Rushden motorist caught overtaking cyclist at 90mph in 30mph zone

Denzel Masawi, 26, of Sunningdale Road, Rushden, pleaded not guilty to driving in excess of a 30mph speed limit at Wellingborough Magistrates' Court on Monday, December 16.

But he was convicted by magistrates and was disqualified from driving for six months. He was also fined £592 and ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £59, as well as costs of £620. The total was £1,271.

He is the first driver to be convicted as part of Northamptonshire Police's Operation Snap, which allows members of the public who film bad driving to easily submit it to the police.

Masawi was filmed on the cyclist's camera overtaking at a speed calculated to be a minimum of 91.5mph.

The incident happened on the A502 Bedford Road in Rushden on Wednesday, September 11 this year.

PC Dave Lee from the safer roads team said: "[Operation Snap] makes it easier for both those with cameras capturing the bad driving and for us to be able to process it.

"At first Masawli was issued with a notice of intended prosecution for careless driving and any other offences, however, after the video had been analysed and his minimum speed was calculated at being in excess of 90mph, the offence was changed to driving in excess of the 30mph speed limit.

"This was our first submission under Operation Snap and I’m pleased the courts have dealt with the driver positively. This speed was three times the legal limit and could have very easily ended in disaster."

Operation Snap, which was launched in October, is intended to help keep the county's roads safer by enabling police to take action on offences they otherwise would not see.

PC Dave Lee added: "Through our use of Operation Snap, the chance of getting caught for committing traffic offences goes up, and if that fear of getting caught results in people driving more safely then that’s only a good thing."

People can upload their video evidence via an online portal on the Northamptonshire Police website.

PC Lee said: “It's really important that people submitting footage do so as soon as possible after the incident, as if an offence has been committed we only have 14 days to send out the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP).

“It's also important to remember we examine footage for evidence of offences by all parties, so please don't break the law in order to report someone else to us, or you could be in trouble as well.”

The portal can be used to submit evidence of dangerous driving, careless driving, driving without due care and attention, using a mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, failing to stop at a red traffic light, crossing solid white lines, and offences where a driver is not in proper control of a vehicle.

It cannot be used to report collisions.