Footage of 'unbelievably dangerous driving' released by Devon and Cornwall Police

  • Watch the "truly shocking" driving caught on camera


Dashcam footage of "unbelievably dangerous driving" across Devon and Cornwall has been released by police as part of their Operation Snap campaign.

Record numbers of videos showing dangerous driving were sent into the force in February by road users.

The videos show near misses while cars were overtaking on major roads like the M5, and in one instance, a driver getting out of his car after cutting up another driver on the A30 at Carland Cross.

The police force have been asking for road users to send them videos of dangerous driving since 2019 under their Operation Snap initiative.

They received 279 submissions in February - the highest amount in a single month.

Many of the videos are filmed by dashcams on cars, but in February, 43% of videos were submitted by cyclists.

Devon and Cornwall Police were sent 10% more videos of dangerous driving in February than in the month before. Credit: Devon and Cornwall Police

Supt Adrian Leisk, Strategic Roads Policing Lead for Devon and Cornwall Police 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."

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

Supt Leisk went on to say: "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."

The Department for Transport recently released its official annual road casualty statistics.

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 lockdowns.