Is it the public's job to police Britain's roads?

Mike van Erp, known online as Cycling Mikey, records motorists with a helmet camera, reports alleged dangerous or careless driving to police, and posts clips on social media where they often go viral. He claims to have reported nearly 2,500 drivers since 2019, with his online profile citing penalty points and disqualifications. More people are using cameras to help police roads. North Wales Police launched Operation Snap in 2016, later rolled out across most forces in England and Wales, allowing the public to upload footage of alleged offences. In London, the Metropolitan Police received 22,971 submissions in 2025 and 25,439 in 2024. Driving without due care and attention and using a mobile phone while driving were the most commonly reported offences. Resolved cases in 2025 led to advisory letters, fines, training courses, and prosecution in a smaller share.

"Mike van Erp, better known as Cycling Mikey, has become notorious online for his policing of London's roads. Equipped with his helmet camera, he records motorists allegedly driving dangerously or carelessly. He reports them to the police and then posts the clips on social media, where they frequently go viral. Van Erp claims to have reported almost 2,500 drivers since 2019, with his bio on X boasting of nearly 3,000 penalty points and 36 drivers disqualified."

""I see what I'm doing as good civic duty," he says. "I've become like this demon on the shoulders of drivers, [which means] everybody is much more worried about being on their phone." Van Erp is among an increasing number of people using cameras to help police the roads. In 2016, North Wales Police launched Operation Snap, which has since been gradually rolled out by most police forces in England and Wales."

"This provides an online portal for the public to upload footage of alleged driving offences. In London, the Metropolitan Police received 22,971 submissions of road traffic incidents via the Single Online Home platform in 2025 and 25,439 in 2024. In 2025, the most commonly reported offence was for driving without due care and attention, which includes driving too close to another vehicle, turning into the path of another vehicle, or unnecessarily staying in the overtaking lane."

"The second-most reported alleged offence was using a mobile phone while driving, with these two offences together accounting for a majority of all those reported in 2025. Out of the submissions received in 2025 which have been resolved, 14.3% resulted in an advisory letter being sent, while 10.1% led to a fine being issued, and 8.9% to a training course. Just under 12% of cases were sent for prosecution."

Read at www.bbc.com