Hi-tech solutions from StarTraq, a specialist in traffic offence software, are helping to target people who pass on speeding penalty points to avoid a driving ban.
Any driver receiving 12 penalty points within a three-year period is likely to be banned for at least six months, with speeding offences attracting between three and six points, depending on their severity.
Research shows that drivers passing points to someone else – particularly if they would otherwise be banned – is a serious problem. A 2007 survey by insurance giant Churchill* found that 495,000 UK motorists had already passed on penalty points for speeding, while research by insurers Swinton** the previous year suggested 3.7 million drivers would ask someone else to take their points if they were facing a driving ban.
StarTraq supports police forces nationwide with road traffic technology that processes speed and red light camera offences. If a driver triggers a camera, StarTraq software will verify the speeding or red light incident and generate letters about the offence to the vehicle owner.
Now StarTraq bosses are stressing that not only can images captured on speed cameras be used in assisting the officials to verify the driver’s identity, but that the company’s software can help to recognise behaviour patterns in drivers that indicate points passing.
For example, further investigation could be triggered if a motorist on nine points – facing an automatic ban after another speeding offence – was the owner of a vehicle caught on speed camera but then claimed someone else was driving.
Allan Freinkel, StarTraq CEO, said: “Points passing might seem harmless enough, but it’s important to remember that speeding is not only a criminal offence but makes our roads more dangerous for everyone. Stamping out points passing by making it easier to identify the real culprits in speeding offences is a big step towards making the roads safer for us all.”
