate close pass was intimidation of a road user.
Perhaps someone needs to send staffordshire police a copy of the Highway code to refresh themeselves on the rules.
I had video of a driver admitting a collision (but blaming me) and the response from Staffordshire police was "As there is no evidence of a collision I cannot take this matter any further."
They must be competing with West Mids Police to take the crown as the most useless force in the country. I've moved to the East Midlands and so far reported one incident - there was a response from Nottinghamshire Police within just a few days, and it says they intend to take action. Very impressed. Never had a single response from 150 police reports to WMP.
They must be competing with West Mids Police to take the crown as the most useless force in the country
I resent this! Lancashire Constabulary is the most useless force in the country!! Which of the contenders can boast a complete lack of response to an immaculate report of a No MOT, No VED, No Insurance vehicle which lives at The Old Police Station and has been filmed several times on the road 18 months after the MOT expired, and a year after the VED expired? Pfff! These other forces demonstrate only amateurish Ultra-Indolence and Incompetence.
The scary part is at one point WMP were very good; Though the main two officers known to be behind it have moved on; Something to do with getting offered senior roles elsewhere due to how successful they were in terms of prosecutions/man hour and correlations to measurable improvements to road safety... Yet the stuff they set up seems to have all been stopped by new management/replacement officers.
Another example of lazy, useless coppers. And they wonder why they dont have the publics respect anymore.
Get back to Twitter you useless 6g78s
Well, I know where to go next time I'm feeling a bit light fingered, just pop up to South Staffordshire and find shops that only have one security camera.
I've not sent in a couple of close passes because they were cars turning right out from a side road onto me. The trouble is that all the action is between the seat post and the handlebars. As an example, yesterday, on a return, 5 of us were 2 abreast on a road where there is adequate passing space and we thought nothing of a van passing us, until it slowed, the window came down and it was clear that words of wisdom were going to follow. I did my usual trick of yelling "On camera" and after a few seconds, the van retreated, then repassed without problem. I continued to shout on camera and point at my camera and no further issues ensued. My mate said "It does work, doesn't it." However, the point is I have no useful footage of the van alongside or the window being wound down (which I think is the critical evidence of inappropriate driving).
As other commenters have noted, you can't see what the passenger was doing at the vital moment and I have to accept the police are correct about not being able to extrapolate the passenger's arm waving into something more serious (although we all know that being pushed off and physically threatened is not an unusual occurrence).
In the grand scheme of things, the actual close pass is more in warning letter territory, not a lot different from the red Kia Sportage(?) shortly before.
Pure speculation on my part but I suspect that they are concentrating on the passenger behaviour where more evidence would be needed to show they tried to push the cyclist. However there is no doubt about the aggressive use of the horn which, I believe, is an offence in itself, not to mention the close pass. Road.cc and Cycling UK need to get together to get police action on cyclist submitted video sorted out. It won't happen without pressure and CUK should know who to put this pressure on and how to do it. Thanks to NMOTD, road.cc have collected the evidence base which will be needed.
As a final observation a warning letter is not doing nothing. I think one of the examples given in the CPS guidelines for prosecuting carless driving is repeated behaviour and a previous warning letter would help establish this if the driver did it again.
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