Cyclists send record number of Jeremy-Vine style videos to police
Cyclists are sending a record number of Jeremy Vine-style videos to police, new figures show.
More than 15,000 clips of cyclists being overtaken too closely by motorists were submitted to forces in England and Wales last year, according to information obtained by a road safety charity, more than double the 7,249 in 2021.
The increase comes amid a growing wave of so-called vigilante cyclists who use helmet cameras to film bad drivers and report them to police.
The most high-profile has been Vine, the BBC and Channel 5 presenter, who regularly posted footage of his daily commute taken from his 360-degree helmet camera.
He has reported drivers to police for passing too close to him, as well as for using their phones behind the wheel.
While he announced in April he would stop posting the videos, blaming the online trolling he received, it appears he has influenced other cyclists to take road safety into their own hands.
The charity IAM RoadSmart sent a freedom of information request to 43 police forces asking how many pieces of footage showing a close pass of a cyclist by a motorist were submitted as part of Operation Snap, an initiative introduced in 2017.
Twenty forces provided data. The responses showed that the percentage of reports leading to a notice of intended prosecution being served rose from 38 per cent in 2021 to 54 per cent last year.
A separate survey of 655 drivers who are members of IAM RoadSmart indicated that 58 per cent were not aware that the Highway Code recommends the minimum gap they should leave when passing cyclists is 1.5 metres (4.9ft).
Harriet Hernando, the charity's active travel spokeswoman, said: 'It is extremely concerning that more than half of motorists don't know how much space to give a cyclist when overtaking. Passing too closely to a cyclist can be intimidating and dangerous, especially if they need to move out to avoid a pothole.
'It is small wonder then that record numbers of cyclists are installing cameras and submitting footage of dangerous or careless drivers to the police. 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.'
Provisional Department for Transport figures showed that 85 cyclists were killed on Britain's roads last year. Between 2019 and 2023, most cyclist fatalities occurred in collisions involving a car.
IAM RoadSmart has launched a No More Close Calls campaign aimed at eradicating close passes and has called on the Government to better promote the new Highway Code.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'We take road safety extremely seriously, and there are already strict penalties in place for those who put the safety of cyclists at risk. Our roads are among the safest in the world, but we are always looking to improve.'
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