How your dashcam footage could help police catch dangerous drivers in West Yorkshire
The move is part of a drive to make the region’s roads safer as part of West Yorkshire Vision Zero strategy
West Yorkshire residents are being urged to become the “eyes and ears” of police by reporting dangerous driving and speeding.
The public can report concerns about locations where they fear poor driving could lead to a serious crash , even if there is no history of collisions there, with reports potentially leading to speed-camera deployments or police action.
The move is part of a drive to make the region’s roads safer as part of West Yorkshire Vision Zero strategy which aims to stop road deaths and serious injuries by 2040.
Chair of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Board and West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe said: “Vision Zero is a movement, it’s about us all working together to reduce injuries on our roads, we want to eliminate them and prevent them.
“We can’t do that on our own.”
Helping the public to play their part, Ms Lowe said each authority now had a Community Concern page on their websites.
They allow people to report concerns they fear might result in a serious incident even if a road or street might not have an injury accident record.
“It gives power back to the people,” said Ms Lowe.
There have been 62,000 interactions through the pages so far, she said.
West Yorkshire Police’s lead for the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership, Paul Jeffrey said that fixed or mobile speed cameras could be deployed at locations the public had reported in.
He said: “It’s important to listen to the community in those places, particularly where we can do something about it.
“There is a huge amount of value taking those concerns from the public, using the technology to validate the concerns, then getting our there with our vans to provide a visible deterrent to those who choose to exceed the speed limit and, for the persistent offenders, to deal with them in a number of different ways.
“Our preferred outcome is improved driver behaviour,” he said.
He added: ““The public can help play a huge part, helping us identify the risks and hopefully make the road network safer.
“You shouldn’t have to lose your life to make a simple journey in our county,.”
Dash cam and helmet footage also help identify issues and boost Vision Zero’s work, and the public can submit clips of poor road user behaviour directly to the police – you can go onto West Yorkshire Police’s website and upload the clip, said Mr Jeffrey.
Operation Snap has proved a huge success, with officers evaluating and dealing with incidents followed up from the footage.
“Operation Snap gives you an opportunity to make a difference,” he said.