Watch as dashcams land dodgiest drivers in court over moments of madness on Northamptonshire roads

Suspended sentence for dangerous overtaking, taxi driver lands £100 fine, another is warned for passing cyclist too close
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This is the latest video nasty of clips showing a number of near-misses involving the county's dodgiest drivers which were caught on camera by fellow road users.

Nearly 200 found themselves heading for trouble as part of Operation Snap — a Northamptonshire Police scheme which allows motorists and cyclists to use their own dashcams, helmet or body-worn cameras and passengers' phones to make sure dangerous driving is punished.

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■ A driver overtaking on solid white lines and driving towards oncoming vehicles on the wrong side of a traffic island received a suspended 12-week jail sentence and a two-year ban.

Dashcam footage helped prosecute the driver overtaken the wrong side of this traffic island. Photo Northamptonshire PoliceDashcam footage helped prosecute the driver overtaken the wrong side of this traffic island. Photo Northamptonshire Police
Dashcam footage helped prosecute the driver overtaken the wrong side of this traffic island. Photo Northamptonshire Police

■ The motorist filmed using a mobile phone on a motorway received three points on their licence and a £100 fine for driving while not in proper control of a vehicle.

■ A taxi driver who cut up a vehicle also received three points and a £100 fine for driving without due care and attention.

■ The motorist who passed too close to a cyclist was required to complete an education course after being found to be driving without reasonable consideration to other road users.

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Police received 326 Operation Snap video reports from 202 witnesses between October and December 2021, resulting in 180 notice of intended prosecution letters being sent to registered vehicle owners.

Driving without due care and attention continues to be the most common offence reported with 106 owners sent letters, while a further 31 drivers failed to stop at red lights.

Safer roads operations manager, Matthew O’Connell, said: “We continue to be committed to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“Through Operation Snap, we have thousands of additional pairs of eyes helping us to keep our roads safer and are able to take action against driving offences we otherwise wouldn’t see.

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“As a result of this, the chances of getting caught committing traffic offences have increased, which can only be a good thing — and we hope this serves as an incentive for everyone to use our roads more safely.”

Anyone can report driving offences by uploading video evidence on the force website and completing a form. Police staff sift through these reports to check the footage falls within the scheme's remit and contains clear views of an offender’s number plates so they can be identified.

Safer Roads Team officers then examine footage to confirm if a driving offence has been committed and start legal proceedings.