Working with Victoria Police, Crime Stoppers Victoria is launching a new road safety campaign targeting reckless and careless drivers. The new campaign ‘You Never Know Who’s Watching’, uses de-identified footage of drivers behaving badly on our roads and encourages motorists to submit their own footage to Crime Stoppers.
With the increase in the number of deaths on Victorian roads, Crime Stoppers has taken the unusual step of releasing footage that typically would never be seen by the public.
“We are always protective of those who come to Crime Stoppers with information and have never released footage of this nature. We have taken this unusual step because we want to do what we can to prevent further road fatalities and we know Victorians are concerned about safety on our roads,” says Crime Stoppers Victoria Chief Executive Stella Smith.
Deaths on Victorian roads are up 12% from the same time last year.
Reckless and careless drivers put the community in danger, “It is important that drivers understand that they never know who’s watching and risk-taking behaviour can be recorded at any time, shared with Crime Stoppers and investigated by police,” says Ms Smith.
With more people installing dashcams and recording devices, Crime Stoppers encourages sharing of footage to their online platform, “It is a simple process to upload pictures and/or videos and can be done on a mobile or computer. You can even choose to remain anonymous,” Ms Smith reminds the community.
Road safety affects all road users, including motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. With the fatality rate up significantly on the five-year average, it has never been a more important message to the community.
Victoria Police Road Policing Superintendent John Fitzpatrick said that dashcam footage can be an incredibly powerful investigative tool and helps police to identify serious and reckless offending that poses the most serious risk on our roads.
“Whether it’s hooning, deliberately ignoring traffic signals or driving distracted, careless and reckless driving won’t be tolerated. These drivers show a clear disregard for not only their own safety, but for the safety of all road users.
“The penalties for careless and reckless driving are significant, with fines in the thousands, vehicle impoundment and even potential jail time.
“Even if police don’t catch you in the act, there’s every chance you’ll be captured on camera by another motorist. We are imploring everyone to think about their actions behind the wheel and consider who might be watching.
Ms Smith wants to remind the community, that we can all play a role preventing more lives from being lost on Victorian roads, “By coming forward and sharing what you know and see, we can make Victorian roads safer for everyone”.
If you have video footage of reckless or careless driving, you can upload it at crimestoppersvic.com.au.
To learn more about the penalties of reckless and careless driving and how to stay safe on our roads here.