FAQs

You have been sent a Notice because you are either the registered keeper of a vehicle or have been nominated as the driver of a vehicle which is alleged to have committed an offence.  You are required by law to tell us if you were the driver or whether someone else was driving and if so provide their details.  If you do not give us this information you are likely to be summoned to Court and if found guilty fined up to £1000 and awarded 6 penalty points.

When you have provided these details the driver may be given an opportunity of attending a speed awareness course.  If you successfully complete a course you will not be fined or receive any penalty points. 

A further option, should you not be offered a course or choose not to accept, is paying a fixed penalty fine and receiving 3 points on your licence.  If you were driving at a speed which was substantially over the limit you are likely to be summoned to court without either a fixed penalty or offer of a course being available.  Before any of these options are available you must tell us who the driver was at the time. 

If you go to court the magistrates will decide whether you committed the offence and upon any fine or penalty points to be awarded.  You are reminded that the courts have the right to increase the fine and penalty points awarded if they see fit and if found guilty you are also likely to be required to pay prosecution costs.

You need to COMPLETE the relevant sections and SIGN the enclosed Notice.  Please return the Notice to the Central Ticket Office stated within 28 days.

Further correspondence will be sent to you if you complete the Notice as the driver.  If you do not receive correspondence within 28 days of returning the completed Notice, please contact the CTO stated on your form -

North Wales 01745 539393 [phone line open between 09:00 to 12:30]

Mid & South Wales 01443 660402 [phone line open between 09:00 to 12:00]

If you do not respond within 28 days of the date of this notice you may be prosecuted for failing to provide information.

A course is an alternative to a fine and penalty points on the driving licence.  The aim of cameras is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.  We prefer to educate drivers rather than punish them with fines and penalty points.  An accredited course is available in certain circumstances, and is far more likely to improve driver behaviour and consequently make our roads safer.  Courses are available to drivers who respond quickly to the Notices and who were driving at no more than 10% +9 miles per hour above the posted speed limit.  If there is a delay in identifying the driver, a course is unlikely to be offered.

No.  National guidelines state that a person may only attend one course within any three year period. 

No, attendance on a course is an alternative to a fine or any court proceedings.  Once a driver completes the course the matter is closed.  You will however be required to pay for the cost of the course. The courses are provided by TCC in Gwent, South Wales and North Wales Police at a cost of £88 or if you book the course with Dyfed-Powys there will be a cost of £92. You will not be able to attend a further course within 3 years. 

GoSafe enforce within National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Guidelines.

Within 14 clear days of a camera recording an alleged offence, a notice of intended prosecution will be issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle. This notice will contain the date, time and location of the alleged offence.

Included with the notice is a driver information form. The registered keeper of the vehicle has a legal responsibility to return this form giving the identity of the driver at the time of the alleged offence. Unless the alleged speed is more than 26mph above the limit, the Casualty Reduction Partnership will normally make a conditional offer of fixed penalty. This means recipients can choose to accept the penalty or to have the case heard before a court. Cases involving speeds of more than 26mph above the limit must be dealt with before a court - a conditional offer of fixed penalty cannot be made.

If you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle, then a new notice of intended prosecution will need to be issued in your name. The registered keeper has a legal responsibility under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to provide the identity of the driver and will need to complete the driver information form, which is enclosed with the notice of intended prosecution.

Payment can now be made over the telephone or online, these details are provided on the Conditional Offer.  The Driving Licence must be forwarded to the Court within 7 days of making payment.  An authorisation code is given when a payment is made which assists HMCTS in identifying the driving licence with the payment.

Automated 24hr payment line 0300 1231 481

Online: https://penaltynotice.homeoffice.gov.uk

IMPORTANT NOTICE - UNOFFICIAL PAYMENT WEBSITES

It has come to our attention that there are websites offering substantial discounts on fines or fixed penalty notices - please don't use them; whilst the website will take your money, ultimately your fine or fixed penalty will not be paid and you may be subject to further enforcement action.  No discounts or Government initiatives exist for any ticket type.

You MUST only use the official payment methods as stated on your notice.  Customers who have come across such websites are advised to report it to www.actionfraud.police.uk that monitor and store these sites.

No. The Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty Notice is a prescribed alternative to prosecution. The level of monetary penalty and the points are both fixed by legislation. The choice is to accept or reject the Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty in its entirety or not.

No. We are able to tell which vehicle has triggered the camera. The safety cameras take two photographs, half a second apart, and there are white lines on the road so we can tell which vehicle has travelled further and is therefore travelling faster.

