Q&A: Beware of ‘Operation Snap’

Q. I have been a biker for the last 40-odd years and had all sorts over the years from BSAs to VFRs. Now I am a bit older and have a bit more money, I entered the Gold Wing era of my life about two years ago. It was something I thought I would never do! However, a mate lent me his and I instantly got it. It was like riding on a floating armchair. After that, it became an expensive year as I purchased a new Gold Wing along with a trailer that I had sprayed to match. I also got involved with a local group who do a lot of meet-ups and ride-outs, etc. Whilst I was out with these guys heading to a camping weekend, we were cruising down the motorway when we came across the classic middle lane hogger.

I understand our ride leader flashed him to get out of the way, but he simply sat there plodding along at around 65mph. Eventually, our ride leader pulled out into the outside lane and wagged his finger at him as he passed and waved the rest of our group to follow him. It’s fair to say that wound up the middle lane hogger and as our group of eight or 10 bikes passed him (at around 70mph, so not speeding) he was sticking his fingers up, as was his teenage kid in the back. As my intended audience of the occupants of the car was out of hearing range, I duly replied with a one-handed gesture as I passed him. The idiot. I didn’t think too much about it.

However, I have now received a Notice of Intended Prosecution for driving in the offside lane of a motorway whilst towing a trailer (I had my camping kit in the back). The Police have also sent photographs, presumably taken from the middle lane hogger’s dashcam, of me on my bike in the outside lane. I’m thinking of defending it on the basis that I was forced to overtake the middle lane hogger by his actions and also because it would have been dangerous to hold up the rest of my group. Alternatively, our ride leader (a retired insurance loss adjuster who knows his stuff) said I could simply ignore the police letter requesting the rider’s details, and it will probably just go away. What do you think I should do?

A. Forget George Orwell’s dystopian 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and the ubiquitous slogan, ‘Big Brother is watching you’. Instead, we, the people, appear to be taking great self-righteous delight in videoing and reporting each other daily and doing the Police’s job for them and/or putting it on social media for ‘likes.’. Parking that ‘phenomena’ for now, it appears the middle lane hogger has uploaded his video to the Police’s system. Just by way of background, there is something called ‘Operation SNAP’, which allows the public to submit video and photographic evidence relating to driving offences that they have witnessed.

As for what to do, I am afraid your suggestions are not legal defences and your ride leader is wrong. So you are aware, a person convicted of failing to provide information would be fined up to £1000 and either have their licence endorsed with six penalty points or be disqualified from driving. Therefore, you are advised to return the driver identification questionnaire within any time period specified by the authorities. Following that, I suspect you will be offered a fixed penalty offer of three points and a fine for £100 for riding with a trailer in the outside line of a motorway because it is illegal. My advice is that whilst it may be a bitter pill to swallow, you should accept the fixed penalty offer because you are guilty of the offence. Lastly, without wanting to preach, the speed limit for towing a trailer on the motorway is 60mph, not 70mph, so you need to be careful in the future if you are trying to keep up with your group.

Advice from our specialist motoring solicitor Andrew Prendergast from White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors (www.whitedalton.com) guides readers through their legal trials and troubles