Many drivers across UK roads now use dashboard cameras to capture the behaviour of other drivers, protect them in the event of an accident and prove who is at fault. While a dashcam is undoubtedly useful in this capacity, it is important to understand that it is a two-way street. While it can capture another driver's mistakes, the camera also records everything you do.

As such, you should bear in mind that if you’re involved in an incident, your own dashcam footage can provide evidence of any of your own motoring offences that were responsible for the accident. Police forces across the country now regularly use this footage to prosecute drivers for various driving offences. Footage from a dashboard camera can only be used if it meets legal standards, but it is generally admissible both in your defence and in prosecutions against you.

JMW's motoring offences team has a wealth of experience in defending clients accused of motoring offences, and in using dashcam footage in their defence. Here, we outline when dashcam footage is admissible in court, how it can be used, and how you can defend yourself if you are accused of an offence.

When Is Dashcam Footage Admissible?

For dashcam footage to be used in court, it must meet specific legal standards. This applies not only to footage from your own vehicle, but to footage captured by other drivers. If another driver captures an alleged motoring offence on their camera, they can submit it through online portals and it may be submitted as evidence in these cases.

Dashcam footage is generally admissible as long as it is relevant to the incident and of sufficient quality. To have evidential value, the camera footage must clearly show the alleged offence and the number plate of any vehicle involved.

In rare cases, dashcam footage may not be admissible. If the video is blurry or doesn't show the full context, it could weaken a case. If your dashcam is installed improperly, the court may deem the footage inadmissible. For example, if the device obstructs more than 40mm of the swept area of your windscreen wipers, it is considered a hazard. While this may make the footage hard to use against you, it also cannot support your defence and may lead to a separate charge for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

A final requirement is that the footage must be genuine. If there is any sign that the dashcam footage has been edited or manipulated, the court's decision will be to exclude it. With that said, you have a legal duty to provide the full, unedited video footage if it is requested as part of legal proceedings. If the court believes you have tampered with the file, the consequences could be severe.

Similarly, if you delete footage that shows you making a mistake, you may be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, which is a much more serious offence than most traffic offences and often leads to a prison sentence. Speak to a solicitor if you have concerns about an alleged offence and how evidence is likely to be used. We can advise you as your case proceeds, work to have evidence dismissed where it does not meet the necessary standards, and mount your defence from the earliest stages of the process.

How Police Forces Obtain Dashcam Footage

Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the police have the power to seize your dashcam or its SD card at the scene of an incident. If they have reason to believe it contains evidence of a motoring offence, they can take the device immediately to ensure the footage isn’t lost or deleted.

Most police forces in the UK also receive reports of driving offences and accompanying evidence through the National Dash Cam Safety Portal. This portal allows a person to submit evidence captured on their devices directly to their local police force, along with witness statements. Once the police receive the footage, an officer will review it and decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a case. This is another key source of dashcam footage in investigations.

What Common Driving Offences Is Dashcam Footage Used to Prove?

If dashcam footage is reliable and clearly shows the circumstances of an accident, it can be used as evidence in any case where there is a dispute about who was responsible, or where the cause of the incident was not clear. Beyond accidents, dashcam footage may be used to prosecute a wide range of other traffic offences if it shows poor driver behaviour, including:

• Dangerous driving
• Driving without due care and attention, or careless driving
• Running a red light, whether as its own offence or as evidence that you were driving aggressively or recklessly as part of a separate offence
• Using a mobile phone, where high-resolution footage shows this clearly
• Tailgating
• Illegal overtaking
• Failing to stop or report an accident

A dashcam will often capture what is happening inside your car as well as what is taking place on the road. If your camera records audio and reveals loud music blaring, bad language against other road users or similar distractions, this can show that you were driving aggressively or while impaired.

This context influences how the police or the court view your responsibility for an incident. It can make it harder to claim you were driving with due care and attention, or present aggravating factors that can lead to a stricter sentence if you are convicted.

Can my local police force use dashcam footage as evidence for a speeding conviction?

While a dashcam isn’t a calibrated speed trap like a police radar gun, it can still be used to prove your speed. Police can calculate your speed by measuring the distance between two fixed points on the road shown in the footage. By checking how long it takes your vehicle to travel that distance, they can determine your exact speed. Many modern dashboard cameras also have built-in GPS that records your speed directly onto the video file.

If your dash cam footage reveals you were speeding at the time of an incident, the police will use this as evidence and may issue a Notice of Intended Prosecution for a speeding offence. This can result in a Fixed Penalty Notice and points on your licence, or the offer of a driver improvement course, alongside any ongoing prosecution. As such, while footage of someone else's driving may be raised in your defence, there can still be consequences for you as a result.

What Happens if the Police Contact You?

If the police believe you have committed an offence based on dashcam footage of your vehicle, or other evidence they will send you a notice as the registered keeper. You will be asked to identify the driver at the time of the alleged offence, and you should take care to respond correctly. Failing to identify the driver is a separate offence. It can result in six penalty points on your licence and a fine of up to £1,000.

Even if you believe the footage doesn’t show a clear offence, you must respond to the police request. You will have an opportunity to challenge the offence in court if you wish to, and to present your own footage as evidence, but you should not ignore receipt of a notice of intended prosecution.

If you wish to challenge the allegation, you should seek legal advice. An expert motoring lawyer from the team at JMW can review the footage and the case the police have against you, to give you an idea of your legal options and your chances of success in challenging the allegation in court. This is important, as challenging an allegation in court is risky. If you are found guilty of the offence in court, you can receive much stronger penalties than you were initially offered in a Fixed Penalty Notice.