Free dashcams issued by police for Operation Snap
Discussion
Timberwolf said:
I expect an uptick in cloned plates, obscured plates, the classic "keep it on the dash and flip it down while on the move" and of course just riding around without any numberplate at all as... well, who's going to catch you? Although "expect" is not quite the right word given enforcement purely via camera (public or otherwise) has been the norm for a while and therefore all of these already happen regularly.
I have been saying this for a while. You only have to drive around the ULEZ zone to see quite a few vans with a corner snapped off the number plate so the first or last character cant be read or up on the dash with paper covering half of it. I don't think your man in the street would run cloned plates but I do think people would try obscuring their plates. vonhosen said:
A calibrated speedo is not a pre-requisite to report for a speeding offence.
They won't do very small margins without a calibrated device, but for larger margins they can/have (for evidence from Police officers).
For submissions from the public they are unlikely to look at speeding offences unless very significant.
Interesting. I'd imagine in court them not actually knowing how fast you were going would make prosecution very difficult. They won't do very small margins without a calibrated device, but for larger margins they can/have (for evidence from Police officers).
For submissions from the public they are unlikely to look at speeding offences unless very significant.
Baldchap said:
vonhosen said:
A calibrated speedo is not a pre-requisite to report for a speeding offence.
They won't do very small margins without a calibrated device, but for larger margins they can/have (for evidence from Police officers).
For submissions from the public they are unlikely to look at speeding offences unless very significant.
Interesting. I'd imagine in court them not actually knowing how fast you were going would make prosecution very difficult. They won't do very small margins without a calibrated device, but for larger margins they can/have (for evidence from Police officers).
For submissions from the public they are unlikely to look at speeding offences unless very significant.
The opinion of two Police officers (formed independently at the same time) without any measurement device, has been sufficient previously to secure a conviction.
Likewise one Police officer & an uncalibrated speedo.
I had the displeasure of meeting one of these dashcam warriors, he was bumbling along at 20mph in a 30mph, so I made a quick clean legal overtake. Almost immediately he speeds up flashing lights pointing at his dash cam whilst following very closely.
At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue? "Got that on dashcam" he said whilst fuming, I just said that was a acceptable overtake if anything your driving is bad as you began to tailgate me! He then said he's sending the footage to the police, I said go for it and continued with my journey.
There was no solid line/road markings or oncoming traffic preventing me from overtaking, just ridiculous. It did make me think though when these dash scammers submit their footage do they have to send a few minutes worth or is it just the incident?
At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue? "Got that on dashcam" he said whilst fuming, I just said that was a acceptable overtake if anything your driving is bad as you began to tailgate me! He then said he's sending the footage to the police, I said go for it and continued with my journey.
There was no solid line/road markings or oncoming traffic preventing me from overtaking, just ridiculous. It did make me think though when these dash scammers submit their footage do they have to send a few minutes worth or is it just the incident?
Unreal said:
If someone did record you and their evidence was used as the almost exclusive prosecution evidence, would you not have the right to know the person's identity, assuming you went to court and didn't accept a summary fine?
Not sure, but assuming you plead not guilty the prosecution might be scuppered if the footage provider isn’t willing to turn up as a witness.croyde said:
Could be a gamble worth taking. No one wants to waste a day in court.
But on the other hand, these t
ts might relish it 
Yep, see Cycling mikey on YouTube. He takes great pleasure in going to court. But on the other hand, these t
ts might relish it If you don't know him he spends his time cycling past queuing traffic to catch and report drivers who are on the phone. People using the phone while driving is a pet hate of mine, but the sneaky, vigilante arsewipe that is cycling mikey annoys me even more.
NicheMonkey said:
I had the displeasure of meeting one of these dashcam warriors, he was bumbling along at 20mph in a 30mph, so I made a quick clean legal overtake. Almost immediately he speeds up flashing lights pointing at his dash cam whilst following very closely.
At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue? "Got that on dashcam" he said whilst fuming, I just said that was a acceptable overtake if anything your driving is bad as you began to tailgate me! He then said he's sending the footage to the police, I said go for it and continued with my journey.
There was no solid line/road markings or oncoming traffic preventing me from overtaking, just ridiculous. It did make me think though when these dash scammers submit their footage do they have to send a few minutes worth or is it just the incident?
This is the problem isn't it! At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue? "Got that on dashcam" he said whilst fuming, I just said that was a acceptable overtake if anything your driving is bad as you began to tailgate me! He then said he's sending the footage to the police, I said go for it and continued with my journey.
There was no solid line/road markings or oncoming traffic preventing me from overtaking, just ridiculous. It did make me think though when these dash scammers submit their footage do they have to send a few minutes worth or is it just the incident?
I've read the rest of the comments and there's some of that 'nothing to hide' attitude in there (although less than there might have been in the past).
Back to the point... I imagine I could have ended up on DCW hit list for similar reasons to above. Overtaking a snail in NSL on a clear dry day. The same old 'speed up, flash lights, wave fist, etc, etc'..
A lot of the time it's an ego thing. Someone gets overtaken and they know the underpowered POS they choose to buy has absolutely no chance of remedying the slight they've suffered so they get really cross. It's a hit on their driving style and their purchasing decision and there's nothing that can be done. The ego is in the toilet.
