‘UNBELIEVABLY dangerous driving’ has been caught on camera in a record month for a Devon and Cornwall Police operation called Op Snap relying on video footage submitted by members of the public.

Op Snap has seen a record month of submissions and intended prosecutions in Devon and Cornwall, Vision Zero South West can reveal. Vision Zero is led by a partnership board which includes a wide range of experts from all around the South West including senior police and fire officers, leading clinicians, councillors and the police and crime commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, with the aim of cutting injuries and deaths on our roads.

The police operation Op Snap, which is designed to identify dangerous and unlawful driving through public video footage, received 279 submissions in February – the highest amount in a single month to date and up 10% on the previous high.

Of those submissions, officers from Op Snap issued 170 notices of intended prosecution – another record for a single month and another 10% increase on the previous high.

Of the submissions, 43% of videos were submitted by cyclists and a police spokesperson said: “As you can see in our latest video, road users are continuing to submit video footage showing extremely dangerous examples of driving, resulting in big fines and point penalties.”

Supt Adrian Leisk, strategic roads policing lead for Devon and Cornwall, is chairman of Vision Zero South West’s enforcement group and said: “Some of the footage we have released is truly shocking and demonstrates some unbelievably dangerous driving. Several examples could easily have escalated into collisions which would have caused serious injury and potentially even fatalities.

“As these latest figures show, we are seeing a big increase in the number of submissions to Op Snap – and we are also issuing more notices of intended prosecution. I want to make it clear that if you drive dangerously in Devon and Cornwall, there is a very good chance someone will have captured it on camera and will submit that footage through Op Snap.

“This will lead to you being fined, receiving penalty points or potentially even losing your license - it’s just not worth the risk.”

Since Op Snap was founded in 2019, Devon and Cornwall Police have issued almost 1,500 notices of Intended Prosecutions and more than 600 warnings to motorists across the two counties.

For more information visit dc.police.uk/opsnap

The Department for Transport recently released its official annual road casualty statistics for 2020 which showed that in Devon and Cornwall, 44 people were killed and 624 people were seriously injured.

While this is a reduction compared to 2019 - when there were 48 people killed and 768 seriously injured – 2020 also saw a 21% reduction in vehicle traffic across Great Britain due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The Department for Transport say the decrease in fatalities in 2020 is associated with this reduction in road traffic, meaning the rate of fatalities actually increased in 2020.

Of those killed or seriously injured on Devon and Cornwall’s roads:

·       270 were car occupants

·       196 were motorcyclists

·       96 were pedestrians

·       78 were cyclists

·       18 were van/light goods vehicle occupants

·       2 were HGV occupants

·       1 was a bus or coach occupant

There were also four reported casualties of incidents involving e-scooters in Devon and Cornwall during 2020.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, is also chairman of Vision Zero South West and the national APCC lead for road safety.

She said: “When dealing with figures like these, it’s important to remember that every single one represents a person who has suffered dramatically as a result of a collision on our roads. Whether it’s someone who dies, sustains a brain injury, loses a limb or suffers from the harrowing mental effects of a road traffic collision, the effect this incident has on them – as well as their friends and family - cannot be underestimated.

“The whole purpose of Vision Zero South West is to cut road traffic deaths to zero. All our partners will admit this is an extremely ambitious target but one which needs to be at the forefront of all of our minds. “ See https://youtu.be/7i9BOJLtey8 for footage of some of the examples of dangerous driving.