EYES ON THE ROAD
Cops dish out free dashcams to drivers to catch out other motorists breaking road rules in Cornwall
COPS are dishing out free dashcams to drivers to catch out motorists who are breaking road rules.
The scheme will see police hand out 170 state-of-the-art devices to businesses and organisations in Devon and Cornwall in a road safety crackdown.
2
2
Footage captured on the dashcams will be used to assist Devon and Cornwall Police’s Operation Snap.
The scheme allows members of the public to upload video footage of road traffic collisions as well as illegal or dangerous driving.
In the first six months of 2021, Devon and Cornwall Police received 779 submissions through Op Snap – of which 408 cases saw notices of intended prosecutions issued and 144 cases resulted in an official police warning.
The idea of the dashcam project is to ensure there are more eyes on the road to enforce the message that dangerous or illegal driving will not be tolerated on Devon and Cornwall’s roads.
Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of said: “This is a fantastic project that I hope will have a significant impact on road safety in Devon and Cornwall.
Most read in The Sun
“We have specifically chosen the organisations involved to receive these cameras as they operate vehicles which regularly travel on some of the most problematic roads across the South West.
“This gives us 170 extra pairs of eyes on our roads to capture dangerous drivers and take action against them through Devon and Cornwall Police’s Op Snap initiative.
“With more people watching, the chances of bad drivers getting caught will increase.
“I hope this makes motorists more alert and, in turn, will make our roads safer for everyone.”
Mark Cartwright, Head of Commercial Vehicle Incident Prevention at National Highways, said: “I am extremely pleased to be working with Devon & Cornwall Police and Vision Zero South West on this initiative which aims to improve safety for all by shining a light on poor driver behaviour, such as close following, undertaking, dangerous driving in the South West.
“This initiative also aims to raise awareness of Operation Snap and encourage motorists to consider their driving behaviour.
“We are confident that, working together with our road safety partners, this initiative will help widen our safety messages to drivers and raise awareness that those who engage in high-risk behaviours can expect to be spotted and, if an offence has been committed, action will be taken by our enforcement partners.”
Organisations including South West Water, Live West and the RNLI have already signed up to the scheme, which has been jointly funded by National Highways and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Pez Hargreaves, South West Regional Safety Manager for the RNLI, who will be taking part in the project said: “With facilities including lifeboat stations, lifeguard units and support bases located across the south west and many of our volunteers and staff travelling around the region as part of their core duties, the RNLI will be able to contribute significantly to this initiative.
“The charity put a focus on ensuring our volunteer crew and our lifeguards are safe while saving lives at sea, and this scheme will contribute to the safety of our teams using the road networks, as well as for people who live in and visit the region.”
Speed camera officer reveals what you CAN and CAN’T do on the roads and tells drivers how they can dodge fines
Topics