You need to complete all sections of the Driver Information form including the name and address of the driver at the time of the alleged offence.  This will need to be returned to the Safety Camera Partnership. You have a legal obligation under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to supply this information. The driver will then receive a notice of intended prosecution in his/her own name.

The registered keeper of a vehicle has a legal obligation under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to provide the identity of the driver at the time of an alleged offence. This also applies to a company, which is the registered keeper of a vehicle. You will need to complete all sections of the driver information form including the name and address of the driver at the time of the alleged offence. You are strongly advised to keep records of the use of company owned vehicles.

You need to complete (part 4 for South Wales and part 3 for North Wales) of the driver information form with the name and address of the buyer so a notice of intended prosecution can be issued in his/her name.  

You may still be able to comply with a Conditional Offer. If you meet the requirements, your licence/record will be endorsed with the number of penalty points laid down for the offence. Please refer to your Conditional Offer for further details and instructions.

Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 places a legal responsibility on the registered keeper of a vehicle to supply the name and address of the driver of a vehicle at the time of an alleged offence. Failure to complete and return the driver information form may result in the registered keeper being prosecuted for failing to provide the information. You are strongly advised to keep a record of who is driving your vehicle at all times.

You will need to write to the Casualty Reduction Partnership giving the crime reference number issued to you by the police when you reported the vehicle stolen. 

The offer of a 'Fixed Penalty' provides a simple means for the driver to discharge liability for the offence by paying a fixed fine and receiving points on your licence. However, the driver of the vehicle has the right to request a court hearing and should consider this option if they wish to dispute the offence and/or put forward mitigation. 

The lines painted on the road at fixed sites are there as 'secondary check marks’ and are used to check which vehicle was speeding. Again, you can check to see that we have correctly identified the relevant vehicle in any photograph. Some cameras take two photographs, half a second apart. The lines allow us to measure the distance travelled in that half second to be sure that it matches the speed the camera has recorded.

A mistake on a notice of intended prosecution does not automatically invalidate it. If you think there might be a mistake on the notice you have received, you should contact the relevant Central Ticket Office noted on the notice of intended prosecution.

There is no facility for paying the fixed penalty by instalment. If you wish to pay by instalments the matter will have to be referred to a court.

If you incur 12 or more penalty points within a three-year period you face disqualification under the totting-up system. Penalty points for speeding and red light violations are valid for three years from the date of the offence, but must remain on your licence for four years. For more information about driving licence endorsements contact the DVLA on 03007906801 or visit the website.

No. If you receive a fixed penalty, the fine and points are set by the Government and therefore are not negotiable.

If you believe you have a defence, you should write and request for the matter to be referred to Court.  Please note that, 'I don't know the speed limit', 'I don't know the area' and 'the road was clear' are not accepted as valid reasons for exceeding the speed limit. If you intend to lodge an appeal you are still bound by law to return the driver information form to us within 28 days. You should not delay in sending in this form while you prepare your appeal or wait for a decision.

You have the right to challenge the alleged offence in court. If found guilty, the magistrates will decide the penalty, which may be greater than that imposed by fixed penalty and you may also have to pay court costs.

On motorways and trunk roads, speed limits are set by the Highways Agency. On all other roads it is the relevant Local Authority. Before a speed limit is set, the police are consulted and a traffic regulation order is issued where required.  A restricted road where there is a system of street lighting has a default speed limit of 30 miles per hour unless another limit is indicated. A Traffic Regulation Order is not required for most 30mph limits. 

No. Holding a clean driving licence does not make speeding or going through a red light any less dangerous or the consequences of a collision any less tragic. Therefore holding a clean licence does not entitle you to exemption from prosecution.

This is not a valid excuse. For your own safety as well as to comply with the law, you must be able to drive your vehicle safely, react to potential hazards and obey mandatory traffic signs at all times. Exceeding the limit unintentionally does not make speeding acceptable or the consequences of a high-speed collision any less tragic. For further information on speed limits and stopping distances see Know the Law.

A 30 mph area will EITHER have a system of street lighting or have 30 mph speed limit signs. Regulations prohibit the provision of 30 mph repeater signs on roads restricted to 30 mph where there is a system of street lighting in place. For more information the Highway Code is available to view on https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/highway-code 

This excuse will not be accepted. As stated in the Highway Code, roads with street lighting in the UK are subject to a 30mph limit unless there are signs indicating a higher or lower limit.

