A new type of mobile phone app is reported to be being developed that could soon turn every vehicle into a mobile speed camera according to the Times.
It reports that the new app, called dashcamUK could be available to users as early as May 2023, and will be able to record instances of dangerous driving, changing lanes without indication, jumping red lights, parking illegally, using a mobile phone (which is ironic), and more. It’s reported that at the touch of a button, the app can expedite the footage to the authorities, capturing the vehicle's registration number in the process.
The maker of the app claims that the footage captured by the phone can be sent directly to a police portal, making it a much simpler process than using a traditional dashcam – where footage must be downloaded, checked, trimmed and emailed in. It is also reported that the app can be upgraded once launched to turn it into a mobile speed camera to capture speeding motorists.
New app could turn every mobile phone into a speed camera!
The system works by continuously recording the journey, although systematically deletes the footage every thirty seconds to prevent filling up the camera’s memory with footage. Once the driver of the vehicle notices a vehicle potentially breaking the law, they tap the screen, saving the footage shot so far.
The creator of the software, Ukrainian-born Oleksiy Afonin, has been in meetings with the National Police Chiefs’ council about the system and has been working with them to ensure any footage captured will stand up in court. Between them, they have also ruled out the user of the app being in breach of mobile phone laws, as the users simply need to tap the icon on the home screen to begin the process of dobbing in their fellow road users.
