Dash cams have been hitting the headlines in the last few weeks after a pilot scheme by North Wales Police.

The region’s police force set up a scheme encouraging drivers to submit dash cam footage of suspected driving offences online. Drivers provided their footage along with a witness statement describing the incident.

The footage was then reviewed by an officer to determine if an offence was committed. During the trial the force dealt with 129 cases, with the footage saving the police up to 12 hours of investigative work per case.

The trial was such a success that it’s now being rolled out to the other three police forces in Wales.

Meanwhile, even forces that don’t currently have this functionality routinely now appeal to the public for dash cam footage. Where the events leading to a serious accident are unclear dash cam footage can provide invaluable evidence and help police piece together what happened.

We’re extremely pleased to see footage being used in this way. As proved by North Wales Police, the videos submitted by the public can save police resources. But more importantly it is leading to convictions and keeping bad drivers off the roads.

Not everyone has dash cams, but more than 80% of us now own a smartphone. These can all be used as a dash cam with an app such as 4Sight.

4Sight records all the time and detects any accidents you have, but it can also be used if you feel threatened or wary of another driver’s behaviour. One of the key features we built in was a manual record button that will record a 15 second video. This is then automatically sent to our contact centre. We’ll then call you and, if needed, alert the emergency services with the location and details. Alternatively, the clip is saved to your phone so that you can inform the police yourself.

Technology is improving all the time. With initiatives such as this one by North Wales Police we can all help put the brakes on bad drivers and make the roads safer. We hope that more police forces across the UK will follow their lead!