Basildon, Essex – Jack Godfrey, a 24-year-old resident of Kent View Road, Basildon, faced stern legal consequences for dangerous driving, ironically proven by his own helmet cam footage (scroll down for the video)
This incident occurred in Chelmsford, resulting in a hearing at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 3 November.
Self-Incriminating Evidence
Godfrey’s conviction was significantly influenced by the helmet cam footage he shot while riding his “superbike.”
The recording, which captured a series of hazardous manoeuvres, led to his 12-month disqualification and a directive to perform 200 hours of unpaid community work.
He must also re-sit his driving test and pay £269 in fines and costs.
Dangerous Pursuit on Essex Roads
The episode unfolded on Saturday, 15 July, when a Roads Policing officer from Essex Police observed Godfrey’s motorbike with a non-compliant registration plate on the A12 at junction 19.
The subsequent follow along the A130 in Rettendon revealed the motorcyclist’s perilous driving style, including risky overtaking.
Upon intercepting the bike, the officer discovered and confiscated the SD card from the mounted dash cam, which later revealed alarming footage.
Godfrey was seen reaching speeds up to 150mph, overtaking dangerously, and performing a “wheelie” amidst oncoming traffic, narrowly avoiding a roundabout collision.
Official Response and Legal Actions
Police Constable Danny Wheeler, who led the case, expressed his concerns: “The rider’s actions were egregiously dangerous, treating public roads as a personal racetrack, heedless of safety.”
Although Godfrey faced no additional penalty for the non-compliant registration plate, the court’s decision underscored the seriousness of his actions.
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Not for nothing are they called organ donors. His licence should have been revoked and a ban on re-applying as well as a driving for at least 5 years imposed. The sentence should have been a suspended prison sentence served by means of a ban/licence revocation.
Had anything gone wrong, the rider would have been seriously injured or more probably killed, other road users might also have been caught up in any mayhem to their detriment.
Had his injuries been life threatening or worse, the road would have been closed for hours for the investigation at considerable cost to the nation. The last stat I saw some 8 years ago estimated that the cost of road collisions to the nation was £14.7 billion. It will probably be roughly double that now.
As a rider I have a helmet cam, it’s been very useful for proving who did what several times when cage aimers took each other out, and also as my speedo is clearly in shot proving I wasn’t speeding. Funnily enough my local AIM bike group’s senior observer, a former traffic officer, absolutely hates cameras on bikes or riders, perhaps his continued insistence on ‘making (significant) progress’ and the risk of being captured doing so whilst exceeding the speed limit colours his view? Having been a Blue light driver/rider myself in the past I have no need to prove anything, nor exceed the posted speed limit, but then I never was an adrenalin junkie…