A driver’s attempt to give traffic cops the slip ended down an embarrassing dead end…when he unwittingly pulled into a police station car park!
Police on routine patrols in Stechford’s Stoney Lane this afternoon (Feb 27) were alerted by in-car ANPR − Automatic Number Plate Recognition − cameras to a vehicle being driven without insurance.
A swift u-turn enabled the officers to keep tabs on the car but, as they made further checks on police computers, they watched the driver suddenly duck off the main road.
However, far from disappearing into Birmingham’s residential back streets the driver discovered he’d pulled into the car-park of Stechford police station!
Enquiries with the Motor Insurance Bureau revealed the car’s insurance had expired in December and the 58-year-old man behind the wheel can now expect to be summonsed before Birmingham magistrates.
West Midlands Police Traffic Manager, Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman, said: “West Midlands Police relentlessly enforces the law in respect of uninsured driving and last year we seized more than 9,000 vehicles from people driving without insurance or not complying with their licence.
“Offenders will be summonsed to court where they can expect a minimum of six points adding to their licence, a fine and court costs, plus they will also have to pay to recover their car. Driving without insurance is a costly mistake and, given the large number of ANPR cameras dotted across the road network and on-board many police vehicles, insurance dodgers are likely to get caught.
“We want to send a clear message out to uninsured drivers that this behaviour will not be tolerated and we will continue to target uninsured drivers to make our roads safer.”
Uninsured drivers cause problems for law-abiding motorists, especially if they are involved in collisions, and are estimated to cost law-abiding motorists approximately £30 extra on their premiums each year.
Chief Insp Blakeman, added: “There seems to be a deep-seated mindset amongst some drivers who think it’s acceptable to drive uninsured. In a bid to dismantle this culture we deliver a range of awareness inputs to 16- to 24-year-olds…but of course in this case the driver was middle aged and should have known better.”
All drivers can check their vehicle is recorded on the Motor Insurance Database for free by visiting:www.askMID.com
Follow West Midlands Traffic on Twitter @TrafficWMP