The 10 most shocking dash cam crashes and dangerous driving incidents caught on camera in the past year
From dozy drivers ploughing into the back of stationary vehicles to motorists on the wrong side of the road causing head-on collisions, these dash cam clips showcase some of the most dangerous motorists in Britain.
A montage of 10 videos showing incredibly careless and reckless driving - all captured in the last 12 months - have been exclusively shared with the Daily Mail.
They've also been sent directly to the police in the hope of securing prosecutions.
The footage displays thoughtless overtaking on country roads, hasty antics on motorways, and terrible judgement at busy junctions.
It shows how some individuals are risking the lives of others to save seconds on their journey, by driving well beyond their vehicle's limits, or simply switching off behind the wheel.
All but one result in crashes, with the exception being a near miss that leaves one driver screaming in fear.
The videos have been released by dash cam brand Nextbase to mark the seventh anniversary of its police dash cam portal, which allows road users to upload incriminating footage caught on recording devices directly to forces to be used as evidence.
A montage of 10 videos showing incredibly careless and reckless driving - all captured in the last 12 months - have been exclusively shared with the Daily Mail
The ten videos show some of the 'most shocking crashes and scary near misses' recorded on dash cams over the last year.
The first - which took place in April this year - shows a preoccupied young driver in a bright yellow Fiat 500 who fails to stop when approaching a stopped car in front, with the rear-facing camera capturing the sickening point of collision.
Despite being at relatively low speed, the impact thrusts the female driver forwards into her deployed airbag, while the windscreen on the passenger side of the car smashes on the force of the airbag going off.
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The second clip plays out a head on collision involving a foreign registered supercar captured in Peth in Scotland.
It shows the driver of a GBP260,000 Aston Martin DBS - either from Netherlands of Luxembourg, given the yellow front number plate) - on the wrong side of the road crashing head-on into an unsuspecting driver entering a blind bend in the wet.
Video three involves a Highway Maintenance tipper truck pulling out of what looks to be a dual carriageway slip road or emergency refuge area, with the luckless driver unable to take evasive action and flipping their vehicle into its side after striking the side of the lorry.
Another clip from March this year shows a queue of traffic formed behind a slow-moving tanker.
When a fast-approaching driver is unable is unable to slow down in time, the footage shows them running into the back of another motorist, their car flipping onto its side and deflecting into the path of the dash cam user, who is unable to take evasive action.
One of the dramatic clips shows the moment an oncoming car fails to slow down for slow-moving traffic, collides with another vehicle and flips onto its roof before hitting the driver's car with the dash cam rolling
This video shows the only non-collision out of the 10 clips, but the footage is still shocking
The next video shows the moment an unsuspecting driver in Wales turns a corner on a country road to find an out-of-control Mercedes-Benz swerving towards them.
Clearly travelling too fast for the wet conditions, the luxury German motor skids off the road into a grass verge before shooting back onto the road into the path of the shocked motorist.
The dash cam user manages to steer out of the way of disaster, though only just.
Other clips show a transporter carrying a car ploughs into the back of a van entering a roundabout on a dual carriageway triggering a domino effect of crashes, an Audi driver reversing into another road user at a set of traffic lights, and an HGV changing lanes on a motorway and side-swiping an unfortunate motorist.
Another clip is a recording of a transporter carrying a car that ploughs into the back of a van entering a roundabout on a dual carriageway, triggering a domino effect of crashes
An Audi driver, seemingly entering the wrong lane at a set of traffic lights, attempts to reverse without noticing the car directly behind them
One of the videos shows an HGV changing lanes on a motorway and side-swiping an unfortunate motorist
The last of the videos, recorded just last month, is arguably the scariest of all.
It shows a motorist attempting to undertake slow-moving traffic on a stretch of smart motorway with no hard shoulder.
However, when they move into lane one, they are quickly faced with a van and car already involved in a collision and the drivers out of the vehicle.
Unable to avoid the crashed vehicles, the reckless motorist smashes into the back of the van at the moment a women can be seen trying to open the rear doors of the stricken car in front.
The last video, recorded less than a month ago, shows a drivers colliding into the back of a van that has already been involved in a crash. A woman, who appears to have also been caught up in the initial collision, somehow manages to escape unscathed
The clips represent the kind of videos used in many cases that have helped Britons to report dangerous driving as well as prove who is fault for an accident when making an insurance claim.
Videos captured on dash cams and recording devices of other road users - like cyclists' helmet cameras - can also be uploaded to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal[1] to help the Police catch dangerous drivers.
The portal - which launched in July 2018 - has received nearly 30,000 submissions already in 2025, a 25 per cent increase on the same period last year, indicating that drivers are increasingly capturing and reporting instances of reckless driving.
Some 35 UK police forces are using the portal, and other are currently in discussion to utilise it soon.
In the year to date, the top five regions processing the most uploads include: West Midlands, West Murcia, Northumberland, Surrey and South Yorkshire.
These five regions have already received over 22,000 submissions in 2025, more than the total number submitted across the UK in the whole of 2021.
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In the last seven years, a whopping 185,000 dangerous driving clips have been uploaded.
And 70 per cent of submissions have resulted in further action, whether than be warning letters or the issuing of penalty points and prosecution.
By streamlining the process of submitting evidence, the portal is estimated to have saved over 169 years of police time.
Bryn Brooker, Head of Road Safety at Nextbase, commented: 'These videos highlight the serious incidents that Britons see on a daily basis on our roads, many of which would be difficult to explain or prove fault in.
'People submit these types of clips to us on a daily basis and even more are using video evidence to help take dangerous drivers off the road through the portal.
'Dash Cams are increasingly seen as an essential bit of kit for a motorist looking to protect themselves and their no-claims bonuses.'
Road casualties in Britain increased by 1% in 2024. As the graph shows, there has been little success in attempts to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads for over a decade
Motorcyclist deaths rose 9% between 2023 and 2024.
There was also an increase in pedestrian deaths, up 2%, the DfT statistics show
The report comes after official DfT stats published in May showed a 1 per cent increase in people killed on Britain roads - 1,633 last year, up from 1,624 in 2023.
With 2020 and 2021 statistics considered outliers due to pandemic-related lockdowns dramatically reducing traffic levels, this is the first increase in annual road deaths recorded since 2017.
Motorcyclist deaths increased most dramatically by 9 per cent last year with some 343 motorbike riders losing their lives in crashes in 2024, up from 315 during the previous 12 months.
As such, motorcyclists made up a fifth (21 per cent) of road fatalities last year.
There was also an increase in pedestrian deaths, up 2 per cent from 405 in 2023 to 413 in 2024.
Bryn said the increase in road users uploading incriminating evidence of dangerous driving highlights the demand for 'technological solutions to improve road safety'.
He added: 'We are pleased that almost all forces across England and Wales now accept video evidence in this way, making it easier to take dangerous drivers off the road, something that has undoubtedly saved lives.'
References
- ^ National Dash Cam Safety Portal (nextbase.co.uk)