Drifter convicted of dangerous driving

Drifter convicted of dangerous driving

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tapereel

Original Poster:

1,860 posts

117 months

Friday 10th July 2015
quotequote all
A victim of his own video posted on the Internet it would seem.

Driver banned from the road after film of him driving SIDEWAYS around hairpin in Fast and Furious-style stunt is posted on Facebook

A dangerous driver has been banned from the road after footage of his performing a Fast and Furious-style stunt at a notorious accident black spot was posted online.

Vladimir Lohin drove his modified Nissan 200 SX sideways around a hairpin bend as part of a video blog of his daredevil motoring.

The 25-year-old was filmed performing the potentially lethal 'drifting' manoeuvre at 5am on a section of the Hartside Pass near Penrith, Cumbria which is 1,904 feet high at its summit.

But the avid track driver, who even had a roll cage fitted to his car, was caught out after police saw footage of the illegal stunt on Facebook and arrested him.

Today at Carlisle Crown Court, Lohin pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was handed a 12-month ban from the roads. He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Insp Richard Quinn said: 'Driving is an important responsibility, and if it is not treated seriously it can have potentially tragic consequences - both for those in the car, and other road users.

'I hope the sentence acts as a deterrent to other potential offenders. What may seem like harmless fun at the time can have long lasting consequences.'

Lohin, originally from Latvia, had carried out the dangerous stunt on the 'Renwick hairpin' of the Hartside Pass, which has has steep slopes beside the road, and is bordered only by stock fencing and stone walls.

The university graduate said he visited the spot in the early hours on August 23 to avoid other cars and had even employed spotters to look out for other traffic on the A686 Penrith to Alston Road for the stunt.

He removed the front registration plate from his modified Nissan 200 SX car and onlookers then filmed as he took at least two sharp bends at high speed, with a passenger sat alongside him.

The stunt is similar to that performed in the successful Fast and the Furious action films which centre on illegal street racing, drifting cars and heists.

Lohin, who is due to graduate from Northumbria University with a masters degree in engineering, told police he had decided to use the A686 that day because there were no slots available to him on private circuits.
THE SPORT OF DRIFTING

Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers while manoeuvring from turn to turn.

Drivers show off their skills by the length of the drift round a corner.

A car is technically 'drifting' when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle - often so the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn.

Professional drifting competitions are now held around the world.

They are judged on speed, angle, showmanship and line taken through a corner.

He said he was an experienced driver whose vehicle was fitted with a cage which protected both the driver and front-seat passenger.

Lohin had visited Cumbria early in the morning in a bid to negotiate the A686 when it was quiet.

His counsel Mr Lee Fish said in mitigation: 'He does acknowledge this was a very foolish thing to do. His enthusiasm for driving got the better of him.'

Lohin of Hunter Street, Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham will have to sit an extended re-test. He was also fined £1500 and ordered to pay £310 in costs and surcharges.

Passing sentence Judge Paul Batty QC told Lohin he was obviously an intelligent man with a passion for 'track drifting.'

But the judge added: 'You do not do your hobby over the Hartside Pass, which is a notorious piece of road in this county where there have been countless fatalities over the years. The road is there for people to drive on and not for people to show off in their fast and expensive cars, showing what good drivers they are to their mates.'

The A686 Hartside Pass, between Penrith and Alston, is popular with bikers for its stunning views, hills, sharp bends, and the cafe at its 1,904ft summit.




