‘Rolls-Royce’ loophole may let thousands of speeders off the hook
Millionaire businesswoman beats traff ic charge
A MILLIONAIRE business executive has avoided penalty points for speeding by exploiting a loophole in the legal system which could now be used by thousands of other motorists.
Victoria Jones, 37, was stopped as she travelled through a Perthshire village in her Rolls-Royce at what police said was 20mph over the speed limit.
But she escaped conviction after hiring a legal firm which has successfully defended a number of celebrity clients and specialises in finding faults in road traffic law.
Officers using a laser speed gun recorded Mrs Jones, who lives on a £4 million Perthshire sporting estate, driving through a residential area in Luncarty in her distinctive luxury car.
A trial at Perth’s Justice of the Peace Court was told that traffic officers had been operating in the area following complaints about vehicles speeding through the village.
The mother-of-two was stopped after apparently driving at 50mph in a 30mph zone, near the local primary school on August 20 last year.
After being shown the laser device display, she made no comment to the officers.
However, last week she was cleared after her lawyer successfully argued she had ‘no case to answer’ because of the method the police officers used to calibrate their speed gun.
The court heard no direct evidence from Mrs Jones, who is a director of several companies, to deny that she had been driving at speed.
PC Stephen Livesey told how his colleague pulled Mrs Jones over after their device showed a reading of 50mph.
He said: ‘We had specific complaints regarding the speed of vehicles through Luncarty and that is one of the reasons we do speed checks there.
‘It appeared to be travelling at excessive speed, more than 30 miles per hour. There was a perception of speeding. You could hear it was louder than a normal vehicle. With the number of speed checks you do you learn what a vehicle would look and sound like.
‘We spoke to her through the passenger window. She agreed she understood what was on the device.’ A sergeant on duty with him also told the court that the Rolls-Royce, which had a personalised registration, was clocked at 50mph over a 200metre stretch of the B9099. He said: ‘It was fair and dry and the traffic was light. There were no other vehicles in sight. There were no obstructions.’ Both officers stated their laser gun had been calibrated prior to starting their shift and they had checked its distance reading against a marked 20metre zone at the police station – but neither said they had measured the pre-marked zone.
It was this that Steven Farmer – a lawyer for roadtrafficlaw. com – flagged up as a blunder, noting that the two officers did not personally measure the test distance and the case should be thrown out.
Mr Farmer said: ‘There must be direct evidence of the distance used to test the device. That is an essential element of the Crown case.’
Fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston conceded: ‘There’s nothing I can say about that. He’s right. I am no longer seeking a conviction.’
Mrs Jones, of Stenton Estate, Dunkeld – who is listed online as a director of companies with more than £4.5 million of assets, – also commissioned an expert to prepare an 8,500-word report for the trial. She was formally found not guilty of speeding. Yesterday, Graham Walker, founder of roadtrafficlaw.com, said: ‘We deal purely with road traffic law and it’s been very successful. I identified a gap in the market eight years ago and we’re still going strong. I thought we’d get about 12 months of business before the loopholes were closed but that’s yet to happen.’
Previous high-profile clients have included Australian cricketer Shane Warne and former Celtic star Georgios Samaras.
Mr Walker – dubbed Mr Loophole – helped Warne escape a ban after he was clocked doing 103mph on the M74 in 2012.
Samaras was accused of using his phone while driving in 2010. He was cleared when Mr Walker argued that police had failed to prove he was using or even holding the phone.
‘I am no longer seeking a conviction’