Lincolnshire PCC launches project to gather video's of dangerous drivers for prosecution
A project to gather video of dangerous drivers for prosecution is being launched by Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.
PCC Marc Jones has secured £45,000 to launch the pilot project in a bid to keep the county’s roads safe from reckless motorists.
The scheme involves buying 100 dashcams and distributing them to haulage and coach companies who regularly drive the highest risk routes around the county.
Any footage collected on the dashcams showing driving offences will then be uploaded to a police website by the drivers and may be used to take action against the motorist.
The funding will also help pay for additional staffing in Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership to review the footage.
The PCC will be sending out letters to companies around Lincolnshire in the coming weeks asking them to volunteer to have the free cameras put in their vehicles.
If successful the scheme could be extended to other road users and members of the public – creating a network of cameras designed to encourage change in driver behaviour and catch dangerous drivers.
The aim is to cut the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads. In the last 12 months 414 serious and fatal collisions were recorded – a 5% drop on the previous 12 months.
PCC Jones welcomed the progress made on road safety but said he will continue to find new ways to combat the senseless loss of life.
“I am delighted that progress is being made but the current level of deaths and serious injuries on our roads is still unacceptable and leaves a trail of families devastated by loss or trauma.
“If we are to keep our residents safe we must both work smart and work together. Innovation and partnership are crucial to success and I would urge companies around the county to come forward and sign up.
“This project is about trying to change dangerous driver behaviour and save lives not wrack up fines. This is just one step in the fight to combat this senseless loss of life and I will continue the work to eradicate this problem.”
This latest project comes in the wake of last year’s East of England and East Midlands Road Safety Summit, organised by the PCC, to highlight innovative new ways to improve road safety.
The event, the second organised by Mr Jones, also examined a Swedish approach called Vision Zero - a strategy and set of principles that work from the point of view that no road death is inevitable and that we should strive to see everyone arrive home safely from their journey.
PCCs from across the region – including Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, Humberside, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire – all agreed to investigate jointly signing up to Vision Zero.