Safety camera signs may be displayed on routes leading to sites where cameras operate.  This is not a legal requirement to sign our sites with camera graphics. Please note that the absence of a camera sign does not invalidate an offence.

The photographic evidence taken by the camera at the time of the alleged offence will determine whether or not we proceed with the fixed penalty procedure in this situation. Each case will be judged on its own merits. If you feel you have grounds for appeal, then you must write to the relevant Central Ticket Office (CTO) immediately.

Remember the consequences of going through a red light can be fatal.

Fixed and mobile safety cameras can operate 24 hours a day. Many motorists mistakenly believe it is safer to speed at night when the roads are quieter. But casualty rates actually double after dark due to higher vehicle speeds, more alcohol consumption, tiredness and reduced visibility.

The registered keeper of a vehicle has a responsibility under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to supply the name and address of the person who was driving their vehicle at the time of the alleged offence. To validate the information you have supplied, you need to sign the form. If you do not sign it, you will not be deemed to have supplied the information and you could face prosecution for failing to supply the information. This may result in the court imposing a higher penalty (including points endorsement) than would been incurred from the fixed penalty procedure.

Under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, the registered keeper of a vehicle is required to identify the driver at the time the alleged offence was committed. It is an offence not to provide this information unless the keeper can show that he/she did not know and could not, with reasonable diligence, have found out. These provisions are used for road traffic offences including those detected by safety cameras.

The situation has not changed since the introduction of the Human Rights Act, which came into force on 2nd October 2000. With regard to a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) the act does not affect you when returning this paperwork. Primary legislation dictates that you are obliged to provide the information requested if you are able to. Failure to respond to request for details of the driver may result in prosecution.

British Courts have ruled that there is no infringement of human rights in requesting who was the driver of a motor vehicle at the time of an alleged offence. Responding to such a request does not amount to an admission to an alleged offence of driving at excess speed. This decision was upheld at a case heard in the Court of Human Rights 2007. 

The official ruling is that calibration checks are not a condition of Home Office Type Approval.

Operation SNAP is a police response to the ever increasing submissions of video and photographic evidence from members of the public in relation to witnessed driving offences.

Operation Snap will investigate offences of Dangerous Driving, Driving without Due Care and Attention, Careless Driving, using a mobile phone, not wearing a seat belt, contravening a red traffic light, contravening solid white lines, and other offences where the driver is clearly not in proper control of the vehicle.

No. The Police cannot enhance recorded footage, if you are unable to read the vehicle number plate from the original clip, then the Police are unlikely to be able to read it when they replay the footage.

Offences can be reported either via the gosafesnap.wales or via any one of the four Welsh Police Force websites.

No, the device you use to record the offence will not be taken from you.

It will be your responsibility to ensure that the original footage is saved in its original format dependent on how it is stored on the device. This could be for example on the internal memory of the device or perhaps on an external storage medium such as an SD card.

You will receive communication from the Operation Snap Team advising you of when the footage can be deleted once we are confident that the individual case has concluded.

No. The police do not replace memory card or device with like items in any circumstances.

Please remove the footage from social media. Crown Prosecution Service advice is that your footage should not be in the public domain as this may adversely affect any subsequent proceedings. Please fill in the Operation SNAP web form and start the process with us.

Only if the images clearly demonstrate the offence being committed. Dependent on the offence, the Police may require the video footage of the whole incident. They may also need to see more of your journey so that they can understand the context of what happened.

Yes, as part of the Criminal Justice process, and in order to allow the Police to deal with the offender in an appropriate manner, you will be required to provide a statement. However this can be completed on line and the majority of the statement will be completed as a result of you answering some simple pre-formatted questions.

On average only 1 to 2% of all reported SNAP offences result in a Court appearance. There are other disposal methods available such as attendance on a driver improvement course or the acceptance of a fixed penalty notice.  The police may not be able to prosecute the offence without you being willing to attend court.

If however on the very rare occasion the offence which you report does require a court appearance, then you will be fully supported through the process.

You must be aware that when the Police review the footage which you submit that they are duty bound to also review the manner of your driving and also the manner in which the footage was obtained. For example, if you were exceeding the speed limit in order to catch up with an offending driver and then proceeded to film them with your mobile phone whilst driving, then the Police will consider also taking proceedings against you. Your own behaviour may also been taken into account.

There are a number of disposal methods available dependent on the nature of the offence. The driver could be offered a Driver Education Course, they could receive a Fixed Penalty Notice, they could receive a Summons to attend Court or we may decide we are unable to take any further action.  The footage and statement will have been reviewed by a warranted police officer who will take all factors into consideration, including current CPS charging standards.

Evidence will be accepted in the form of still photographs or video footage. You must consider whether the footage you have will be sufficient for the Police to investigate and prosecute an offence. For example a still photograph may be acceptable to prove an offence of using a mobile phone but video footage would be required for an offence of failing to stop at a red light.

Ideally the date and time should be correct. The video footage is used to support your written witness testimony. You must account for any discrepancies in date/time within your witness evidence presented to us. Your witness statement must clearly state what time/date the incident occurred.

We need your statement; we need to fully understand the situation and people have a right to have matters heard in a court of law. Please fill in the web form. We will be in touch if you are required to attend court and support you through the process.

The evidence which you provide to the Police by way of the submission of digital media footage and a statement will be reviewed by an experienced officer to firstly establish if an offence has been committed and to identify the specific offence. The information will then be passed to the Central Ticket Office where the offence will be processed and certain paperwork will be sent to the driver of the offending vehicle.

The offending driver will not be provided with your details. However on the rare occasion that the offence which you have reported results in a Court appearance, then at this stage the offending driver will become aware of your name but not your address or any other personal details.

The types of offence which Operation Snap deal with generally have a 6 month time limit for prosecutions. The Police also have an obligation to inform the offending driver of the offence which they have committed usually within 14 days of the incident. Please make your submissions as soon as possible. If 14 days have passed, please submit your evidence as the Police may still be able to take action.

If you have footage of any other types of offences not covered by Operation Snap then it is suggest that you contact the relevant authority which generally tends to be the Police or the Local Authority and provide them with the footage. The Police can either be contacted via 101 or their website.

The footage which you submit along with your statement will be stored securely on a cloud server.

The information which you submit will generally be retained for a period of 2 years or at least until the conclusion of any proceedings.

The police have been receiving complaints from members of the public about dangerous and anti-social driving for some time. Operation SNAP allows us to effectively deal with the footage in a safe and secure way, whilst making the investigation process simple and straight forward for the police and members of the public. They have a determined and robust approach to policing the roads and will take every opportunity to make them safer for everyone. Operation SNAP is not asking you to go out and detect offences for us, but we will deal with any you find. 

All Roads Policing cars, marked and unmarked, are fitted with video recording equipment. The Police make use of this all the time. They capture offences and deal with them as appropriate. The Police work in partnership with Local Authorities, other Welsh Police Forces and with GoSafe. The camera vans you see are not there just to catch people speeding. They capture all sorts of offences and deal with them: people using phones, people distracted by sending texts, people not wearing their seatbelts etc. They are deployed for the safety of all road users.

Yes, where appropriate and providing a Road Traffic Offence has been committed, Cyclists are very vulnerable on our roads. If you have video footage of a close pass please fill in the web form for Operation SNAP.

The Police will deal with all matters of careless/riding/cycling as best they can. It’s vital to remember that the vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders are at much greater risk of serious injury and death than those in cars. Our priority should always be to protect those most vulnerable.

Yes. It’s easy for people to engage in Operation SNAP and processes have been designed to run smoothly. Operation SNAP has one desired outcome. That is making our roads safer.

Engage with us. We seek only one thing – that is, if we can, to influence your future behaviour so that our roads are safer.

You will be updated on the outcome of your submission within 14 days. In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988 and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we will only be able to release basic information about the outcome of your submission.  We will be only be able to advise you on whether we are able to proceed with the case you submitted.

In order for us to review your request, please contact us via https://gosafe.org/contact-us/general-enquiries/ with details of when you made the submission and any reference number and we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as practicable.

Yes. You can find a Welsh version of the submission form here

Dashcam footage falls under the category of CCTV if you are using it for work purposes.

If you have a dashcam that you use for work purposes on a vehicle that you use for work, then you are likely to need to register and pay a data protection fee to the ICO unless you are exempt. This is because the use of the dashcam in or on your vehicle for work purposes will not be considered as ‘domestic’ and therefore not exempt from data protection laws.

If you are capturing images of individual’s purely as a personal or household activity, with no connection to a professional or commercial activity, it is outside the UK GDPR’s scope.

If you are using the vehicle for work purposes, you will need to:

Let people know you are using a dashcam, by putting up signs saying that recording is taking place 

Ensure you don’t capture more footage than you need to achieve your purpose in using the dashcam 

Ensure the security of the footage you capture, by holding it securely and making sure nobody can watch it without good reason 

Only keep the footage for as long as you need it, delete it regularly, and when it is no longer needed

Ensure the dashcam is only operated in ways you intend and can’t be misused for other reasons. 

