Short-haired driver accused of lying to police after they mistake her for a man
A family was accused of lying because a police department said the picture taken of a car breaking the speed limit showed a man, not a woman, driving.
Taylor Wright, 20, of Shifnal, whose car is registered in her step-father’s name, admits she was speeding on the A41 earlier this month.
She says she has a boyish haircut and that it is wrong for West Mercia Police to jump to conclusions.
When she replied to the speeding ticket registering herself as the driver, she then had a second letter saying it could not have been her but the registered keeper, Mark Jones, because “the photo clearly shows it is a man”.
Taylor, who had been driving to a retail park near Chester with her girlfriend on August 6,
said for the police not to believe her was unacceptable.
The family was told they had 14 days to appeal against the decision that it was Mark Jones who had been the driver, but that it could take 10 days for a reply.
Taylor’s mother Jenny Jones said: “The car is in Mark’s name but he is not insured to drive it.
"It is wrong that the police should discriminate like this.”
Taylor said: “I had to deal with a lot of discrimination in school and, working in retail, people think I am a man.
"But when it came from the police it hurt as they should protect us.
"I committed a speeding offence, I admit that.
"But when you fill in a legal document and are accused of lying about your gender it is wrong.”
A police spokesman said: “We’re aware of the concerns that have been raised, which were down to human error, and have apologised to those involved.
"We have since made changes to our processes to help prevent this from happening again.”
