SHOCKED police in North Yorkshire have released footage of terrible driving on the county's roads as part of a major safety campaign in the face of soaring deaths and injuries.
The 'Fatal 5' campaign will focus on the most common causes of fatalities, careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, excessive speed and distracted driving, including using mobile phones.
In the past five months, there have been 20 fatal collisions in North Yorkshire, 30 people have died so far this year.
They're aiming to educate and prosecute drivers and are calling on the public to help by sending them dashcam footage of bad driving.
Superintendent Emma Aldred said: "We’ll have a strong road policing presence and will be unapologetically tough on those who endanger the lives of others just so they can shave a few seconds off a journey, answer a call while driving or have that 'one for the road' which puts them over the limit.
"More than 90 per cent of the collisions we deal with are due to human error. So we’re also doing a lot of work to prevent people making those poor decisions.
"Our new team of Road Safety Officers is about reaching and educating, we know that prevention and early intervention saves lives."
The force says every piece of footage sent to Op Snap will be reviewed by a specially-trained police officer and if an offence is identified, the driver can be prosecuted or told to take a driver improvement course.
Supt Aldred added: "The footage we released today shows some of the appalling driving we’re targeting.
"Fortunately the incidents shown did not result in any fatalities, but that is sheer luck and is the kind of behaviour that does lead to serious and fatal crashes on our roads which will not be tolerated.
"Careless driving destroys lives. We deal with the consequences first-hand, and they are deeply traumatic in so many ways."
Officers will have a targeted road safety operation and educational campaign every month for the next five months with new road safety officers who will push to reduce casualties. Police say they will be taking their campaign into schools and colleges across the county to warn young people to ensure they drive safely.
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