Low mileage driver news - Telematics box insurance and police ID device

Driver news - Telematics box insurance holders could have prints scanned

A new device, which could be used on telematics box insurance holders and other motorists alike, may save police time and lead to offenders being convicted quicker.

A mobile identification gadget, about the size of a Blackberry phone, has been used in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire for a month, to identify people who have just committed a road offence, and is now being launched throughout the rest of the UK.

The machine scans a driver's index finger and can search 8.5 million prints on the police database in about two minutes. It holds the details of drivers who have already been convicted of an offence and those who are presently involved in criminal investigations, and this means that officers will no longer have to waste time questioning a road user if they believe they have been given false details.

"This will give officers more time to spend working in their communities, helping to fight crime, bring more offenders to justice and better protect the public," states a detective inspector in Cambridgeshire.

The police have assured motorists that their fingerprints are not kept on the device after being scanned.

The small mobile unit is a popular idea with some people, but others do not support the use of the device. The general secretary for NO2ID, which campaigns against national databases, said of the scheme, "It will make people feel like criminals".

Now that the gadget is becoming available to police all over the country both low mileage drivers with telematics box insurance and those who undertake long journeys in their vehicles, may have their prints checked by officers if they commit a road offence.