An ex-businessman has been prosecuted for purposely interfering with speed camera equipment, whilst driving on UK roads.
Michael Twizell, aged 58, of Dewsbury, was spotted speeding in North Yorkshire across junctions, illegally breaking the motorway speed limits put in place.
He pulled off the trick by using a jamming device attached above the grill of his BMW 3 series car. However, officers finally caught onto his scheme when he sped past a police safety camera van on the A658 some months ago.
The camera jamming device deploys a signal error onto highway speed checking software, thus giving the incorrect mph count of the travelling vehicle.
After discovering that the flashing error message meant someone was tampering with the software, North Yorkshire police deployed a probe to track down the offender.
Twizell was sentenced to three months in prison at York Crown Court for interfering with the course of justice. He was also fined £1,500 for his crime.
The judge sentencing the case informed Twizell: ‘The police have a duty to protect us from speeding vehicles’, also implying that the gadget that Twizell had used interfered with such process.
He added that perverting the course of justice was a very ‘serious’ offence and the local courts ‘must stop people offending in this way.’ He further stated that he had no choice in the matter than to impose an immediate custodial sentence.
A local constable from North Yorkshire Police said: ‘To use this device which was capable of interfering with police speed measurement is clearly, as shown today, a very serious matter.’
‘I advise anyone who may have a similar device fitted to their vehicle to think about the consequences of using such a device and strongly recommend that they remove it from their vehicle to avoid a future prosecution.’
Twizzel formerly worked as a marketing director at Elite Systems, a company based in West Yorkshire. The manufacturers model ecologically friendly homes and commercial buildings.
Prior to that, Twizzel worked as the director of a manufacturing firm in Newcastle. Currently retired, he has been living in an upper-class area of Dewsbury within a £400,000 priced home.
After the sentencing, North Yorkshire Police released a statement claiming that they will: ‘Continue to investigate similar allegations’ when people use such jamming devices to ‘interfere with the normal course of justice.’
Manisha Bhanot.
