A claims management company has formallly complained to Highways England about it deleting CCTV footage after seven days.
According to Kent-based Claims Management & Adjusting, Highways England’s National Control Centre removes footage after a week, CMA said this need to be urgently reviewed as the footage is used to alert contractors to incidents.
According to CMA’s MD, Phillip Swift, the CCTV is used to decide who is liable for damage to property owned by the Government department, and fleets are increasingly getting frustrated with Highways England pursuing them for money when their drivers are not at fault – especially as the bill will typically include a sum for the CCTV operator’s time.
“Unfortunately, it is often an innocent party who ends up colliding with a barrier, while the truly at-fault driver (the one who veered towards them and caused them to swerve) sails merrily on their way. In swerve-to-avoid incidents like these, video footage – either from dashcams or CCTV – can be extremely useful. When Highways England are aware of an incident, why on earth is the CCTV footage not retained?” he said.
Swift also advised fleets to request footage immediately after an incident to help prove their drivers are not to blame.