Woman who sent footage to police of dangerous driver prosecuted over it herself
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A woman handed in evidence of a dangerous driver to the police, only to be prosecuted herself for dangerous driving.
In a real 'stones and glass houses' moment, a 59-year-old woman submitted her dash-cam footage of an alleged 'road rage' incident she witnessed, only to find herself with a prosecution notice after police took a closer look.
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It all started when 33-year-old Paul Baxter was caught driving dangerously on the A45 Nene Valley Way in Northampton.
The Kettering local can be seen in dash-cam footage undertaking another vehicle in his grey Toyota Land Cruiser at the westbound carriageway of the A45.
The other driver flashes her headlights at Paul, moving from lane three to lane two.
She is then forced to steer into the central reservation barrier after Paul swerves his vehicle across the carriageway.
After the scary incident, the second driver handed in footage to Northamptonshire Police's Operation Snap online portal.
When police interviewed Paul, he insisted that he swerved as he did because there was a mechanical defect with his car.
But, when he maintained this at the Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 8 November, it was not accepted and he was found guilty of dangerous driving.
Paul has now been disqualified from driving for 12 months and will have to take an extended driving test. On top of that, he has been ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community service and pay £545 in costs on top of a £95 victim surcharge.
PC Allsopp-Clarke from the Northamptonshire Police's Safer Roads Team commented: "The video evidence clearly showed that he deliberately swerved into lane two, causing the other driver to take evasive action to avoid a collision. "Baxter’s recklessness could have easily ended in tragic consequences, and I’m pleased the courts have dealt with him positively."
Unfortunately for the woman who handed in the evidence, the footage showed that she had been in the off-side lane before the incident took place, even though the nearside lane was clear.
She has been prosecuted for driving without due care and attention, and took the option to complete an education course.
PC Allsopp-Clarke stated: "Hopefully this case demonstrates that we take all instances of poor driving very seriously and we will prosecute offenders accordingly, which can only be a good thing to help keep our roads safer.
"However, it also serves as a reminder that we examine footage for evidence of offences by all parties. So, if you commit an offence as well as the person you’re reporting to us, you may face prosecution too. We will not overlook one offence to prosecute another."
