The police forces in the West Midlands and neighbouring West Mercia have come out on top in a list of places where dashcam footage is used as evidence of bad driving.
The dashcam maker Nextbase says West Midlands Police have made use ofits National Dash Cam Safety Portal 7,000 times since 2018, while West Mercia, which covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, has done so 4,000. Northumbria, in third, has used it more than 3,700 times.
Nextbase says that having received a total of over 23,000 total submissions since 2018, the public has proved instrumental in helping to prosecute dangerous drivers around the UK. With 33 police forces now using the NDCSP as the key tool to facilitate this initiative, it gives members of the public the ability to assist the police in taking action against those who put other road users at risk.
Since West Mercia joined the initiative in July 2018, just over 4,000 reports have been submitted from the general public with just over 90% of those submitted, followed up with action (just under 10% of submissions are either out of force area or no offence could be detected). Of those submissions that could be actioned; 2684 warning letters have been sent, 983 driver awareness courses have been completed, 187 fixed penalty notices have been enforced and 209 court summons have been issued with some cases still pending.
To promote the initiative further West Mercia Police are now spreading the word by working with the local highways authorities and Highways England to erect temporary roadside posters to publicise the campaign across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Commenting on the initiative, Inspector Lloyd Creswell, Roads Policing said, “’Operation Snap’ has been complementing the work already being done by police officers on our road network for over two years now and the natural step forward is to work to ensure the wider general public are aware of the initiative and how to use it. The initiative allows us to raise awareness that drivers behaviour can and will be called to account at any time.
“People take risks on the road through fear of not getting caught and a lack of consequence. Operation Snap is an initiative that can be used by all road users; drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and motorcyclists. I am confident that with the help of other road users, new technology will deter people from making poor choices on the road and help make our roads safer for all.”
Furthermore, data from Nextbase’s data hosting partner – Egress, who guarantees a high level of security and ensures footage goes straight from uploader to the relevant police force – shows that half of all uploads to the NDCSP have resulted in some form of prosecution.
Bryn Brooker, Marketing Director of Nextbase, added, “The Portal was created to benefit both the police and public. By nurturing an equal partnership between the public and their local police forces, we are seeing the enormous benefits that Dash Cam use can have in our goal for safer roads. We are seeing growth year-on-year in each of their cases, as they receive more and more reports of dangerous driving. It is great to see them rallying behind the Portal that we have built.”
(Picture – Nextbase)
