Most people don’t cycle. That’s simply a statement of fact. Why is this simple fact so important?
Because it’s extremely likely that your Op Snap reports will be reviewed by someone who doesn’t cycle, and therefore has no idea how terrifying a close pass can feel. Even if police decide to act against the driver, the public prosecutor – who will most likely have seen the case file only shortly before the court hearing – most probably doesn’t cycle. They will therefore also have no idea how scary a close pass can be.
Finally, the magistrates, an₫ their legal council, most probably suffer from the same oversight.
Wide angle
Throw into the mix the fact that most helmet cameras use wide-angles lenses, and things become more difficult again. You see, wide-angle lenses distort the image along the horizontal plane. That makes overtaking cars appear to be further away than they were.
When you ride with a helmet camera, you adapt to the wide-angle lens distortion, but most coppers, prosecutors and magistrates don’t share that experience with you. As a result, it becomes SO easy for them to write off a close pass as “That was miles away from you!”
Countering the bias
It doesn’t matter how often, or how loudly you say “That was dangerously close!” to most coppers, prosecutors or magistrates. In the end, they note what you’re saying as your opinion. What you need is a way to verify your opinion independently.
Help is at hand!
The person behind the PhoneKills Twitter account built a very clever, and extremely useful site, over at closeepass.app. The site allows you to upload a still image from your close-pass video, and using Google maps to calibrate the settings, end up with a still image that accurately shows the overtaking distance.
This video explains it in full, and I strongly suggest you watch the video first.
Google Maps
Many people don’t realise that Google Maps offers a tool to measure distances. The distances measured with the tool accurately reflects the reality on the ground. What this means is that you don’t have to physically go measure the width of a road lane, out in the real world. Instead, you can measure it just as accurately, using Google Maps.
Simply go to Google Maps, switch to Satellite View, then zoom in on the road where the close pass occurred. Ideally, you want something absolute to measure against, such as road paint, a drain cover, or similar. Right-click the map, then click the Measure Distance option on the drop-down menu that appears.
Next, click right on the edge of the road or lane, then right-click the map again, selecting Distance To Here. Google Maps will draw a straight line between the two points, and you can drag either point, to improve the accuracy.
Putting it together
When happy with the accuracy, take a screenshot of the page, clearly showing the distance between the two points. In your Op Snap report, refer to that image (you’ll include it in your upload) and explain why you picked those two points.
For example, it might be because a drain cover visible in the video gives a concrete indication of where you were in the lane, compared to where the car was.
Next, upload the still image of the close pass to closepass.app and adjust the measurements, as explained in the video above. When correctly done, you’ll end up with an image that has an overlay on it, giving the actual distances. Include that image too, in your report, and describe how you created it.
Not evidential standard
Lots of people may at this point pipe up to say this is not a calibrated instrument, and is not of evidential standard. They’re right, and also entirely misguided in saying that.
You’re not trying to create absolute smoking-gun evidence, which would withstand the most rigorous court examination. Instead, you’re simply underlining the severity of the close pass, and trying to overcome the windscreen-shaped view of the world held by most police, prosecutors and magistrates. And in that, every little helps!
Good info. Somehow there needs to be improvements to the departments in police forces who deal with these reports. At the moment some forces act on them, and others don’t. I don’t think it’s just about money, I know forces have budget problems. It is more about, as you say, the attitude of everyone involved.