I feel a twitch sometimes if somebody overtakes me... but it lasts for a microsecond and then my motoring enthusiast brain takes over and I start looking at how their car is handling the overtake and how much of a runup might have been required and listening for exhaust noise etc etc...
We're living in horrible times though. It's not far off reports from what used to go on in East Germany where citizen turned on citizen and reported everything to the authorities. Dashcams are one more item in a long line of paranoia tech such as CCTV doorbells, alarm systems, domestic CCTV, mobile phone cameras, etc, etc... I tend to take the view that getting burgled is an inevitably if for whatever reason there exists a climate for it. And with it being known that so much surveillance exists now perpetrators mask up / hoddie up so you can't identify them. So what's the point of living in fear, forget about it until it happens (if it does) and then just deal with it at the time.
Evanivitch said:
NicheMonkey said:
At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue?
Nice escalation there. Look forward to seeing you on YouTube. jhonn said:
Question. ( I honestly don't know) - can the police prosecute from dashcam footage sent in by a member of the public? I'd have thought with the advent of CGI, video editing, IA, etc, that it could not be assumed that footage hadn't been tampered with. Or, would the onus be on the perpetrator to prove it hadn't been tampered with/made up maliciously?
Yes they can and do. West Yorkshire police send you feedback on dashcam footage submitted and mention whether they are going to take action or not.STe_rsv4 said:
Evanivitch said:
NicheMonkey said:
At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue?
Nice escalation there. Look forward to seeing you on YouTube. 
NicheMonkey said:
I had the displeasure of meeting one of these dashcam warriors, he was bumbling along at 20mph in a 30mph, so I made a quick clean legal overtake. Almost immediately he speeds up flashing lights pointing at his dash cam whilst following very closely.
At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue? "Got that on dashcam" he said whilst fuming, I just said that was a acceptable overtake if anything your driving is bad as you began to tailgate me! He then said he's sending the footage to the police, I said go for it and continued with my journey.
There was no solid line/road markings or oncoming traffic preventing me from overtaking, just ridiculous. It did make me think though when these dash scammers submit their footage do they have to send a few minutes worth or is it just the incident?
Not unusual. I expect many DCWs are rather sad people who see a cam as their chance to maneuver themselves into a position of righteous indignation, a position of power really which has otherwise eluded them in their lives.At the next set of lights I got out and and asked what's the issue? "Got that on dashcam" he said whilst fuming, I just said that was a acceptable overtake if anything your driving is bad as you began to tailgate me! He then said he's sending the footage to the police, I said go for it and continued with my journey.
There was no solid line/road markings or oncoming traffic preventing me from overtaking, just ridiculous. It did make me think though when these dash scammers submit their footage do they have to send a few minutes worth or is it just the incident?
weewhiskydram said:
jhonn said:
Question. ( I honestly don't know) - can the police prosecute from dashcam footage sent in by a member of the public? I'd have thought with the advent of CGI, video editing, IA, etc, that it could not be assumed that footage hadn't been tampered with. Or, would the onus be on the perpetrator to prove it hadn't been tampered with/made up maliciously?
Yes they can and do. West Yorkshire police send you feedback on dashcam footage submitted and mention whether they are going to take action or not.Wills2 said:
Gastons_Revenge said:
IIRC that misleading statistic also included cameras installed by businesses to dissuade theft etc, hardly indicative of the UK being some 1984 surveillance state.
I'd say we are a surveillance state but for all the wrong reasons, we're not preventing crime by doing it either as violent crime is going through the roof, it appears the ECHR agrees. https://dpglaw.co.uk/european-court-of-human-right...
The Chinese companies like it as well
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/29/br...
And there is more to come
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-bulking-up-spyi...
In my sleepy little village there has been an ongoing spate of vandalism, amongst other more serious matters.
The culprit, well known to everyone, was caught on CCTV in the act, (this is an adult not a child), the police were called, they informed the victims that the CCTV footage was not evidence and only first hand witness statements would be acceptable, in the upcoming court case.
CypSIdders said:
Here, in Cyprus, although it's not illegal to use a dashcam, footage cannot be used as evidence because the user did not have the consent of the third party to film them.
In my sleepy little village there has been an ongoing spate of vandalism, amongst other more serious matters.
The culprit, well known to everyone, was caught on CCTV in the act, (this is an adult not a child), the police were called, they informed the victims that the CCTV footage was not evidence and only first hand witness statements would be acceptable, in the upcoming court case.
Police have occasionally claimed similar in UK, they've either been misinformed or trying to avoid having to do anything, I suspect the same is true in this case.In my sleepy little village there has been an ongoing spate of vandalism, amongst other more serious matters.
The culprit, well known to everyone, was caught on CCTV in the act, (this is an adult not a child), the police were called, they informed the victims that the CCTV footage was not evidence and only first hand witness statements would be acceptable, in the upcoming court case.
Many countries have much stronger privacy laws than the UK which place much heavier restrictions on the use of CCTV footage, but use for detecting / investigating / prosecuting crimes is pretty much universally allowed or you may as well not allow any CCTV.
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