Driver banned, fined, & given community service for drifting
Discussion
Couldn't see a thread on this anywhere, so apologies if it's already been mentioned.
I live in Cumbria and this has been getting a bit of attention here, and has pretty much blown up on all the local Facebook pages and forum for anyone interested in cars.
A young guy called Vladimir Lohin has been prosecuted after phone video footage emerged on Facebook of him drifting a Nissan 200SX up Hartside mountain pass.
From speaking to people locally who know him on Facebook, the video was supposed to be made up of several different camera angles pieced together to make a more professional and lengthy drift video, but someone present thought it was fine to capture a few seconds on their phone as he went past and upload it to Facebook, resulting in him being sought out by the Police, who apparently got a call quite promptly off someone eager to tell them who it was.
They took several precautions before beginning the stunt, such as being up Hartside at around 4-5am to ensure very little chance of traffic, and they also had UHF radios in the drift car and with spotters at both the top and the bottom of the mountain to call a halt to the action if any cars approached either end of the road. The front registration plate was also removed.
The judge was absolutely incensed by what he saw and banned the driver for 12 months, ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, fined him £1500 plus £310 costs, and orders that he sit an extended driving test to get his licence back. The judge noted that the driver has a Masters Degree in Engineering and should know better.
From a public explanation on Facebook made by the driver, he seems to fully accept his driving was illegal and he accepts the punishment, but says he feels it is massively excessive, and also that he is utterly furious about the fact that someone 'snitched' on him and uploaded the video in the first place.
I understand the video was going to be released at a much later date after all identifiable faces etc had been blurred out.
The driver also says his big mistake was admitting it straight away when arrested by the police. He says that in hindsight he should have gone down the "prove it" route as he video does not actually show who is driving.
Mail article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3153824/Dr...
Local paper article: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/drifting-driver-...
Local performance and modified cars blog on the matter: https://www.heavyset.co.uk/vladimir-lohin-the-exam...
I live in Cumbria and this has been getting a bit of attention here, and has pretty much blown up on all the local Facebook pages and forum for anyone interested in cars.
A young guy called Vladimir Lohin has been prosecuted after phone video footage emerged on Facebook of him drifting a Nissan 200SX up Hartside mountain pass.
From speaking to people locally who know him on Facebook, the video was supposed to be made up of several different camera angles pieced together to make a more professional and lengthy drift video, but someone present thought it was fine to capture a few seconds on their phone as he went past and upload it to Facebook, resulting in him being sought out by the Police, who apparently got a call quite promptly off someone eager to tell them who it was.
They took several precautions before beginning the stunt, such as being up Hartside at around 4-5am to ensure very little chance of traffic, and they also had UHF radios in the drift car and with spotters at both the top and the bottom of the mountain to call a halt to the action if any cars approached either end of the road. The front registration plate was also removed.
The judge was absolutely incensed by what he saw and banned the driver for 12 months, ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, fined him £1500 plus £310 costs, and orders that he sit an extended driving test to get his licence back. The judge noted that the driver has a Masters Degree in Engineering and should know better.
From a public explanation on Facebook made by the driver, he seems to fully accept his driving was illegal and he accepts the punishment, but says he feels it is massively excessive, and also that he is utterly furious about the fact that someone 'snitched' on him and uploaded the video in the first place.
I understand the video was going to be released at a much later date after all identifiable faces etc had been blurred out.
The driver also says his big mistake was admitting it straight away when arrested by the police. He says that in hindsight he should have gone down the "prove it" route as he video does not actually show who is driving.
Mail article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3153824/Dr...
Local paper article: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/drifting-driver-...
Local performance and modified cars blog on the matter: https://www.heavyset.co.uk/vladimir-lohin-the-exam...
That show cage is just sitting in the back sideways 
oh i see, the first picture is of him picking it up.
He needs some better friends really, I got up to things that would have landed me in trouble too but I suppose they have to take a tough stance on it as its a growing trend.
For whats its worth I think if you're going to do that on the road then they went the best way about it. Other than the facebook stuff
oh i see, the first picture is of him picking it up.He needs some better friends really, I got up to things that would have landed me in trouble too but I suppose they have to take a tough stance on it as its a growing trend.
For whats its worth I think if you're going to do that on the road then they went the best way about it. Other than the facebook stuff
Edited by Aphex on Friday 10th July 12:54
What he did was wrong no doubt.
It does however seem excessive as it could affect his future badly.i read recently about an individual who has forty two points on his licence and was allowed to keep it for some reason i can't remember, which if true is ridiculous.It does seem to me that the justice system in this country is quite inconsistent when punishments are handed out,i mean look at the soft sentences for child molesters who are released to offend again and again,as we know there is something very sinister about the establishment in the UK that needs to change.
