Inventor beats speeding charge
09 October 2007
- Inventor's device proves he didn't speed
- Crown drops charges against him
- Device could be on market later this year
An inventor was able to beat speeding charges filed against him by using his own satellite tracking device.
Dr Phillip Tann, a lecturer at the University of Sunderland, had been told he had been caught speeding at 42mph last November by a mobile speed camera.
However, Dr Tann had a satellite tracking device that showed he had travelled at 29.18mph.
He faced a fine and points on his licence, but he contested the case and chose to go to trial instead.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped proceedings against Dr Tann, saying: 'The officer who operated the camera has retired. Without his verbal evidence, we could not prove the case to the required standard.'
Dr Tann's invention is built into a mobile phone and records its location and speed on a computer. He has already received Government funding for the device, and he plans to market a consumer version later this year.
He said 'Police cameras are not 100% accurate, but my device is. My system can track a GPS phone within half a metre of where it is, whereas devices currently on the market can, at best, only track a phone within five metres.'
He called for better training for police officers who have to use mobile speed detection equipment.
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