Wednesday 15th July 2009
Speeding Ferrari California Press Car Seized
Ferrari California seized after journo gets caught at 140mph
A California outside of an impound lot...
News has reached the ears of PH that Rod Easdown, a motoring journalist in Western Australia, has been charged with reckless driving after being clocked at 230kph (142mph) while reviewing a Ferrari California. (We presume he was doing the driving bit and not the writing bit at the time).
Unfortunately, such speeds mean that the £165,000 car has to be impounded for a week under local laws, despite a request by the car’s owners to have it released early.
"There has been an application made by the owners of the vehicle to get the vehicle back,” said acting police commissioner Chris Dawson. “That application under hardship has been refused so the vehicle remains seized for seven days."
We don’t know what penalties will be faced by the driver but, considering the fact that the Ferrari’s top speed is 192mph, he should probably count himself lucky he wasn’t going any faster.
Note to Ferrari. Please lend us a California. We promise not to go faster than 70mph when anyone is watching...
|
muffinmenace
Original Poster
645 posts
58 months
|
Wonder if the 'wreckless driving' was done in an open deserted desert road with nothing about? 
|
|
|
Crazy Don
41 posts
79 months
|
As someone who owns a TR8 and an AC Cobra and lives in West Australia i can tell you that i have to be very careful where and when i unleash the beasts. The road safety "experts" here are reducing speed limits each year so that by 2015 we will back to 5mph and men with red flags. Not quite what i expected when i emigrated from UK 10 years ago.
|
|
|
Silver940
2,528 posts
97 months
|
|
|
sublimatica
1,991 posts
124 months
|
Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess!
|
|
|
Jgtv
1,964 posts
67 months
|
sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! I seem to be the only person who actually likes this car! I like the 612 as well  
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
EDLT
14,593 posts
76 months
|
muffinmenace said: Wonder if the 'wreckless driving' was done in an open deserted desert road with nothing about? But there was something about, a police car.
|
|
|
joz8968
1,037 posts
80 months
|
sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! Could almost pass as a replacement for the lowly Peugeot 406 Coupe!
|
|
|
pistolp
780 posts
92 months
|
Pathetic, 142mph is obviously very fast but it's hardly reckless. Youd probably get done here for either dangerous/reckless driving too.
But, in the old days you could do that in Ferrari 275 or something and that was in the 60's. Provided the conditions were good and there wasn't much traffic I think a sever dressing down might have been adequate.
Still, it is probably not advisable these days to keep on fighting the law - speeding is becoming increasingly anti social to the point where I wouldn't enjoy going that quickly anyway for fear of the consequences. I guess on that basis the police/govt are winning.
My big issue is that there are some dangerous drivers out there, many of them don't even need to be speeding to be dangerous. It is a shame that more discretion is not used these days as each case is different and alot of modern traffic police adopt a 'one size fits all' approach.
|
|
|
BarnatosGhost
6,427 posts
123 months
|
fair enough prosecute the driver, but how is punishing Ferrari helping anything?
Unless they can show Ferrari were somehow complicit in the offence, surely they get their car back straight away?
Ferrari should prosecute for whatever the Aussie version of Unlawful Imprisonment is for cars (???)
|
|
|
BarnatosGhost
6,427 posts
123 months
|
actually, theft is probably more like it!
|
|
|
EDLT
14,593 posts
76 months
|
pistolp said: Pathetic, 142mph is obviously very fast but it's hardly reckless. Youd probably get done here for either dangerous/reckless driving too.
But, in the old days you could do that in Ferrari 275 or something and that was in the 60's. Provided the conditions were good and there wasn't much traffic I think a sever dressing down might have been adequate.
Still, it is probably not advisable these days to keep on fighting the law - speeding is becoming increasingly anti social to the point where I wouldn't enjoy going that quickly anyway for fear of the consequences. I guess on that basis the police/govt are winning.
My big issue is that there are some dangerous drivers out there, many of them don't even need to be speeding to be dangerous. It is a shame that more discretion is not used these days as each case is different and alot of modern traffic police adopt a 'one size fits all' approach. Maybe he did use his discretion and decided the driver was being a t  t. Like I said before he can't be that good if he didn't see the police car, a white and blue Ford Falcon is hardly discreet.
|
|
|
joz8968
1,037 posts
80 months
|
This case highlights the very injustice of vehicle impounding (...in the ass) laws: it doesn't take into account the (innocent) owners! It should be the driver - and ONLY the driver - that gets punished. After all, a car is only dangerous when its being driven (wrecklessly). (Unless you leave the handbrake off after parking up  ) You have to feel sorry for the owners...
|
|
|
alanc5
295 posts
113 months
|
sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! Terrible isn't it. Got all the road prescense of a squashed frog. A Ferrari used to be an event, a real thing of beauty, art...that's just s te.
|
|
|
Stuart J
538 posts
127 months
|
Lucky it wasnt in france, at least they get it back after 7 days !
|
|
|
bracken78
726 posts
76 months
|
Jgtv said: sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! I seem to be the only person who actually likes this car! I like the 612 as well I like it to. Also it is the first Ferrari (out of the new stuff) I would like to own.
|
|
|
K50 DEL
5,249 posts
98 months
|
bracken78 said: Jgtv said: sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! I seem to be the only person who actually likes this car! I like the 612 as well I like it too. Also it is the first Ferrari (out of the new stuff) I would like to own. Same here, first F car since the 355 that I would like to have (as long as it's a manual obviously)
|
|
|
dudleybloke
6,866 posts
56 months
|
good job the judge didnt put a destruction order on it and give it to top gear! 
|
|
|
jgt1972
118 posts
68 months
|
joz8968 said: sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! Could almost pass as a replacement for the lowly Peugeot 406 Coupe! Is the first time you've both seen it? Have you been living in a cave?
|
|
|
joz8968
1,037 posts
80 months
|
jgt1972 said: joz8968 said: sublimatica said: Is that really a Ferrari? What a mess! Could almost pass as a replacement for the lowly Peugeot 406 Coupe! Is the first time you've both seen it? Have you been living in a cave? [sheepishly] With the hard top up, yes.  [/sheepishly] I know - I can't believe that either! Looks better with the top retracted. (I never thought I'd ever hear myself say that.  )
|
|
|
joz8968
1,037 posts
80 months
|
I take it back! This view is very groovy (the cockpit area is nicely resolved - both top up and down)...  That front 3/4 view makes it look - dare I say it - slightly nondescript?! I do actually like this car (despite the 'hairy-chestedness' of its styling). Nice proportions.
|
|
