Drivers across the country submit more than 35 dashcam videos of potential traffic offenses being committed to UK police forces each day.
In total, more than 52,000 dash cam recordings have been sent to UK police since 2017.
More than a third of the videos of potential motoring wrongdoings have resulted in a court summons, Fixed Penalty Notice, driver awareness course or warning.
A Freedom of Information request submitted to every UK police force by WhatCar? found that over 10% of the incidents captured via dashcam were severe enough to warrant a court prosecution, while 9.6% resulted in a fixed penalty notice.
Thirty-five of the UK’s 42 police forces have processes in place to investigate dashcam footage submitted by other road users and prosecute drivers and motorcyclists.
The use of dashcams by drivers has increased by around 850% since 2017, with insurance providers now accepting footage as evidence for claims.
Dyfed-Powys police in Wales is the most active force when it comes to using dashcam footage, having taken action over 81.3% of the videos that have been submitted to it. Some 40.2% of offenders were slapped with a warning, while 18.6% were prosecuted in court. A further 18.4% were given a driver awareness course, contrasting just 4% of motorists who were given a fixed penalty notice.
It was London’s Metropolitan Police, however, which received the largest number of submissions, with nearly 25,000 videos over four years put forward. It acted in 45.4% of cases, issuing court proceedings to 18.9% of offenders and driver awareness courses to 13.9%. Fixed notices were handed to 9.6% of offenders, while just 2.9% of drivers received a warning.
Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “Our Freedom of Information request shows the vast majority of police forces in the country can now receive and process footage from dash cams in a matter of hours, meaning reckless driving is more likely than ever to lead to a fine or even a court summons.”
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