Colchester: Man, who drove wrong direction on A12, jailed

Roads Policing officers who are dedicated to keeping you safe on our roads have ensured a disqualified driver who drove for three miles in the wrong direction on the A12 is jailed.

The driver who drove different cars to evade police, ran out of road and luck at court.

Gregory Taylor of Willow Walk, Tiptree was sentenced to a total of two years in prison for offences including dangerous driving on the A12 when he appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday 10 November having admitted the offences at previous hearing.

He was also disqualified from driving for four years.

The 35-year-old appeared in court to answer 17 road-related charges in connection with five cars in separate incidents between July and September, including one count of dangerous driving and four counts of disqualified driving and failing to stop and report a collision.

On Sunday 14 August, RPU officers attempted to stop a BMW X5 being driven by Gregory Taylor in Stanway.

Taylor was captured on body worn video when he collided with a police car and one other car on the A12 Spring Lane roundabout before making off.

Taylor then tried to evade arrest by driving the car for three miles in the wrong direction on the A12, against oncoming traffic, before colliding with roadside bushes at the Marks Tey exit where Taylor and his two passengers abandoned the car and ran away.

An investigation was launched by our Roads Policing Unit and Gregory Taylor was identified as the same driver of two other vehicles who failed to stop for officers on two occasions in Tiptree in July this year.

Taylor committed more traffic offences on 3 September at Tiptree when he drove a BMW 1 series, speeding in excess of 80mph.

Just two days later, he was also caught on CCTV leaving a car in Oak Road, Tiptree. The car was seized for no insurance.

Taylor was arrested on 7 September and subsequently charged.

When interviewed, Taylor admitted that his driving fell below the required standards and that he was driving dangerously. He told police he had no insurance for any of the cars and didn’t hold a licence as he had been disqualified earlier.

Roads Policing Sergeant Paul Gosling, who led the investigation, said:

“Despite Gregory Taylor knowing he was disqualified from driving, he has shown a complete disregard for the safety of all other road users on five occasions.
“Each time he got behind the wheel, he ignored the court’s earlier decision to disqualify him from driving. He exceeded speed limits, drove dangerously and ultimately put other road users at risk from injury by the decisions he made.
“It was through the alertness of other road users taking avoiding actions on the A12, coupled with sheer luck, that there were no serious collisions.
“I want to thank those who came forward and spoke up, supporting our investigation, giving us their evidence and dash cam footage.
“Our vision is to reduce death and serious injuries on the road network. Our Road Policing teams will remain focussed on keeping the road safe and putting those who show no regard for public safety before the court”