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‘Always drive as if you are being watched by the police’ –
RAC says dashcams are a ‘game changer’ in enforcement
As many as 89 dashcam video recordings of alleged motoring
offences were submitted to police forces every day in 2019,
according to data analysed by the RAC.
A total of 32,370 pieces of footage were received by 24 police
forces that accept video evidence of driving offences from
members of the public, double the number recorded in 2018
(15,159). Data from the RAC’s freedom of information request also
shows that a quarter of these (25% – 8,148) went on to result in
prosecutions.
Police forces, according to the RAC’s study, are making it
increasingly easy for drivers and other road users to submit
camera footage of unsuspecting alleged rule-breakers, with all of
Britain’s 44 forces now accepting dashcam video, and the vast
majority online via their websites.
The greatest number of potentially prosecutable offences in 2019
were – perhaps unsurprisingly – submitted to The Met Police, a
total of 8,082. Surrey had the second highest tally with 3,542,
followed by West Midlands – 3,242 in third spot and Gwent – 3,037
– in fourth. Greater Manchester received the fifth highest number
of dashcam videos with 2,940.
The footage submitted to police related to the following
offences: dangerous driving, careless driving/driving without due
care and attention, driving too close to cyclists, contravening
red traffic lights, contravening double white lines, contravening
‘no entry’ signs, illegal use of a handheld mobile phone and
evidence of vehicles apparently without MOTs.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “Even before the
decline in the number of roads police enforcing traffic offences,
law-abiding drivers were often frustrated that there was never an
officer there to deal with infringements they witnessed. The
advent of dashcams, phones with cameras and helmet cameras have
been a game changer as drivers can now easily submit footage to
almost every police force.
“As so many drivers and cyclists are now using dashcams and
helmet cameras every road user needs to be very conscious that
any of their actions that aren’t in accordance with the law could
end up with the police. Some will inevitably find this out the
hard way while others will hopefully become increasingly mindful
of it.
“In terms of how effective dashcams are from a law enforcement
point of view our freedom of information request shows that
one-in-four footage submissions lead to a successful prosecution.
“There are no doubt numerous reasons why this figure isn’t
higher, but we suspect it has to do with the recorded evidence
not being as conclusive as it needs to be. This may be due to the
nature of the offence, with certain offences such as double white
line, red traffic light and ‘no entry’ contraventions being
easier to determine than illegal handheld mobile phone use and
careless driving.
“It might also be the case that footage filmed on mobile phones
is not as comprehensive for officers to work with as video
evidence from dashcams and helmet cams which film live footage
continuously when the vehicle is in motion. Those choosing to
submit mobile phone video – whether as passengers or pedestrians
– may well have missed the worst of the alleged offence as they
reached to capture it.
“With more and more people getting dashcams the message for 2021
has to be: always drive as if you’re being watched by the police.
If more drivers who are inclined to break the laws of the road
were to think this way, the safer the roads would be for all of
us.”
The RAC stocks a range of dashcams at varying price points at:
www.racshop.co.uk/dash-cams.