Anyone you share your property with, such as family members who could use the equipment, needs to know the importance of not misusing it.

For further advice around your data protection responsibilities of using a dashcam you can contact the Force Data Protection department, or the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Test

The purpose of Operation Tutelage is to address the estimated one million vehicles using UK roads each day without insurance and, although this figure has been static for a number of years, it is now starting to increase. Notwithstanding the impact of uninsured driving itself, there are proven links between uninsured driving and other types of criminality, many linked to the safety of others, and all with significant socio-economic cost.

Operation Tutelage is a relatively recent concept, stemming from an idea that the vast majority of people appear as uninsured for unintentional reasons. It was also believed that high numbers of these unintentionally uninsured could be encouraged to rectify the situation via a procedurally “just remind” approach and that it was not in anyone’s interest (public, police, Criminal Justice System or insurance industry) to treat them as offenders in these circumstances.

You have received a letter from the Police because your vehicle has been identified via our database that it currently has no valid vehicle insurance. Our database is regularly updated but occasionally there may be instances where your insurance details may not yet appear on our systems.

It is illegal to drive a vehicle on a road or in a public place without at least 3rd party insurance. Even if the vehicle itself is insured, if you’re not correctly insured to drive it you could be considered to be driving without insurance and could get penalised.

Uninsured driving is associated with an increased likelihood of being involved in a serious road crash, and pushes up the costs of insurance for all drivers.

The police have access to a database of all vehicles that are not insured.

You could receive a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points if you are caught driving a vehicle that you are not insured to drive. If the case goes to court you could get an unlimited fine and be disqualified from driving. The police also have the power to seize, and in some cases, destroy the vehicle that's been driven uninsured. 

If the vehicle is kept on public land the law requires that it is continuously insured. If you do not use your car, and it is kept on private ground, you can declare it off the road to the DVLA with a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN). The DVLA requires you to complete a V890 form. You can do this online via https://www.gov.uk/make-a-sorn or download the form and submit it by post.

Not necessarily. Many insurance policies that enable you to drive other vehicles also require the other vehicle to be insured in its own right. To avoid any doubt you should ensure the vehicle you are driving is also insured.

The police can stop any vehicle in use on a road for any reason. During any such stop, routine checks would include confirming the insurance status covering the use of the vehicle at that time. If there is no valid insurance in place for such use, the vehicle is liable to be seized and the driver prosecuted. The penalty for the offence of driving a vehicle without insurance is a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points or, if the case goes to court, you could get an unlimited fine and be disqualified from driving.

We do not require proof of insurance to be provided, we will check our own systems and those linked to the Motor Insurance Database, to confirm that insurance cover has been provided/ updated since the issue of the letter. Please do not send any documentation of this type to the police.

If you believe your vehicle is insured, and that you should not have received a letter from us, please contact your insurer in the first instance and check that a policy is in place. Mistakes can be made when your vehicle details are entered, and this will cause your vehicle to appear to be uninsured. You should also check your vehicle details online, for free, by using the Motor Insurance Database service - https://ownvehicle.askmid.com

Please be aware that if your insurers have asked for additional documentation and you do not provide it, there is a risk they will have cancelled the policy without further notice being given.

Please remember that not all insurance policies renew automatically. Please check with your insurer in relation to how you pay for the policy, especially if you pay your premium annually and not by Direct Debit.

Firstly, please check that someone else has not been driving your vehicle, as this would explain how it has been seen by our cameras. If this is not the case, we suggest that you email us via the address on your Operation Tutelage letter, with the words ‘Vehicle not driven’ in the subject line’ and we will begin an investigation to help understand what could have happened.

You should check that you have provided the right information to any buyer and the DVLA when you sold / transferred ownership of the vehicle.

There is lots of useful information available to help on the following GOV.UK website, which can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/responsibilities-selling-vehicle

If you have recently carried out a personalised number plate change, please ensure that you have contacted your insurer about this. Full details of how to carry out a personalised number plate change and the rules you need to adhere to can be found online –

https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers

For more information on vehicle insurance visit: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance

For more information on the type of insurances visit: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/insurance/types-of-insurance/vehicle-insurance/

If you would like more information or would like to get in touch with us regarding Operation Tutelage or regarding the letter you have received then please click here.