Requesting accident footage from roadside cameras

[TonyM]

My wife witnessed a side-swipe accident yesterday on a section of managed motorway in the UK. The damaged car stopped at the side of the road, but the offending truck continued driving onwards. We have dashcam footage from her cameras and she is going to contact the police today to see if they would like a copy. We can identify the offending vehicle, but not the damaged car to whose driver we would like to make the video available, for their own insurance purposes.

If we cannot get our dashcam video to them, I wondered if they could get a video from somewhere else. I know from professional experience that the motorway at that location has 100% coverage by CCTV. I wondered if the driver of the car could contact Highways England and ask for video evidence of the incident, or whether their insurers could request the footage? Has anyone tried to obtain video evidence from the owner/operator of a roadside camera?

 

[Dashmellow]

Put it out on social media with the details and there's a decent chance you'll find the victim.

 

[TonyM]

Put it out on social media with the details and there's a decent chance you'll find the victim.

I know my wife will not want to post any dashcam video on social media.

 

[Dashmellow]

I was thinking you could just post the story, looking for someone who got side-swiped in a particular location.
There are countless stories about people finding other people or lost items on social media. Certain organizations and police departments are using social media to find people these days.
Some do post photos but others just ask if anyone knows who/what they are looking for.

https://www.channel4.com/news/can-social-media-help-find-missing-people

https://www.wsaw.com/fox/content/ne...eves-owner-is-from-Wis-or-Minn-507529911.html

https://themissingny.nycitynewsservice.com/part-two/social-media-used-to-find-the-missing/

 

[jokiin]

I know my wife will not want to post any dashcam video on social media.

check social media for any local area groups, people often appeal for footage if there is a problem and need it

 

[Nigel]

We can identify the offending vehicle, but not the damaged car to whose driver we would like to make the video available,

I think that is the job of the police, the driver of the damaged car should have reported the incident to the police since the truck driver did not stop and thus they couldn't exchange contact details, the truck driver should also have reported it to the police, assuming he was aware of it, and you can also report your evidence, the police should pass the contact details between the interested parties. Your wife was not allowed to stop on the motorway so this is the only way it can work. The police are probably not interested in your video unless it shows dangerous driving worth a prosecution/ticket, but they should still pass contact details about.

 

[TonyM]

So, the car driver reported the accident to the police, but they could not identify the large military vehicle that hit them.

My wife called the police and they requested a copy of the video from her SG9665GC which shows the incident and has a clear capture of the number plate.

The police did not receive a call from the truck driver.

 

[Nigel]

Did it look like the truck driver would have noticed the accident? Doubt the police would do anything about it even if it did, although they could do.

Sounds like a job for the insurance now, and the insurance should give your wife a reward for providing the evidence and saving them some money, but I doubt that will happen!

 

[TonyM]

Did it look like the truck driver would have noticed the accident? Doubt the police would do anything about it even if it did, although they could do.

Sounds like a job for the insurance now, and the insurance should give your wife a reward for providing the evidence and saving them some money, but I doubt that will happen!

Yes, the truck swerved away from the other car, towards my wife's car...

Hopefully the insurance company can take it from here.

 

[Nigel]

Well then the truck driver had 24 hours to report it, otherwise the police may prosecute, although I still doubt they will.

Not sure that the truck driver should actually have stopped, stopping on a motorway without a good reason is illegal, stopping at the next services is more sensible for a bump.

 

[TonyM]

In fairness there was nowhere to stop, being a hard shoulder running motorway. My wife stopped at the services 2 miles down the road.

I don't blame the car driver for stopping though, with a huge dent in the driver's door and the window smashed in.