A dozy uninsured driver who was being chased by officers was caught when he tried to give them the slip – and pulled into a POLICE STATION.
The 58-year-old man was driving a silver Renault Scenic when he was spotted by West Midlands Police officers on a routine patrol.
Officers were alerted by in-car ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras – to the vehicle which was being driven without insurance.
As they did a U-turn and followed the car in Stechford, Birmingham, on Thursday afternoon, the driver disappeared as he turned off a main road.
But the hapless driver failed to notice he had actually pulled into the car park of Stechford Police Station.
Officers arrested the driver on suspicion of driving without insurance and gave him a summons to appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.
Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman, of West Midlands Police Traffic Manager, 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.
“There seems to be a deep-seated mind-set 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.”
