In a bid to cut down on dangerous driving and road fatalities, police have begun to crack down on offenders by using content posted online as evidence. YouTube is host to thousands of videos of drivers apparently speeding on public roads which has become somewhat of a craze.
Judges have been considering the videos as evidence in the prosecution of drivers who have reportedly broken speed limits or other motoring laws. However, this has been difficult due to the lack of evidence available in most of the videos.
The offenders must be clearly identified with proof they were travelling at an exact speed, on an exact road, in an exact car, something that amateur crime-documentarians often fail to do. Expert motoring lawyers are often able to get offenders off the hook through loopholes due to the minimal evidence often available in these videos.
A Motorcyclist in Canberra, Australia was successfully convicted with the help of evidence in the form of a video he had posted online. The footage showed him driving at speeds of 125mph in a 30mph speed zone. Lawyers protested as the footage was not sufficient proof that the man had been speeding in Canberra or that it was even him on the bike.
Nathan Campbell from Burnley has been jailed for 4 months with a 3 year driving ban after prosecutors used footage from YouTube as evidence. The video, filmed on a mobile phone, showed Campbell speeding at over 140mph down the M65 often using the hard shoulder to undertake other vehicles.
The footage, filmed on his mobile phone did not provide enough evidence that Campbell was behind the wheel or that it was even his car but is been Jailed for four months with a 3 year driving ban as a deterrent to other young drivers as copycat cases are putting other road users at risk and encouraging a wave of motoring crime.
Want to find out more about motoring law, then visit Nick Freeman’s site on how to choose the best advice on dangerous driving for your needs.
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