ROAD safety experts have called on Thames Valley police to use drones to target dangerous drivers – but the force says they are already in use for some policing work in Reading.
In the past two years, the Force has issued more than 150,000 speeding tickets, the third highest number in the UK.
Only Devon and Cornwall police have introduced drones to record dangerous driving and catch offenders since April this year.
But there are demands for similar schemes to be rolled out across all police forces to tackle the high rates of death and serious injury on British roads.
Gary Digva, founder of dash cam business Road Angel, said drones had been a major success: “The drone initiative has already proved successful and useful for Devon and Cornwall police forces, so the delay in introducing it nationwide is disappointing.
“Not only does the technology help police to find and punish dangerous drivers, but it will also deter them from driving recklessly knowing they are more likely to be caught.
“Using high-tech drones to crack down on motoring offences and record incidences of unsafe driving has the potential to transform UK roads and reduce accidents and fatalities.
“The drone scheme needs to be urgently introduced in areas such as Yorkshire and Thames Valley where police forces have recorded high incidences of dangerous driving.
“Having drone video evidence is a great way to catch offenders in the act and help with prosecution, which will ultimately keep reckless drivers off the road.
“The sooner that the technology is introduced to police forces nationwide, the quicker we will see an improvement in road accident cases.”
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said that drones have been deployed, including road safety operations in Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire.
“Our Joint Operations Unit Roads Policing department uses drones to support investigations into collisions – post-collision – and to tackle things like anti-social driving and road related issues such as car cruises,” they said.
“We have deployed them in Milton Keynes, Reading, Oxford and Netley.”
They added: “They provide excellent evidence to support police prosecutions of things like careless or dangerous driving, racing on the highway or anti-social vehicle use.”
Government figures show that for the year ending June 2022, 29,795 people were reported killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads, an increase of more than 2,000 from the previous year.
Of the people killed or seriously injured on British roads last year, 1,695 died, which was an 8.7% increase from the year previous.
