Woman Jailed After Speeding Then Giving False Identity

Ayesha Ahmed was jailed for three months and banned from driving for over a year, after a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court found her guilty of trying to pervert the course of justice.

The Original Crime

Ahmed was caught speeding twice in her BMW within five minutes, by the same mobile camera parked near her home in Dudley. The speed camera clocked her going 39 and 40 mph in a 30 zone just after midday on July the 30th 2014.

What Happened Next

Accepting the charge would have given Ahmed three-points on her licence, as well as a fine and participation in a driver awareness course. Instead the graduate from Netherton paid a man £450 to avoid the charges. According to Ahmed, the man had claimed he could exploit a “legal loophole” which would allow her to escape punishment.

Caught In A Lie

The 27-year-old had emailed the West Midland’s Camera Enforcement Unit claiming she was being followed at the time and pleaded to be let off, so when two Notices of Intended Prosecution were returned suggesting a Ms Nosheen Yoqum of Walsall was behind the wheel of Ahmed’s BMW at the time of the offences, officers became suspicious. Enquires revealed that eight other speeding offences had been attributed to drivers at the same Walsall address, but no record of them being tenants could be found. In a police interview Ahmed admitted that she had attempted to dodge the penalty points, insisting that she thought the £450 was being paid to a specialist speeding fine lawyer.

The Trial

In a two-day trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday 25th April, Ahmed maintained her innocence, despite the judge advising her to accept the charge. She was jailed for three months and banned from driving for 58 weeks, after a jury unanimously found her guilty of trying to pervert the course of justice.

What The Camera Enforcement Unit Said

PC Steve Jovons from the Camera Enforcement Unit said: "Ahmed has paid a heavy price for thinking she could lie her way out of speeding offences. We examined footage of the offences and it's clear she was not being followed; the jury concluded she was deliberately trying to avoid justice and not, as she claimed, victim of a scam by a bogus lawyer. She never met this 'legal expert', didn't have an address or phone number for him, and paid the money via a third party. Ahmed was given every opportunity to admit her guilt - an admission that would have spared her a jail term - and even the judge asked if she wanted to proceed to trial in the face of damning evidence. It's a sorry tale; she has no previous convictions but a potentially promising career is now in ruins and all because she wanted to retain a clean licence.”

A Warning

“Don't be conned by anyone saying they know a person who, for a fee, can 'make speeding fines go away'. These people try passing blame onto phantom drivers knowing the authorities won't be able to trace them and assuming the matter will be dropped. They never meet in person and won't give contact details so it makes them hard to trace - but we will investigate and anyone found lying to the police and courts must understand they face the prospect of time in prison" said PC Steve Jovons.

Insurance

No matter what happens, you should never be tempted to lie to the police about who was driving your car, in order to try and avoid a speeding ticket or penalty points, and this story shows the potentially life changing repercussions of doing so. With competitive insurance rates for convicted drivers, accepting the charge is both the legal, and the best thing to do. Getting points on your licence isn’t the end of the world, and getting insurance as a convicted driver, is not as difficult or expensive as some people may think thanks to some of the specialist convicted driver insurance brokers in the market, such as Think Insurance. If you are a convicted driver and in need of insurance, or would like to see how a conviction might affect your premium, click the Get A Quote button below or call 0800 221 8077 and speak to one of our expert team.