Motorists who take risks when driving, such as by carelessly overtaking or ignoring traffic lights, should be wary, not just of being seen by police officers on patrol, but other drivers too.

Members of the public have always been able to report incidents of dangerous or unlawful driving, but a new initiative uses evidence captured by dashcams and other devices as part of the reporting process. ‘Operation Snap’, which is supported by Brake (the road safety charity), and Cycling UK (the national cycling charity), the secure online platform allows members of the public to submit digital footage showing potential traffic offences direct to West Mercia Police.

‘Operation Snap’ is a road safety initiative originally developed in Wales and over the past year this has been rolled out to Police Forces across the UK with West Mercia Police being one of the first Forces to take it on during summer 2018.

Over the past year just under 3,000 reports have been submitted from the general public with approximately 42% of offenders receiving warning letters and a further 43% processed for prosecution.?

As part of the initiative West Mercia Police is now spreading the word by working with Herefordshire Council and Highways England to erect temporary roadside posters to publicise the campaign across Herefordshire.

To submit footage to West Mercia Police visit www.westmercia.police.uk/operationsnap