Nextbase, the UK’s leading Dash Cam brand, is today releasing new research to mark its annual National Dash Cam Day.

New research by Nextbase intends to give a real life view of todays roads in the UK.

The results come as the company call for the public to make use of its National Dash Cam Safety Portal . This is a reporting system used by all but three UK police forces Drivers can upload dashcam evidence of misdemeanours on UK roads, helping solve road crimes and highlight poor driving.

Reality TV

Nextbase’s study of over 2,000 UK drivers found that 72% of motorists have been involved in a “near-miss” incident. This is where a small change of circumstances could have led to a collision.

Over a third of these near-misses (36%) were potentially life-threatening. Furthermore, half (49%) of the video suppliers believe they would have been the victim if the crash had taken place.

Unsurprisingly, drivers reveal they witness many incidents of illegal driving every week, an average 14 separate instances. Most common is speeding, with 67% of drivers surveyed stating they see this on a weekly basis. Next come failing to indicate (60%), tailgating (52%) and dangerous overtaking (52%).

Cracking down on crime

Evidence of these incidents can all be easily sent to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDSCP). With all but three UK police forces now signed up, the portal has already seen over 57,000 submissions from the public, saving an estimated 458,000 hours of police time. This can be quantified as 52 full years of work for an investigating officer according to cyber security experts Egress.

So far the public has used the NDSCP to assist police in identifying, warning and prosecuting offenders nationwide. New data from police forces shows 70% of submissions to the portal have led to further action. This includes court cases, awareness courses, fixed penalty notices and warning letters. Only 30% of submissions have resulted in no further action (NFA). This can be seen as evidence of the platforms success in identifying and providing evidence of incidents.

Three quarters (75%) of those surveyed said they had never reported a traffic incident before. Of the quarter of drivers who have reported incidents to the police via traditional methods, the majority said the process was “complicated”. What’s more, 41% of drivers said they had neglected to report serious driver offences previously because they didn’t know how or it was too difficult.

Penalty portal

Bryn Brooker, Head of Road Safety at Nextbase, says: “We created the Portal to make roads safer. Road users can send in video from any device and help to get dangerous drivers off the road. Police aren’t just sitting on these videos – they are using them. Almost every force in the country is now signed up, with the remaining handful intending to do so soon. The system we built four years ago is not only helping police, it is removing dangerous drivers from the road.”