The app is being trialled thanks to the Commercial Vehicle Watch project that will run from now until December.
The project itself is part of the Department for Transport’s National Roads Policing Review, which is designed to make road use “safer, more efficient and more secure through the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership.”
Information will be gathered to show how useful participants found the app, and help inform members of the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership what concerns people the most and where the biggest problems are.
The app is free and available in the App Store to anyone who lives in Gloucestershire.
The force is calling on the public to help trial the app over the next few months to report offences such as the following:
- Speeding
- Inconsiderate parking (e.g. blocking pavements or road access)
- Vehicles contravening height, width, or weight restrictions
- ‘Fly tipping’.
- Dangerous, careless or inconsiderate driving
Commenting on the project, Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Director of Specialist Operations, Superintendent Paul Keasey, said:
“By commercial vehicles, we mean lorries and vans who are clearly making deliveries or providing services with little or no regard for other road users. It’s not about privately-owned vehicles. We know there is a problem with this sort of anti-social behaviour but first we need to prove the concept of the app is right and for that we need the public’s help to establish what the issues are.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson added:
“All motorists have a responsibility to treat other road users with respect, and that applies equally as much if you’re driving a lorry or a van. Just because you might be on a job is no excuse for a lack of care. These days, there seems to be an app for almost everything. So why not one that might help prevent bad behaviour on the road? I hope the public will get behind it as their feedback will be invaluable.”
Photo © Copyright Jaggery and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence