MORE THAN 11,000 videos have been submitted to West Midlands Police’s dashcam portal in a year, as motorists help put the brakes on dangerous drivers.
Thousands of people have sent dashcam, helmet cam and mobile footage showing careless driving, dangerous driving and other bad behaviour behind the wheel that puts lives at risk in the past year.
To mark the achievement West Midlands Police have released some of the footage sent to them where a sentence has been passed.
This includes a motorist who appeared to be inhaling from a balloon while driving on the M6 southbound.
He was filmed by a passenger in another car.
The driver was given six points on his licence, and ordered to pay £726 in fines and costs.
Another new clip shows a motorist ignoring a red light and driving over a pedestrian crossing, narrowly missing a woman who was crossing.
That motorist was given a year-long driving ban, ordered to take an extended retest and ordered to pay £2,649 after being convicted of dangerous driving as a result of the dashcam submission.
It’s been a year since West Midlands Police put more officers into the Operation Snap team which reviews your submissions, and the force says the investment has paid off.
In 2017, there were just 208 reports sent into police, but by 2023, that figure rocketed to 7,145.
And in the last 12 months, there were more than 11,000 submissions – with June being the biggest ever month, with 1,467 submissions – around 50 every day.
Sgt Steve Evans, who heads up the team, said: “Road safety is an absolute priority for West Midlands Police and the work of our team is making a real difference.
“Around 90 per cent of the submissions we get end in positive action. That can be everything from a warning letter, up to prosecution and a day in court. One driver has previously received a suspended prison sentence as a result of footage sent to the Op Snap team.
“It doesn’t take long to do, and people who do take the time to send us their clips are making a real difference to road safety. Every one of the people who’ve been filmed like this and have had to pay the price should now be thinking again about the way they drive.”
For more or to submit footage click here.
