Don’t even think about it!

Talex, makers of award-winning GPS speed camera alert systems, is warning drivers to be aware of a new kind of speed camera.

The new type of Gatso camera has already been used in several areas including Essex and London, and is expected to be taken up by most Safety Camera Partnerships across the country. It is designed to combat the evasion of penalty points by speeders when they claim that someone else was driving at the time of the offence.

"The new Gatso has been developed to catch the increasing number of guilty drivers who attempt to avoid penalty points by persuading somebody else to take the rap," says Talex director, Nigel Carter. "There are tens of thousands of drivers with six and nine penalty points. Typically, a driver wanting to avoid more points or an automatic ‘totting up’ driving ban will claim that a partner or relative was driving. This could easily bring a charge of perverting the course of justice, and our advice is: don’t even think about it!"

The new camera works in conjunction with the more familiar rear-facing Gatso. If a vehicle passes the first rear-facing camera too fast, its flash will trigger the second Gatso which takes a digital picture of the front of the vehicle. It will even work at night without the dazzle of a flash, and provides a clear picture of the driver.

It’s been estimated that more than 700,000 drivers might have evaded penalty points and a driving ban by ‘passing-off’ penalty points onto others. But getting caught carries severe penalties. A 39-year-old single mother and nurse recently tried it and because of the conclusive evidence of a forward-facing camera, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

"The best thing is to stick to speed limits," added Nigel Carter. "But we all know that, as Lord Neil Kinnock recently admitted when he was banned from driving, it is all too easy to inadvertently stray over the speed limit."

A speed camera warning system such as Talex is completely legal and uses global positioning system (GPS) satellites to accurately pinpoint the location of your vehicle in relation to all fixed and known mobile speed camera locations – including the new forward-facing Gatsos.

The vehicle’s position is constantly compared with the system’s database of speed camera locations and the driver is warned of a camera’s proximity and the appropriate speed limit. Talex systems use visual and voice warnings and also alert drivers to schools and accident black spots.

There are two Talex GPS camera warning systems available: the Talex Lite at £89.99 and the original Talex at £149.99. Auto Express in its authoritative review and test of speed camera locators judged the Talex Lite to be its ‘Best Buy 2006’ with the original Talex coming second in the test as ‘Recommended 2006.’