WEST Yorkshire Police has launched a new system for drivers to report suspected offences on the district's roads by sharing video or dash cam footage.

The force described road safety as a "top priority" with the new portal looking to investigate offences such as: dangerous driving, driver distraction including using a mobile phone, driving without due care and attention, careless driving, overtaking on solid white lines, not being in proper control of the vehicle and traffic light offences.

It follows a previous project by Operation Steerside in 2016 which asked drivers to email footage across, leading to maniac drivers in Bradford being investigated.

Read more about that here...

Paul Jeffrey, prosecutions and casualty prevention manager for West Yorkshire Police, said individual teams will be reviewing the footage.

Mr Jeffrey said: "Dash cams are becoming increasingly popular with motorists across West Yorkshire and we want to work with the public to improve driver behaviour and address offending.

"Any death on our roads is unacceptable and this is part of our ongoing commitment to make West Yorkshire’s roads safer.

"We have been working hard with our IT department to develop this portal. Our new digital submissions teams will then review the footage and take steps to identify the driver.

"If the clip is good enough and we have enough evidence of an offence taking place the options we can take include offering the driver a retraining course, issuing a fixed penalty notice or seeking a prosecution.

"We are expecting a high demand for this service, so please bear with us."

You can submit dash cam footage here.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Mark Burns-Williamson said the new system was made possible thanks to new technology now on offer. 

The PCC said: “For some time I have been working with the Force to help bring about this important change and to capitalise upon the technology now available to offer this capability which I really welcome.

“Over the years, I have heard first hand from communities, partners and local campaign groups, about the importance of road safety and this has always been reflected as a key priority within my Police and Crime Plan.

“The introduction of this crucial digital media tool, however, now represents a significant milestone in our collective offer and commitment to improving safety on our roads. 

“Simply the knowledge that road safety offences could now potentially be captured by anyone and easily shared with the police through this portal, will ultimately positively impact upon behaviours on a preventative level. 

“Likewise, it will help to ensure victims and witnesses have the necessary support when reporting an incident in this way, and why it’s taken a while to build the right digital team capacity and IT solutions to make it available to the public.”

“I will be closely monitoring the progress of the new system with interest and how we can take full advantage of all its benefits in due course.”