1 week Ago By Yahoo News Australia
The rising prevalence of private means more drivers can be caught out doing the wrong thing than ever before. As states and territories around the country , Aussies are also being warned their fellow motorists can also catch them in the act. In the nation's capital, 54 fines have recently been meted out to drivers who were caught on dash cam running through red lights after their fellow drivers handed dash cam footage to authorities.
It comes after ACT police in May expanded its online reporting portal . To date, authorities said more than 360 online dangerous driving reports had been received, proving Aussies are certainly eager to dob in their fellow drivers. From those, 167 were issued with an infringement notice while 66 drivers were hit with cautions or warnings.
It's a common act – and something you've probably done yourself – but police are cautioning against trying to rush through the end of a yellow light with Road Policing Detective Inspector Mark Steel saying those in a hurry to get where they're going could pay the ultimate price. "While police are happy to see so many people are already using the online portal, we are very disappointed to see the volume of poor driving behaviour occurring daily," he said. "Over half of all collisions in the ACT occur at intersections.
Drivers who don’t obey traffic lights and signs can end up with serious injuries or in some cases deceased." And with increased vigilantism on the roads, there's a growing chance you'll get caught. In the ACT, drivers can report instances of dangerous or careless driving, road rage, mobile phone use as well as red light and seatbelt offences.
It's not just Canberra drivers who are getting fined over dash cam tip offs. In 2020 police in NSW launched a campaign asking motorist to report any drivers they believed were under the influence of drugs and alcohol or using a mobile phone behind the wheel. The campaign urged Aussies to supply dash cam footage to dob in "drink, drug, distracted, dangerous" driving with the tagline "Someone is watching".
"Never before have we asked the community to report these crimes," Crime Stoppers NSW CEO, Peter Price AM, said at the time. "This is one of the most important campaigns we have ever embarked upon." Queensland has also embraced the tactic, with the former Palaszczuk Government launching an online portal in 2022 to catch hooning drivers.
Once footage is uploaded identifying the vehicle a driver must prove it wasn't them behind the wheel or face punishment, much like a speeding ticket. The popular Facebook group Dash Cam Owners Australia has more than a million followers where members regularly send in their footage of bad behaviour. It's hard to know just how many dash cams are active on our roads, but research by insurance giant Allianz in 2019 pointed to a surge in sales, suggesting one in five drivers had one.
If that number holds true, it would amount to about 4 million dash cams on vehicles across the country..
