Dashcam Portal helps keep roads safe

Message from Humberside Police:

In the space of just under a year, we have received over 500 pieces of dashcam footage. 

Our Roads Policing team have been able use the footage submitted to help make the roads safer for everyone.

Between November 2020 and September 2021, 508 dash cam recordings were uploaded to our Dashcam reporting portal.

Some are truly hair-raising!

Traffic Management PC Andrew Brown said, “We’re delighted to have seen such a positive response to this new method of reporting. Over 500 submissions in under a year really is brilliant and has helped us take action to make sure that our roads are safe.

“We developed the dashcam portal to improve, develop and enhance the service we give to our communities and that is exactly what it is doing.

“The portal can be used to submit dashcam or cyclist helmet camera footage of instances of dangerous driving or road traffic offences.

“Every clip that we receive is viewed and assessed to confirm if any offences are evident.

“Some of the footage makes really hair raising viewing.  Once we have looked over the footage we decide what course of action is appropriate.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jNBbu3nrogU?enablejsapi=1

“We really look to educate drivers about the dangers of the manner of their driving, for us it’s trying to make sure people stay safe on the road and don’t endanger other road users.  This can be in the form of a letter advising them of the incident and the dangers they’d posed or more action may be taken if we feel it’s necessary.

“For more serious offences, these through to our Central Ticket Office who deal with other motoring offences such as speeding.  They then contact the driver or rider and offer driver awareness courses, or fines or points on their licence.  Some case end up with a court appearance.

“What I want to remind drivers of is that it’s not just the police that are looking out for unsafe or reckless driving but members of the public too.

Of those who have appeared in court so far, three drivers have been sentenced to fines for their offences. One driver was fined of £230 with six points on their licence and another  faced a £150 fine with three points on their licence. Both paid a victim surcharge (VS) of £34 and police costs of £90.

The third driver to appear in court was fined £40 and had three points added to their licence.

PC Brown continues, “We do receive a number of clips where further action is simply not possible. Often this is due to a lack of understanding about what constitutes an offence. We have also had instances where an offence is shown in the footage, however there is no way to identify the offending vehicle.

“Unfortunately, in these instances we are not able to progress the investigation and we share the frustrations of those reporting the incidents when this occurs.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison said: “One of the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan is safer roads for all users. My office already works in partnership with Humberside Police through the Community Speed Watch initiative and supports the speed enforcement work of Safer Roads Humber.

“The addition of the Police Dashcam portal in the last year has given motorists and cyclists a new method of reporting incidents, encouraging them to play an active part in road safety and brings the force into line with the latest technology available to road users.

“I’m delighted with the results of the work in the first year and will be interested to see how Humberside Police progress this work moving forward.”

If you are planning to submit footage via the portal, please consider carrying out the following checklist first: 

• Does your submission contain a road traffic collision? If so call 101 as we must make sure this is investigated fully by the correct department.
• Does the footage clearly show the registration of the offending vehicle?
• Does the footage clear show the offending behaviour?
• Ensure your dash cam or recording device is set to the correct date/time to allow a more prompt investigation into the incident and to avoid any discrepancies. i.e. in your statement you might say that an incident happened at 3pm, however, the dashcam may show 2pm due to not being adjusted with the clocks for daylight savings.
• Ensure the footage is not edited or clipped, ideally it needs to show the time leading up to and after the perceived offending behaviour.

What offences can be submitted to us?

Through the online system we will investigate various road traffic offences, including dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, careless driving, using a mobile phone whilst driving, not wearing a seat belt, contravening a red traffic light and contravening solid white lines, among others.

What about other offences such as road traffic collisions or road rage incidents?

If there has been a road traffic collision where someone is injured this must be reported through our non-emergency 101 line or 999 in an emergency.  This enables us to make sure everyone at the scene is looked after and any immediate evidence capture opportunities are exhausted.

In the case of a road rage incident – if a serious physical or verbal act of violence has happened following a driving incident but the threat has resolved, then this should be reported to us by contacting 101. However, if the threat is ongoing always call the police emergency line by dialing 999.

You can submit footage via the portal by visiting: DASH CAM REPORTING