Speeding Drivers, Who Try to Dodge Points, Face Prison. The police are now prosecuting more and more people who falsely take the blame for speeding tickets. These people do it as they falsely believe it to be a minor crime. However it allows dangerous drivers to avoid being banned and as such those aiding them could face prison.
In one case one man was jailed for seven years after he helped 700 motorists to avoid penalty points. The man forms part of a gang who help motorists from receiving penalty points. Around five gangs have been investigated in the last two years. The police are prosecuting the driver and the accomplice.
The crime seems to be on the increase. Police have warned people that they face going to prison rather than paying a £60 fine and incurring 3 penalty points on their licence. When a car is caught on camera either going through a red light or speeding, a letter is sent to the registered keeper asking them who was driving the vehicle at the time. The owner either lies themselves by putting someone else down as the driver or the forms passed are passed onto criminal gangs for a fee who use fictitious names and addresses.
The gangs are also fully aware that the police have only 6 months in which to take action and hence the gangs use stalling techniques. The other problem facing the police is a lack of man power to investigate every case.
One taxi driver, who had been caught himself for speeding, was told by a friend how to avoid the points. The taxi driver then began doing this for others and over a 6 year period had helped over 150 people avoid penalties at a charge of £200 per person. He was eventually caught by the police and sent to jail for 16 months. The taxi driver has says he still gets phone calls asking him to help them out with speeding tickets for which he now refuses to do.
Along with a new database and front facing cameras these crimes will be much harder to commit.So bear in mind that when you’re driving around the streets of Newbury that speeding can not only carry severe penalties it can endanger lives.