- Road users have uploaded 24,000 videos of dangerous driving to a portal this year
- It is expected to receive a 31% increase in submissions in 2024
- Police in England and Wales can use this as evidence for law enforcement.
Motorists are increasingly taking advantage of a system that allows them to report other road users they believe are driving dangerously.
The National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDCSP), launched in 2018, provides a direct avenue for drivers and cyclists to upload footage of illegal driving captured from their car dash cams and helmet cameras, with evidence sent directly to law enforcement.
In the first five years of its creation, the portal has received around 135,000 videos as evidence, and in seven out of ten cases it has managed to punish the perpetrators caught on video.
This year has seen an increase in portal usage and annual uploads are expected to increase by 31 percent by 2024.
Wake-up call: There has been a dramatic rise in the number of road users this year presenting evidence to police showing dangerous driving, according to a new report
The NDSCP was created by British dash cam manufacturer Nextbase six years ago in response to declining police numbers in Britain, including a reduction in traffic patrols to identify illegal activity.
Almost all police forces in England and Wales have signed up to use the database, with some receiving more images than others.
The portal offers a simple way for the public to send law enforcement evidence of dangerous driving captured on their private cameras.
Police can quickly analyze this and use it to successfully catch offenders without needing to witness the illegal driving firsthand.
This year, some 24,000 videos have already been processed through the portal.
The top five regions receiving the most submissions are West Midlands, West Murcia, Northumberland, Surrey and South Yorkshire, Nextbase revealed.
These five areas alone have already received more than 18,000 videos supporting individual cases in 2024 – more than the total number uploaded across the UK in the whole of 2021.
The database has a simple upload system that allows users to send images to the correct police force, along with a brief description of the event captured on camera.
They can also include additional photographs and complete an online support questionnaire, which takes about 15 minutes.
The images and details provided can then be used as a witness statement if the police proceed to punish the offender, meaning officers do not need to waste time gathering evidence.
The images can be used to report a range of offences including reckless driving, driving without due care and attention, violating solid white lines, mobile phone use, improper control of a vehicle and violating red lights.
However, it cannot be used to enforce speed limits.
Increased reporting: Around 24,000 videos uploaded to the portal have already been processed this year, which is an increase of around a third compared to the volume of submissions made in 2023.
Five years after its launch, the NDCSP, in partnership with Egress (the government-grade safety data hosting specialist responsible for developing and distributing the platform’s technology) has processed more than 135,000 clips of dangerous driving, saving an estimated 123 years of police time.
And in 70 per cent of the cases uploaded online, the evidence resulted in some form of punishable action for those caught on camera, from warning letters to convictions and driving bans.
Bryn Brooker, head of road safety at Nextbase, said dash cams were originally launched to help drivers protect themselves in insurance claims, but were now becoming an effective tool to “help get dangerous drivers off the road”.
Speaking about the success of the portal, Brooker added: “Perhaps it’s not surprising given that many drivers take unnecessary risks by driving while texting, trying to eat a sandwich or otherwise distracted.
‘With more than 135,000 data uploads to the portal and another sharp increase in usage this year, the need for technological solutions to improve road safety is clear.
‘We are pleased to see that almost all police forces in England and Wales now accept video evidence in this way, making it easier to get dangerous drivers off the road, something that has undoubtedly saved lives.’
