Dashboard cameras can provide valuable evidence for ICBC investigations – so why aren't Good Samaritans who submit videos rewarded?
That's a question being pondered by Burnaby, B.C. driver Tristan Calvo, who believes the Crown insurance company should be incentivizing drivers with dash cams to reach out when they witness bad behaviour on the roads.
"It makes sense," Calvo told CTV News. "The person who runs a red light or a stop sign or does something dangerous gets penalized for it, and the person who sends (in video) gets an incentive for their insurance for the following year."
Calvo has caught plenty of bad driving over the years on his own dash cam, and uploads the videos to his YouTube channel.
He said he doesn't do it for the page views – he does it because he wants to see the government take action. Calvo has already suggested his reward system to the government in a letter to Attorney General David Eby.
He believes it makes at least as much sense as maintaining red light cameras at high-crash intersections – and wouldn’t cost much to implement.
"I think it's a much easier solution to have people police themselves because the police and those cameras can't be everywhere," he said.
On Monday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Calvo's idea is "certainly something I would be willing to take a look at."
"Whenever people submit ideas on ways in which they can improve things, we're always interested and happy to take a look and see whether something is feasible," Farnworth said.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Jason Pires