Seems he isn't happy though

Yesterday at 5:39pm · Edited ·
Well, here is a video that got me banned for 12 month plus a ridicules fine and unpaid work. Right from the start of this case my solicitor and barrister said the police wanted a deterrent case (make an example off someone) for the Cumbria area. So they got one. Named and shamed blah blah blah. All because my mate shared this video on his page without naming me or me having any link to it. You can't see my plates in this. So doesn't take a genius to realise that a very pathetic person with nothing to do, reported this and all my details to the police. Now this was done at 4 - 5 in the morning with multiple spotters on the road and anyone with sense knows this road will be deserted at this time. But no, you had to ruin the fun because you are so bored of your stty life and can't stand other make something from themselves. Well, hope you have to watch this video every day. Oh and before you girls and boys do streeto and share the video on any public domain, make sure you haven't got a snitch in your circle. Nobody likes a snitch.
Maybe if I leave this link to a my post here it will get a bit more attention....




Greendubber

13,231 posts

204 months

Friday 10th July 2015
quotequote all
Aw boo hoo.

The Surveyor

7,576 posts

238 months

Friday 10th July 2015
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lol.. nobody died etc etc but what a total plum!

This is the risk he takes drifting on a public road and I think his rant is very poor. 3/10 at best smile

Edited by The Surveyor on Friday 10th July 16:22

funkyrobot

18,789 posts

229 months

Friday 10th July 2015
quotequote all
What an idiot.

'He said he was an experienced driver whose vehicle was fitted with a cage which protected both the driver and front-seat passenger.' - but nobody outside of the vehicle itself. smile

Eclassy

1,201 posts

123 months

Friday 10th July 2015
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Could he have been prosecuted if he claimed the video was produced with a video editing software?

That assumming there isnt CCTV of him carrying out the act.


drjhill

174 posts

191 months

Friday 10th July 2015
quotequote all
There's a roll cage in the back of his car in the top pic, but it certainly doesn't look like it's been "fitted" at that point.

No wonder they came down hard on him!

Cat

3,023 posts

270 months

Friday 10th July 2015
quotequote all
Eclassy said:
Could he have been prosecuted if he claimed the video was produced with a video editing software?

That assumming there isnt CCTV of him carrying out the act.
Yes. He could also have ended up being prosecuted for attempting to pervert the course of justice if it was shown that the claims the video had been doctored where found to be false.

Cat

ging84

8,933 posts

147 months

Friday 10th July 2015
quotequote all
I suspect he should have kept his mouth shut when interviewed
The footage i saw, nowhere near good enough to identify the driver, so unless there was better footage or a witness, he must have admitted to it.

section 172 gives the police fairly unreasonable powers, but i don't think they can just play you a video of your car being driven on the road and insist you identify the driver, that could be impossible if it was genuinely not you, and they can't pin it to an exact date and time.



anonymous-user

55 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
Drifter? I thought that this thread would be about this guy:



I is dissapoint.


PS: the driver is a cock. All his mates are cocks. His mates' mates are cocks. Verdict: cocks.

BertBert

19,093 posts

212 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
Breadvan72 said:
PS: the driver is a cock. All his mates are cocks. His mates' mates are cocks. Verdict: cocks.
Why? Student does a stupid driving thing, gets caught, gets punished. Don't get the "cock" bit.

iambeowulf

712 posts

173 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
BertBert said:
Breadvan72 said:
PS: the driver is a cock. All his mates are cocks. His mates' mates are cocks. Verdict: cocks.
Why? Student does a stupid driving thing, gets caught, gets punished. Don't get the "cock" bit.
I've heard you get loads of cock.


ETA. I'm joking. Don't know you! smile

Edited by iambeowulf on Saturday 11th July 10:14

anonymous-user

55 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
Graduate, I thought, not student. Deliberately doing stupid stuff on a public road is cockish. What if the bloke had pranged his crate and blocked the road? What if he had lost it and slammed sideways into one of his mates? What if someone even more stupid had arrived at the area at Leptonic speeds and steamed into the spotters?

There are loads of places where you can go OMG DRFTN YO on private roads, airfields, race tracks and so on, and they have proper safety marshals and medical and fire teams on standby. Why pursue the hobby on a public road? The bloke took his numberplate off because he knew that he was doing something dodgy. His anti social attitude is shown by his statement that he could and should have lied his way out of the beef. Revised verdict: cock.

