COMPANY car drivers could be among those targeted as part of a new campaign against motorists who escape speeding convictions by exploiting legal loopholes.

And a crackdown on persistent offenders could identify drivers who are more likely to lie about the number of penalty points they have on their driving licences, some experts say.

South Yorkshire police chief constable Meredydd Hughes, head of road policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), warned that drivers suspected of persistently breaking the law would be watched closely.

His comments came against a backdrop of frustration at the number of acquittals of motorists over technical errors.

Officers and prosecution staff will now be given extra training to avoid some of the errors that have led to drivers being cleared by the courts.

Hughes said: ‘In response to public concern about high-profile acquittals in drink-driving cases and determined efforts to overturn the use of safety cameras, ACPO have taken a number of steps to support police officers and prosecutors involved in these cases.

‘ACPO is working on new guidelines to ensure police officers are effectively trained in all aspects of enforcing drink-driving law.’

Jason Francis, managing director of software and risk management company Jaama, said drivers who flout the law may also be dishonest when asked to disclose how many penalty points they have.

Francis said: ‘The police believe that justice may not have been done in some motoring court cases and it maybe that some employees will not voluntarily disclose information relating to driving convictions when requested by their boss.’

Paul Smith, of drivers’ group Safe Speed, said: ‘Clearly ACPO are in a panic about something or other. I presume the courts simply don’t have the time to deal with thousands of pointless speeding cases.

And ACPO’s solution? Blow hot air in the vain hope that motorists will be too intimidated to defend themselves.’