Nextbase has developed a Dash Cam Safety Portal that links motorists directly with police forces.

The dash cam manufacturer says the portal will make roads safer by targeting dangerous driving.

Nexbase claims there is growing public demand for a streamlined means of reporting serious road incidents and says the portal will give road users the power to assist police forces across the country in reducing behaviour that puts others at risk. 

There are an estimated 2.6 million units dash cams on UK roads.

The not-for-profit platform has been built to make this process easier for road users as well as drastically reducing the amount of time it takes for forces to process clips from a minimum of 14 hours on average to just a few minutes.

All 39 English forces currently use different means of accepting and logging video and processes can vary from submission via social media or correspondence by email to having to provide hard copies of video clips, even burning these to DVD and sending them via post in extreme cases.

Nextbase says multiple polices forces around the country have welcomed the new initiative.

West Mercia Police is one of the forces that has adopted the Portal. Superintendent Paul Moxley said, “While the benefits to motorists of this ground-breaking portal are clear, this convenience extends to police forces, since a process which previously took hours can now be reduced to a matter of minutes. The key in making this work for us has been determining a way of providing footage in an accessible format, whilst the creation of a witness statement is also integral to ensuring the process is as efficient as possible. In embracing this new technology, it enables the concerned road user to help us positively influence driver behaviour to make our roads a safer place for all users.”

West Midlands Police is among other forces signed up to the portal and the map will also link to those forces who have their own system in place, including Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Cheshire Constabulary, Essex Police, Hampshire Constabulary, the Metropolitan Police Force, Norfolk Constabulary, North Yorkshire Police, Suffolk Constabulary, Surrey Police, Sussex Police, Thames Valley Police and Operation Snap in Wales.

The portal has been built to accommodate all footage and formats, available to owners of all devices – not limited to Nextbase dash cams.

To submit a video, users can visit the Nextbase website. The National Dash Cam Safety Portal guides the user through a questionnaire that automatically generates a detailed witness statement upon conclusion of the submission, removing the need for police to visit a witness to take such a statement. 

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