Skip to main content

Telematics data aids hit and run driver conviction

Evidence provided by a telematics device has resulted in a suspended prison sentence for a motorist who ploughed into a pedestrian walking home from a Christmas celebration on 12 December last year, says anti-motor fraud unit, APU. The driver admitted the incident, as well as perverting the course of justice after he failed to stop after the incident and later denied responsibility. Other charges included failing to report an accident.
October 21, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Evidence provided by a telematics device has resulted in a suspended prison sentence for a motorist who ploughed into a pedestrian walking home from a Christmas celebration on 12 December last year, says anti-motor fraud unit, APU.

The driver admitted the incident, as well as perverting the course of justice after he failed to stop after the incident and later denied responsibility. Other charges included failing to report an accident.

He told police the courtesy car involved in the crash, which caused the victim serious brain injuries, had been stolen and was not being driven by him at the time, heard Basildon Crown Court. He kept up the pretence for ten months even when strong evidence suggested he was guilty.

The police turned to the investigations team at APU which was able to review the vehicle’s telematics system.

Together, APU and the police used the advanced In-Car Cleverness telematics device installed in the vehicle to trace the exact movements and speed of the BMW before and after the incident. APU says the data provided unequivocal evidence that he was the driver at the time of the accident. He finally pleaded guilty to the charges.

Related Content

  • Managed motorways, hard shoulder running aids safety, saves time
    January 30, 2012
    The announcement that, in 2012/13, work to extend Managed Motorways to Junctions 5-8 of the M6 near Birmingham in the West Midlands is scheduled to start marks the next step for the UK's hard shoulder running concept, first introduced on the M42 in 2006. The M6 scheme is in fact one of several announced; over the next few years work will start on applying Managed Motorways to various sections of the M1, M25 London Orbital, M60 and M62. According to Paul Unwin, senior project manager with the Highways Agency
  • Jenoptik’s 100th Specs operation goes live on Grane Road
    November 8, 2017
    Jenoptik’s Specs Average Speed Enforcement Cameras have been installed between Junction 5 of the M65 near Belthorn though to A56 at Haslingden, following The Lancashire Road Safety Partnership’s plan to reduce casualties and collisions across chosen routes. The cameras are also designed with the intention of influencing driver behavior to create smoother traffic flows. Average Speed Check Signs are also being used throughout the route to ensure that drivers are aware that their speed is being monitored.
  • LiDAR sets its sights on future problems
    February 23, 2017
    AAdvances in LiDAR are helping transport authorities improve services and identify potential problem areas, as geospatial technology expert Dr Neil Slatcher explains. The effects of climate change on the transport infrastructure have long been a cause of concern within the transportation sector - and not only on the structures themselves but also on the surrounding areas. This year, those concerns have become reality with landslides, structural collapses and surfacing issues impacting services across the wo
  • Europe’s road safety record suffers as austerity bites hard, traffic police chiefs are told at TISPOL 2017
    March 7, 2018
    Europe’s leading traffic police chiefs are struggling with the challenge of how best to manage the region’s road network in an era of austerity. Things are changing fast, and not for the better, reports Geoff Hadwick. Europe’s road safety record is under threat. Police budgets are being slashed, staff numbers are falling and a long-term trend towards ever-fewer road deaths has ground to a halt. The line on the graph has flat-lined. Does Europe’s road network face a far more dangerous future? Lower and