POLICE are continuing to urge local road users to use a portal to upload dashcam footage of incidents.
The call from Greater Manchester Police comes amid a steady increase in the number of submissions.
Submissions from the public are received by a dedicated policing team to review and have led to warning letters, fines, prosecutions and footage being used as key evidence for ongoing intelligence.
The force says it has risen from 3,715 reports across the region in 2020 when the portal – now named Operation Snap – first launched, to 5,078 in 2023.
There was an 85 per cent increase in what GMP describe as ‘positive outcomes’ of 1,563 between August 2023 and January 2024 – compared to the same period the year before – according to force figures.
This year, up until mid-October, 4,729 reports had been received, leading to 3,110 ‘positive outcomes’.
These include driving with no seatbelt, using a mobile phone, running a red light, speeding, blocking junctions and pavements, and the ‘close pass’ of cyclists.
A police chief says the portal enables the force to have “a determined and robust approach” to policing the roads.
“Sharing the roads and pavements and being respectful of that between drivers, riders, cyclists and pedestrians is key to a safer Greater Manchester and our commitment to ensure we can reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions,” said Superintendent Gareth Parkin of GMP’s Safer Transport Unit.
“Dashcam and cycle cam footage from drivers and cyclists using the roads is vital to this enforcement and we encourage everyone to continue to use the portal to do this.”
People can begin a report and use the portal online at https://www.gmp.police.uk/ro/report/rti/rti-beta-2.1/report-a-road-traffic-incident/
GMP says it attends around 925 incidents related to road traffic collisions on average every month, with around 3,000 officers required to attend road traffic collisions each month.
Greater Manchester is committed to Vision Zero – an ambition to eliminate all road death and life-changing injuries by 2040, with a 50 per cent reduction by 2030.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe, and be safe, when using our roads, whether you’re a driver, motorcyclist, cyclist, pedestrian or horse rider,” said Dame Sarah Storey, Greater Manchester’s Active Travel Commissioner.
“It is all of our responsibilities to ensure that our behaviour doesn’t put others at risk, but unfortunately some road users continue to act in a reckless manner.
“Enabling more people to get more involved in making roads safer by submitting footage of potential traffic offences also forms part of our action plan for how we intend to deliver on our ambition for Vision Zero.”
