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

  • Transport is evolving – and road safety must keep pace, says Parifex
    May 25, 2023
    France-headquartered Parifex works at the cutting edge of Lidar-based speed control systems. CEO Paul-Henri Renard discusses safety advances made in recent decades - and the causes of accidents that remain…
  • Report: 'Red-light cameras have reduced crashes’
    February 27, 2013
    From the beginning, the SafeLight and SafeSpeed programs in the Louisiana city of Lafayette have met with controversy and resistance. However, a newly released report shows that the programs, which began in 2007, have reduced crashes at monitored intersections and improved the city's finances. A new contract with Redflex, the company that runs the program, will provide cameras at four new locations and will deploy two more speed vans by 2016. “We believe that SafeLight and SafeSpeed, the so-called red-light
  • Average speed cameras reduce injury collisions, says report
    October 31, 2016
    Research carried out into average speed camera (ASC) effectiveness by the UK’s RAC Foundation concludes that the implementation of ASCs in the locations that have been assessed in its report has had the effect of reducing injury collisions, and especially those of a higher severity. Even taking into account other influencing factors, the report says the reductions are large and statistically significant. Researchers analysed detailed accident data taken from 25 sites where average speed cameras were inst
  • Ertico coordinates big data debate
    November 2, 2016
    David Crawford finds that agreeing a common data standard for auto manufacturers’ onboard sensors, navigation system companies and map makers is proving a complex task.