Video doorbells may be helping to reduce one type of crime on our roads

Video doorbells may be driving a dramatic decline in one type of serious crime on our roads, according to some motoring experts.

Official figures show that cases of this offence have fallen by around a third between 2021 and 2022.

And this is believed to be a result of the rise in people having smart doorbells installed at their homes, dashcams in cars and helmet cameras used by cyclists and motorbike riders. 

Is your video doorbell helping to curb one particular type of crime on our roads? DVLA figures show a significant decline in this type of offence in the previous 12 months

The serious motoring offences in question is drivers fleeing the scene of an accident.

This generally occurs after collisions when police and emergency services rush to the scene to save lives.

But they are also prevalent for more minor incidents, including small prangs and clipping wing mirrors.

The serious motoring offences in question is drivers fleeing the scene of an accident. This generally occurs after collisions when police and emergency services rush to the scene

Select Car Leasing believes smart doorbells are stopping people fleeing the scene especially on residential streets when they might have clipped another vehicle and failed to leave a note

New stats from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) show that rates fell by a third last year after rising when the country started to emerge from Covid lockdowns in 2021.

And experts at Select Car Leasing – who identified the decline – believe this is down to the growing popularity of video doorbells, such as Ring, as well as an increase in the use of in-car dashcams.

A ‘failing to stop after an accident’, or AC10, punishment is administered if you ignore the legal obligation to remain at the scene and provide your details to anyone with reasonable grounds to request them.

Whereas, an AC20 offence – ‘failing to give particulars or to report an accident within 24 hours’ – applies when someone who has not stopped at the scene then doesn’t report the incident at a police station within the allotted time.

Both carry penalties of up to 10 points, an unlimited fine and even six months in prison. People can be convicted of both offences for the same incident.

Select Car Leasing Managing Director Graham Conway said: ‘These figures give real insight into how the behaviour of motorists changes due to the emergence of new technology.

‘A few years ago people were much more likely to drive off after backing into another vehicle or clipping a wing mirror as there was much less chance that they would have been caught on camera.

‘Smartphones were already ubiquitous, so we believe the deterrent is due to the rise in so-called smart doorbells that capture video footage outside homes.

‘So be warned: If you do get into a minor prang it’s much better to leave a note and own up rather than disappear from the scene and risk up to 10 points on your licence and a hefty fine.’

The leasing firm believes increased use of video capture tech – such as video doorbells, dashcams (pictured) and cyclists’ helmet cameras – is forcing people to be more honest about causing collisions and damage on the roads

The DVLA figures show the number of AC10 offences fell from 3,877 in 2021 to 2,625 in 2022 – a 32 per cent dip.

Meanwhile, AC20 offences were down from 1,986 to 1,282 (35 per cent) over the same period.

London recorded the highest figures from 2019 to the start of 2023, with 802 AC10 offences and 434 AC20s.

But when you look outside the English capital there are some interesting findings.

Glasgow was next highest for both offences – recording 426 AC10 and 287 AC20 offences during the four-year period.

In the ‘failing to stop after an accident’ rankings the Midlands – Birmingham (204) and Nottingham (196) – featured high up, as did the North of England, with Manchester (182), Liverpool (176) and Leeds (158) present.

Scottish cities Edinburgh (123) and Aberdeen (153), plus South West urban centre Bristol (189), made up the top 10.

East Midlands enclaves Northampton and Leicester muscled their way into top 10 for AC20 offences.

‘Another interesting fact highlighted in the figures is the gender split for this type of motoring wrongdoing,’ Conway adds.

‘Male drivers are around four times more likely to be caught out, with an average of 79 per cent of the combined offences being perpetrated by men.’

Last year it was estimated that 20 per cent of British homes now have a video doorbell.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk