Speed camera loophole lets riders off the hook

A newly-discovered legal loophole could mean any rider caught speeding on camera now has a get-out clause and could spell the end of rear-facing cameras… the only ones that could ever catch us anyway.

Last month a Cleveland copper got off a speeding charge by claiming he couldn’t remember who was driving at the time. The camera which snapped him was a rear-facing one, so the Crown Prosecution Service couldn’t produce a photo which also identified the face of the driver.

Det Supt Adrian Roberts’ get-off opened the floodgates for everyone who got snapped by a rear-facing camera to make a similar claim.

And it hasn’t taken them long. The CPS has already been forced to drop cases against members of the public on the same grounds.

Now cops want the loophole, which they effectively created, closed.

Cleveland police authority has written to the Home Office to ask that drivers be legally required to identify who was driving at the time of an alleged offence. This is currently a grey area.

But one police authority member is already saying the only solution may be to ensure all cameras are forward facing from now on.

Cleveland police authority’s Dave McLuckie said: ” Cameras should take photographs from the front so drivers can be clearly identified. ”

A Home Office spokesman said. ” Ultimately, it’s a matter for the courts to decide. ”

What do you think? Surely some cameras have a role? Or does this help even up the balance? Click the link right to join the debate in Talk Bikes.