Hundreds of bad drivers caught with dashcam scheme

Dashcam footage of bad driving taken by other drivers and cyclists and sent to police has led to action being against hundreds of motorists, a force says.

Robert Haynes, from West Mercia Police, set out the figures for Herefordshire councillors at a meeting to discuss road safety.

Videos are submitted under Operation Snap, a road safety scheme where drivers are encouraged to report other motorists' poor driving by submitting footage.

Mr Haynes said 300-600 videos were shared each month across the whole West Mercia Police area between July and February and, in Herefordshire, 365 submissions were made in that time, of which 242 led to some form of action.

Action ranged from advice letters to education courses, fines, points and prosecutions, councillors heard.

The West Mercia Police website suggests footage submitted could range from "driving dangerously or carelessly to overtaking on solid white lines, using a mobile phone while driving, ignoring traffic lights or dangerous driving around other road users such as horse riders and cyclists".

Mr Haynes said officers targeted general driving issues such as mobile phone use and speeding and also focused on individual road users after local tip-offs.

He said issues could be seasonal, adding: "We get a lot of complaints about motorcycles at this time of year through to September so we target them now."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.