Dash Cam Submission Statistics Revealed in England and Wales

Are Brits becoming DIY ‘traffic cops’?

Dash cams are becoming an ever-present (and increasingly popular) feature in UK private and commercial vehicles – in fact, new data we’ve collated has revealed that almost a third (31%) of British motorists currently own a dash cam, equating to roughly 13 million people.¹

More UK motorists are helping to deter dangerous drivers and provide crucial evidence to help with insurance claims.

Surprisingly, in our March 2024 poll of 2,000 we discovered that three in four (75%) think these trusty gadgets should be used by every driver – whilst over half (51%) believe that they should be a discretionary addition to the car windscreen.

One in four (24%) hold the opinion that dash cams should be a compulsory part of driving in the UK.

The growth in popularity of dash cams has led to a sharp increase in the number of dangerous or illegal driving video submissions from the public to the police since the beginning of 2021 – when Operation Snap went live across the majority of police forces around the UK.

We used a Freedom of Information request to acquire the records from regional police forces in England and Wales to find out how many dash cam submissions were received between 2021-2023. This data gave us the total number received by regional police forces on a year-by-year basis.

Police forces in England and Wales receive over 175,000 dash cam submissions in the last three years

From our Freedom of Information request to every police force in England and Wales, 26 out of 43 authorities were able to provide us with the data requested, totaling 176,036 submissions in the last three years – this works out at 6,771 per police force since 2021.

Across the police forces that provided data to us, we found that on average there were 2,904 dash cam submissions reported to each police force in 2023.

Using the average number of submissions received in 2023 (2,904) multiplied by the total number of regional police forces in the England and Wales (43), we estimated that there were approximately 125,000 dash cam submissions received by the police forces last year.

This is the equivalent to 342 dash cam submissions per day.

Data reveals which individual areas are the best dash cam reporters

Using the FOI data we calculated the year-on-year increase between policing authorities to find the areas that have received the most dash cam submissions.

Whilst the main trend saw a positive increase throughout almost every constabulary between 2021 through to 2023, there were some areas that were found to have seen a much sharper rise in dash cam submissions than others – suggesting these are the UK capitals for DIY Traffic Cops.

* percentage change from 2021-2022 data only

Our data revealed that South Yorkshire had the steepest year-on-year increase in footage submitted with an astonishing 1882% increase in dash cam submissions since 2021. This is more than three times the increase of the next highest reporting authority in Hampshire at an already sizeable 469% increase.

Humberside and Warwickshire reported another rapid increase in submissions, rising by 205% and 191% respectively between 2021 and 2023. Lincolnshire completes the top five, reporting an increase of 172%.

Data reveals individual areas have seen the slowest increase of reporting

Although the positive increase was apparent throughout every police force between 2021 and 2023, there were some constabularies that were found to have seen a smaller year-on-year increase (versus the average of 77% between the 26 authorities).

Our findings revealed that North Yorkshire was the only police force to see a decrease of dash cam submissions, as they saw a 9% decrease from their 2021 figure.

Northumbria recorded the lowest increase out of the English police forces, with an increase of just 21% in year-on-year dash cam submissions, however there was still 16,000 submissions sent between 2021-2023.

In fact, Northumbria recorded a negative trend with an 8% decrease of dash cam submissions between 2022 and 2023. Surprisingly, South Yorkshire who had the largest increase of dash cam submissions between 2021 and 2023, had a decline of 16% from 2022 to 2023.

South Wales recorded the second slowest increase between 2022 and 2023 behind Cheshire with an increase of just 7%, perhaps owing to the fact that Operation Snap was implemented in Wales earlier than most English authorities, as early as 2017.

Convictions are rising with the introduction of Operation Snap

Despite being formally introduced in 2017, Operation Snap was not rolled out by the majority of police forces around the UK until 2021. In the time period since, dash cam submissions have increased exponentially.

There is a distinctive correlation between the introduction of Operation Snap and dash cam submissions received from the public and the actual rate of police intervention for these driving offences too.

Roughly 70% of dash cam footage submissions have led to warning letters, penalty points, driver awareness courses and further prosecutions, according to recent information from the national dash cam safety portal.

This could mean that dash cam footage submissions to the police are leading to as many as 90,000 motoring convictions, prosecutions, or warnings per year.

Motorists are being convicted of a wide variety of driving offences

We also surveyed 2,000 UK residents to find out the driving offences they have captured on their cameras between 2021 and 2023. The findings discovered that up to half of dash cam users (45%) had captured a driving offence whilst recording.

The most captured driving offence by dash came users was motorists on their mobile or electronic devices, which carries a minimum of six points on your licence and a £200 fine.

Although drivers can accumulate up to 12 points on their driving licences before leading to a driving ban, inexperienced drivers caught within the first two years of passing their test will be banned instantly as the limit is decreased to six points in the first two years of driving.

Speeding was the next most captured offence, with up to two in five (40%) of dash cam owners clocking motorists going above the legal limit, whilst up to nearly a third (30%) of owners recorded other motorists running a red light – both of these carry a minimum of three points on your licence and a £100 fine.

Completing the top five were offences captured by up to 29% of dash cam users, with middle lane hogging and undertaking on the roads both classed as ‘careless driving’. Both traffic violations will result in a minimum of three points and a £100 fine.

What to do in the event I capture a driving offence on my dash cam?

Our research has shown that there is a seven out of ten chance that reporting dash cam submissions to your local constabulary will result in police intervention.

Having discussed the potential outcomes of certain traffic violations, here’s what you should do in the event your dash cam records a driving offence:

• Write down any details of the vehicle involved, including the model, make, colour and registration plate.
• Note down any further details such as the time, date, and location of where the offence occurred – your dash cam may be able to provide you with an accurate timestamp along with the date.
• Include any details of the device used to record the footage – you should refrain from using mobile phones to record when driving.
• Find your local authorities’ submissions portal by using the keywords ‘Operation Snap *insert local authority* Police’.
• Upload the details along with the recorded footage in a digital file format to your local authorities’ ‘Operation Snap’ submissions portal.
• You will also be required to include your personal details such as address, contact details and postcode as you may be required to attend Court as a witness to help lead to a conviction.

Our Conclusions

Our research has revealed that dash cam submissions from the public are on the rise, and the action being taken by the nation’s eager DIY traffic cops is leading to a much greater chance of prosecutions across policing boundaries.

With most dash cam submissions leading to police intervention, this means there is a high chance that your reported dash cam submissions will likely lead to a prosecution, warning, or conviction rather than no further action being taken.

Dash cams are an incredibly useful piece of equipment for drivers around the UK, and we would strongly urge motorists and companies to ensure they are properly equipped as they can provide crucial evidence in legal proceedings and potentially help to deter dangerous driving.

Sources & Methodology

• FOI data received from 26 regional police forces between 2021-2023 on the number of dash cam submissions received by the public as part of Operation Snap.
• Number of licence holders according to government data (reference 1) used to work out number of dash cam users (31% of drivers) in UK.
• Rate of dash cam submissions’ statistics calculated by dividing the average number of submissions received in 2023 by regional police forces that responded (26) by the total number enquired to of 43.
• Number of driving convictions calculated by working out 70% of total submissions and rounding to the nearest 1,000.
• A survey of 2,017 UK respondents, conducted in February 2024.
• Driving penalties and fines:
  • https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/endorsement-codes-and-penalty-points
  • https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
  • https://www.gov.uk/speeding-penalties

¹https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/d0be1ed2-9907-4ec4-b552-c048f6aec16a/gb-driving-licence-data/