Dave Hedgehog said:
what an idiot 
just cause Harris does this kind of driving does not mean the police / courts are not going to come down on you like a tonne of bricks
The driving in the video isn't a million miles away from similar driving by Harris either...just cause Harris does this kind of driving does not mean the police / courts are not going to come down on you like a tonne of bricks
https://youtu.be/Jv0Gr5gz1Gw?t=97
It seems both guys take appropriate safety measures and are within the limits of their skill. Rather harsh punishment for the Nissan driver; it's a million miles away from some of the idiotic driving one sees by the 'McDonalds car-parker' crowd.
Funk said:
The driving in the video isn't a million miles away from similar driving by Harris either...
https://youtu.be/Jv0Gr5gz1Gw?t=97
It seems both guys take appropriate safety measures and are within the limits of their skill. Rather harsh punishment for the Nissan driver; it's a million miles away from some of the idiotic driving one sees by the 'McDonalds car-parker' crowd.
Limits of their skill counts for nothing on a public road - just takes one errant human or animal or a mechanical fault or a diesel spillage and there could be a huge mess - I always wondered how journalists got away with driving like they did on public roads and then putting the film on t'internet.https://youtu.be/Jv0Gr5gz1Gw?t=97
It seems both guys take appropriate safety measures and are within the limits of their skill. Rather harsh punishment for the Nissan driver; it's a million miles away from some of the idiotic driving one sees by the 'McDonalds car-parker' crowd.
It's not that I am against sliding a car about on an abandoned public road, but to then publish it on the internet?
stedale said:
I'm sure I've seen videos of well known journalists getting sideways on public roads - presumably they are on closed road though?
I've never heard of a single instance in the UK (Isle of Man apart) where a journalist has successfully effected a road closure. It just doesn't happen, ergo they are subject to normal road traffic laws.EricE said:
don't see how this is better or worse than the "drifting" that certain journalists do. Both do it illegally on public roads, both use a radio and a "spotter", both film it.
How do you know journalists do it 'illegally'?The likes of Top Gear do all their drives with the full knowledge and consent (and usually cooperation) of the authorities. Cfnteabag said:
That mail article is a joke
How... unusual.As for the video - he wasn't VERY far off running out of tarmac on the exit to that corner. A tidge further, and it'd have been a very different story.
As for the penalty...
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manu...
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. He admitted it. He stuck his hand up and said "D'you know what? You're right. Yep. Bang to rights. I did drive dangerously, according to the law."
And that, right there, is the 12mo ban and extended test - ABSOLUTE minimum. The judge had absolutely no power to NOT give him that.
So... what about the community service...?
Sentencing Range: Non custodial options may be considered, coupled with a long period of disqualification, but usually a custodial penalty is appropriate, especially where a number of aggravating factors combine.
Now look at the list of aggravating factors.
"Showing off"? He was making a video... Tick.
"Deliberate"? Umm, definitely. Tick.
Above bare minimum, with those aggravating factors in mind, and "usually a custodial penalty is appropriate", what he actually got was 150hr community service.
The CPS took him to Crown Court - not Magistrate's - so he could have been facing two years in prison. 150hr community service doesn't exactly seem steep in comparison to that, does it?
Although he took precautions he still did it on a public road.
I imagine the courts are trying to send a message to others who may be tempted to try something similar. This guy took measures to mitigate the danger. Some spotty youth in a chaved up Corsa might watch the video and try it in the middle of the day with other traffic around.
Like you say, the story is doing the rounds and might put off any idiots who think it's ok to try and emulate him.
I imagine the courts are trying to send a message to others who may be tempted to try something similar. This guy took measures to mitigate the danger. Some spotty youth in a chaved up Corsa might watch the video and try it in the middle of the day with other traffic around.
Like you say, the story is doing the rounds and might put off any idiots who think it's ok to try and emulate him.
If you know something you plan to do is illegal to the extent that your planning included removing number plates and blurring faces then really IMO you have not made the smartest of decisions to do that thing.
Most of us speed on the public roads at some point, we probably don't deliberately set out to do us, most of us get a bit carried away occasionally but we don't necessarily set out to do it.
The fact that the driver in question premeditated the whole thing probably doesn't help his case. If you plan to go drifting there are plenty of tracks available......
Most of us speed on the public roads at some point, we probably don't deliberately set out to do us, most of us get a bit carried away occasionally but we don't necessarily set out to do it.
The fact that the driver in question premeditated the whole thing probably doesn't help his case. If you plan to go drifting there are plenty of tracks available......
lostkiwi said:
How do you know journalists do it 'illegally'?The likes of Top Gear do all their drives with the full knowledge and consent (and usually cooperation) of the authorities.
Just look at the video linked above... 1:51 you can see oncoming traffic in the background, a second later there's a 911 going sideways using both lanes.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff