Speeder who falsified GPS track faces jail

MaFt

Back in February this year we had a forum member, shaunppl, asking for help regarding a speeding ticket he had received, subsequently challenged and was due to go to court to fight his case. Our community, being a helpful bunch, took his word for it that he was innocent and tried to help him and gave him advice. We didn't know him from Adam so had no reason to think he was being dishonest.

Well, had we known then what we know now I think things may have been a little bit different...

The general 'vibe' of the advice was that he should get legal advice. We also pointed out that a GPX file showing his track recording could be easily faked and it would be likely that it would not be admissable in court. We were all intrigued though, and he even posted a few updates as tohow the court case was going; that was back in April.

Fast forward eight months and eagle-eyed forum member, spook51, spotted this news item on the BBC Devon website:

"Devon driving instructor admits sat-nav speeding scam. Shaun Richards, 49, of Exeter, Devon, was caught speeding on the A386 on 1 June 2009, Plymouth Crown Court heard. He drove the same route in January 2010 at the correct speed and changed the date on the sat-nav data to 1 June but forgot to change the time back to BST."

Going through the details of the case, it could be concluded that they are the same person. If it is the same person then, with hindsight and the extra information from the news stories, it would have meant that when he first visited us for advice he had already re-recorded his tracks and was trying to find out how he could pinpoint the camera location in order to fiddle the logs. Such a shame he didn't listen to our advice how easy the data is to fake and not to bother trying to use it as evidence... Or perhaps he did listen to the advice but went for the dishonest approach instead.

Whilst we may not like speed cameras and the automation of the job of a real policeman, I think most of us here would be man enough to hold up their hands and take £60 and 3 points if they knew they were speeding. Mr Richard's actions here just seem too desperate given what his punishment will now be and the implications that will have on him as a driving instructor.

To read the initial forum post click here.
To jump to the 'busted' moment click here.

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