A dash cam manufacturer’s National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDCSP) is 12 months on, and 4891 videos have been uploaded. It’s not-for-profit platform by Nextbase, as a means of reporting serious road incidents, for motorists to upload footage to the relevant police force. That reduces the time it takes the police to process clips, a procedure that used to take an average of 14 hours per video. Half of videos received are investigated. Of these, half have resulted in prosecutions, varying from out-of-court written warnings and points deducted to court cases and driving bans.
Designed to take all footage and formats, available to owners of all devices – not limited to Nextbase cams – the NDCSP has hosting by Egress Software Technologies, which sends videos securely to forces under encryption.
One of the first adopters of the NDCSP, West Mercia Police, reports a marked change in the efficiency of its traffic monitoring. Supt Mel Crowther from West Mercia Police said: “The National Dash Cam Safety Portal is a tool that can be used by all road users; drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and motorcyclists. Any footage is permitted, and as a result we have seen a great amount of members of the public getting behind this system. As a force, we have been using this to deliver our own ‘Operation Snap’ initiative over the past year.
“The use of the NDCSP is a perfect example of modern police forces embracing new technology in order to help with internal time management. It ensures that our policing services are as accessible as possible, complementing the work already being done by police officers on our road network. Most importantly, it allows us to show that a dangerous driver’s behaviour can and will be held to account. I am confident that, with the help of other road users, this technology will deter people from making poor choices on the road and help make our roads safer for all.”
Northumbria Police’s Head of Communications, Neil Preston, said: “We are constantly evolving to meet the demands of modern policing and this system enables us to provide the best possible service to the communities we serve. The National Dash Cam Safety Portal reduces the demand on our communications centre by providing a quick and easy solution for the public to upload footage. The number of positive outcomes that we have seen as a direct result of these submissions is very high. The system continues to help us make our region a safer place for road users.”
Richard Browning, Director of Nextbase, said: “A year on from launch, the endorsement of the NDCSP from our police partners – both in terms of efficiency of processing and the success in prosecuting dangerous driving – is very rewarding. Our mission in building the platform was to remove the most dangerous drivers from our roads and it sounds like that is happening, slowly but surely. The three million Dash Cams on UK roads are a powerful tool that can be used to deter road users from putting others at risk, provided the forces have the means to deal with the footage. That’s now the case and we are confident the NDCSP continue to make our roads safer as more forces adopt the technology.”
The portal gives road users the ability to report serious cases of dangerous driving to police in 22 areas.
