Northland police urge locals to dob in the dangerous drivers

A snapshot of what a truckie sees from his cab.

A truck driver's dash camera footage offers a clue as to why Northland's road toll continues to rise, according to head of road policing in Northland Inspector Wayne Ewers.

The four-minute video, which Inspector Ewers viewed last week, features all sorts of dangerous driving witnessed by the truck driver on a daily basis.

Even trucks had been caught overtaking other trucks: the owner of the dashcam was forced to pull over so a heavy vehicle that was passing him on the wrong side of the road wouldn't crash into oncoming traffic.

"After watching this, you can understand why people are dying on our roads. It's disgusting," Inspector Ewers said.

"If you see (dangerous driving), report it immediately by calling *555."

The registration number, date, time and location were the main points to note.

If there was a police officer available, it might be possible to stop the dangerous driver, but police also had the ability, under the Transport Act, to send the registered vehicle owner a letter after the incident asking them to identify the driver at the time.

While the truckie did not want to be named, police were encouraging him to make contact with them to go through the footage and see if there was any chance of identifying the drivers.

"If nothing is done and these drivers are not reported, who knows how long it will be until they seriously injure or kill another road user?" Inspector Ewers asked.

The truck driver, who had more than 20 years' experience, said he believed the only way to lower the road toll was to change the mentality and behaviour of motorists.