Greendubber

13,231 posts

204 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
Breadvan72 said:
Graduate, I thought, not student. Deliberately doing stupid stuff on a public road is cockish. What if the bloke had pranged his crate and blocked the road? What if he had lost it and slammed sideways into one of his mates? What if someone even more stupid had arrived at the area at Leptonic speeds and steamed into the spotters?

There are loads of places where you can go OMG DRFTN YO on private roads, airfields, race tracks and so on, and they have proper safety marshals and medical and fire teams on standby. Why pursue the hobby on a public road? The bloke took his numberplate off because he knew that he was doing something dodgy. His anti social attitude is shown by his statement that he could and should have lied his way out of the beef. Revised verdict: cock.
100% this

LocoCoco

1,428 posts

177 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
Drifter has paid the stupid tax. He can get away with this if he doesn't decide to show off in front of all his mates.

Can anybody explain the merits of an extended retest for drivers like this? It's really easy to stick to the rules of the road on your test, I doubt he'll do any drifts with the instructor next to him.
This guy has an attitude problem, not a driving ability problem.

ging84

8,933 posts

147 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
what if there was a nun carrying a basket full of kittens.
what if there was a monkey riding a bike smoking a cigar.
what if his shoes caught fire and he couldn't use the pedals.

Greendubber

13,231 posts

204 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
ging84 said:
what if there was a nun carrying a basket full of kittens.
what if there was a monkey riding a bike smoking a cigar.
what if his shoes caught fire and he couldn't use the pedals.
He'd still be a cock.

LoonR1

26,988 posts

178 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
LocoCoco said:
Drifter has paid the stupid tax. He can get away with this if he doesn't decide to show off in front of all his mates.

Can anybody explain the merits of an extended retest for drivers like this? It's really easy to stick to the rules of the road on your test, I doubt he'll do any drifts with the instructor next to him.
This guy has an attitude problem, not a driving ability problem.
Hence why it's extended and not a normal test. I bet it's harder than you think to pass a test too.

Phil Dicky

7,162 posts

264 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
Greendubber said:
ging84 said:
what if there was a nun carrying a basket full of kittens.
what if there was a monkey riding a bike smoking a cigar.
what if his shoes caught fire and he couldn't use the pedals.
He'd still be a cock.
So just to confirm the driver is a cock?

anonymous-user

55 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
As for the "what if space monkeys on acid" arguments, they don't wash, in my opinion. The premise underlying such arguments may be that you cannot live in cotton wool, and should not be risk averse. I agree, but that is not the point. Risk is fun, and life without risk is dull, but the sensible risk taker takes risks in a sensible way. I am just some fat bolke, but I used to do a lot of climbing, including ice climbing (too old and fat now). I used to do aerobatic flying (too skint now). I used to bike a bit (too old and fat and slow and rubbish now). I used to ride moderately feisty horses (now too fat). I still do fairly full on off piste skiing (I mean the real stuff, way off the beaten track, not a quick detour in between two marked runs). Plenty of risks in those things, but you manage and try to control the risks, and don't do stuff that asks for trouble in terms of potential accidents or collar fingering.

anonymous-user

55 months

Saturday 11th July 2015
quotequote all
tapereel said:
Well, here is a video that got me banned for 12 month plus a ridicules fine and unpaid work. Right from the start of this case my solicitor and barrister said the police wanted a deterrent case (make an example off someone) for the Cumbria area.
Yes, blame others to feel better.

Eclassy said:
Could he have been prosecuted if he claimed the video was produced with a video editing software?
The prosecution would have it assessed by an expert who'd conclude it were not.

ging84 said:
what if there was a nun carrying a basket full of kittens.
what if there was a monkey riding a bike smoking a cigar.
what if his shoes caught fire and he couldn't use the pedals.
Are you suggesting we shouldn't consider "what ifs" and risks?