Motoring journalist banned for speeding
Discussion
Let's be honest - he just needed a better lawyer...
Our system of justice is based on "who has the better smooth-talking clique member" and "smooth talking clique members" charge a lot of money...
Cricketers can afford good lawyers of course - seems motoring journalists cannot!?
I once worked with an IT contractor who was nicked at 140 on the M42 - he asked me to write a letter to the court because if he lost his licence, he said we wouldn't be coming in to work and "who else could do what he did". I told him to f
k off - so he paid a lot to a brief, retained his licence and continued to make me feel like I employed a highly paid tt (which I did)
Our system of justice is based on "who has the better smooth-talking clique member" and "smooth talking clique members" charge a lot of money...
Cricketers can afford good lawyers of course - seems motoring journalists cannot!?
I once worked with an IT contractor who was nicked at 140 on the M42 - he asked me to write a letter to the court because if he lost his licence, he said we wouldn't be coming in to work and "who else could do what he did". I told him to f
k off - so he paid a lot to a brief, retained his licence and continued to make me feel like I employed a highly paid tt (which I did)405dogvan said:
Let's be honest - he just needed a better lawyer...
Our system of justice is based on "who has the better smooth-talking clique member" and "smooth talking clique members" charge a lot of money...
Cricketers can afford good lawyers of course - seems motoring journalists cannot!?
I once worked with an IT contractor who was nicked at 140 on the M42 - he asked me to write a letter to the court because if he lost his licence, he said we wouldn't be coming in to work and "who else could do what he did". I told him to fk off - so he paid a lot to a brief, retained his licence and continued to make me feel like I employed a highly paid tt (which I did)
That might be the case down in England but won't cut any ice up in Inverness!Our system of justice is based on "who has the better smooth-talking clique member" and "smooth talking clique members" charge a lot of money...
Cricketers can afford good lawyers of course - seems motoring journalists cannot!?
I once worked with an IT contractor who was nicked at 140 on the M42 - he asked me to write a letter to the court because if he lost his licence, he said we wouldn't be coming in to work and "who else could do what he did". I told him to f
k off - so he paid a lot to a brief, retained his licence and continued to make me feel like I employed a highly paid tt (which I did)When the speed is well over 100mph then dangerous driving is the norm!
405dogvan said:
Let's be honest - he just needed a better lawyer...
Our system of justice is based on "who has the better smooth-talking clique member" and "smooth talking clique members" charge a lot of money...
Cricketers can afford good lawyers of course - seems motoring journalists cannot!?
I once worked with an IT contractor who was nicked at 140 on the M42 - he asked me to write a letter to the court because if he lost his licence, he said we wouldn't be coming in to work and "who else could do what he did". I told him to fk off - so he paid a lot to a brief, retained his licence and continued to make me feel like I employed a highly paid tt (which I did)
That might be the case down in England but won't cut any ice up in Inverness!Our system of justice is based on "who has the better smooth-talking clique member" and "smooth talking clique members" charge a lot of money...
Cricketers can afford good lawyers of course - seems motoring journalists cannot!?
I once worked with an IT contractor who was nicked at 140 on the M42 - he asked me to write a letter to the court because if he lost his licence, he said we wouldn't be coming in to work and "who else could do what he did". I told him to f
k off - so he paid a lot to a brief, retained his licence and continued to make me feel like I employed a highly paid tt (which I did)When the speed is well over 100mph then dangerous driving is the norm!
Another way of looking at it, is he could be dead if a deer had shot out of the trees in front of him!
If he has has been nabbed at that, he may have just peaked at that, or maybe he was doing 150 up the road!? Who knows, only him.
The fact he has pleaded guilty of dangerous driving suggests it may have been a "fair cop". And a 15 month ban is really only he can expect pleading to that.
Scotland isn't great on "speeders", neither is Wales to be fair. I've driven all round Europe and indded the world and the worst places for speeding IMHO are Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Netherlands then Wales! In most NSL limits in England, it's usually enforced very reasonably I think.
Stay at 30 in 30, and temp restrictions say 50 on motorway roadworks, and you can generally get about at reasonably speeds without too much worry. But 127 anywhere, and you better be damned sure no one is watching!
If he has has been nabbed at that, he may have just peaked at that, or maybe he was doing 150 up the road!? Who knows, only him.
The fact he has pleaded guilty of dangerous driving suggests it may have been a "fair cop". And a 15 month ban is really only he can expect pleading to that.
Scotland isn't great on "speeders", neither is Wales to be fair. I've driven all round Europe and indded the world and the worst places for speeding IMHO are Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Netherlands then Wales! In most NSL limits in England, it's usually enforced very reasonably I think.
Stay at 30 in 30, and temp restrictions say 50 on motorway roadworks, and you can generally get about at reasonably speeds without too much worry. But 127 anywhere, and you better be damned sure no one is watching!
bqf said:
Sorry is this fking Pistonheads? Here's a good-level race driver, speeding at 127mph, at 1am on a Scottish road. Good conditions, not foggy, or pissing down, and he's lost his job and his licence because a pair of fking jobsworths decided he was driving dangerously?
That's total horsest. At 1am the rozzers should be in towns stopping the myriad of drunken assaults and brawls that go on, not farting about trying to catch a speeding driver.
Very badly done to here - no idea why he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving either - madness. He is most certainly not an idiot. I hate all the do-gooders saying 'obey the law' or else - seriously? Drive 20 mins on any a-road or motorway at the limit and you'll be overtaken a billion times.
bd speed limits - created when cars took 20 miles to stop properly and had brakes and tyres made of blu-tack. It's just horsest.
My man I agree with every word of your post , even petrol heads have their head up their arse it seems on miles per hour is the holy grail . No sense of perspective on driving skill ability and vehicle performance design these days .king Pistonheads? Here's a good-level race driver, speeding at 127mph, at 1am on a Scottish road. Good conditions, not foggy, or pissing down, and he's lost his job and his licence because a pair of fking jobsworths decided he was driving dangerously?That's total horses
t. At 1am the rozzers should be in towns stopping the myriad of drunken assaults and brawls that go on, not farting about trying to catch a speeding driver.Very badly done to here - no idea why he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving either - madness. He is most certainly not an idiot. I hate all the do-gooders saying 'obey the law' or else - seriously? Drive 20 mins on any a-road or motorway at the limit and you'll be overtaken a billion times.
b
d speed limits - created when cars took 20 miles to stop properly and had brakes and tyres made of blu-tack. It's just horsest.As for the police what the f
k were they doing ? Oh I know taking the pants down on a Porsche driver , pathetic .s3fella said:
Another way of looking at it, is he could be dead if a deer had shot out of the trees in front of him!
If he has has been nabbed at that, he may have just peaked at that, or maybe he was doing 150 up the road!? Who knows, only him.
The fact he has pleaded guilty of dangerous driving suggests it may have been a "fair cop". And a 15 month ban is really only he can expect pleading to that.
Scotland isn't great on "speeders", neither is Wales to be fair. I've driven all round Europe and indded the world and the worst places for speeding IMHO are Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Netherlands then Wales! In most NSL limits in England, it's usually enforced very reasonably I think.
Stay at 30 in 30, and temp restrictions say 50 on motorway roadworks, and you can generally get about at reasonably speeds without too much worry. But 127 anywhere, and you better be damned sure no one is watching!
The reason he would have pled guilty would have been on advice that it would have reduced the length of ban that he was going to get anyway because unless he could prove that he was not traveling at more than 100mph he was guilty of DD anyway!If he has has been nabbed at that, he may have just peaked at that, or maybe he was doing 150 up the road!? Who knows, only him.
The fact he has pleaded guilty of dangerous driving suggests it may have been a "fair cop". And a 15 month ban is really only he can expect pleading to that.
Scotland isn't great on "speeders", neither is Wales to be fair. I've driven all round Europe and indded the world and the worst places for speeding IMHO are Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Netherlands then Wales! In most NSL limits in England, it's usually enforced very reasonably I think.
Stay at 30 in 30, and temp restrictions say 50 on motorway roadworks, and you can generally get about at reasonably speeds without too much worry. But 127 anywhere, and you better be damned sure no one is watching!
Lordglenmorangie said:
My man I agree with every word of your post , even petrol heads have their head up their arse it seems on miles per hour is the holy grail . No sense of perspective on driving skill ability and vehicle performance design these days .
As for the police what the fk were they doing ? Oh I know taking the pants down on a Porsche driver , pathetic .
So the law should be bent for driving ability and owning a Porsche, sounds really sensible.As for the police what the f
k were they doing ? Oh I know taking the pants down on a Porsche driver , pathetic .N
Precisely. And if he'd done it in Switzerland he'd likely see prison and have a 50k fine! But in Germany, on a direst riveted section, he'd be getting flashed to get out the way!
In Scotland, it is, by law, dangerous driving. So he should have had make sense, he must have known! In Germany, in the right place, it is just driving.
Whether it was 'actually dangerous' , well none of us know. But hit a deer at 100moh odd in areas engine car and it will smart a bit.....no matter if you're in Scotland or Germany. But perhaps we don't all think 'what if'? I'm not sure, would I dive at that speed on a deserted Scottish road at near 1am, probably not. But that would be my concern over said fluffy deer ending up as a passenger!
His risk v reward calculation, this time, let him down, despite hit hitting anything furry!
Grandfondo said:
s3fella said:
Another way of looking at it, is he could be dead if a deer had shot out of the trees in front of him!
If he has has been nabbed at that, he may have just peaked at that, or maybe he was doing 150 up the road!? Who knows, only him.
The fact he has pleaded guilty of dangerous driving suggests it may have been a "fair cop". And a 15 month ban is really only he can expect pleading to that.
Scotland isn't great on "speeders", neither is Wales to be fair. I've driven all round Europe and indded the world and the worst places for speeding IMHO are Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Netherlands then Wales! In most NSL limits in England, it's usually enforced very reasonably I think.
Stay at 30 in 30, and temp restrictions say 50 on motorway roadworks, and you can generally get about at reasonably speeds without too much worry. But 127 anywhere, and you better be damned sure no one is watching!
The reason he would have pled guilty would have been on advice that it would have reduced the length of ban that he was going to get anyway because unless he could prove that he was not traveling at more than 100mph he was guilty of DD anyway!If he has has been nabbed at that, he may have just peaked at that, or maybe he was doing 150 up the road!? Who knows, only him.
The fact he has pleaded guilty of dangerous driving suggests it may have been a "fair cop". And a 15 month ban is really only he can expect pleading to that.
Scotland isn't great on "speeders", neither is Wales to be fair. I've driven all round Europe and indded the world and the worst places for speeding IMHO are Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, France, Netherlands then Wales! In most NSL limits in England, it's usually enforced very reasonably I think.
Stay at 30 in 30, and temp restrictions say 50 on motorway roadworks, and you can generally get about at reasonably speeds without too much worry. But 127 anywhere, and you better be damned sure no one is watching!
In Scotland, it is, by law, dangerous driving. So he should have had make sense, he must have known! In Germany, in the right place, it is just driving.
Whether it was 'actually dangerous' , well none of us know. But hit a deer at 100moh odd in areas engine car and it will smart a bit.....no matter if you're in Scotland or Germany. But perhaps we don't all think 'what if'? I'm not sure, would I dive at that speed on a deserted Scottish road at near 1am, probably not. But that would be my concern over said fluffy deer ending up as a passenger!
His risk v reward calculation, this time, let him down, despite hit hitting anything furry!
Sorry, can't agree with most of what is being posted here. The fact that this guy is a "racing driver" is totally irrelevant. Driving on a race track and driving on a road are two very different things. Also what none of those who are supporting this idiot have mentioned is that he had been on the road for most of the day.
What really annoys me is when some people say the speed was excessive and it was. they are immediately jumped on for being a supporter of BRAKE. do they not see that comments like "it's only 127" plays straight into BRAKE's hands.
To those people who think 127 is OK for them. Please explain to the rest of us, why you think your driving is so much better and when can we join? When we are 17 and just passed our test? when we are 70 with poor eyesight? When we have done a couple of track days?
Mind you look at this speed king http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-ea... Bet he would be allowed in your 127MPH club.
What really annoys me is when some people say the speed was excessive and it was. they are immediately jumped on for being a supporter of BRAKE. do they not see that comments like "it's only 127" plays straight into BRAKE's hands.
To those people who think 127 is OK for them. Please explain to the rest of us, why you think your driving is so much better and when can we join? When we are 17 and just passed our test? when we are 70 with poor eyesight? When we have done a couple of track days?
Mind you look at this speed king http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-ea... Bet he would be allowed in your 127MPH club.
Drumroll said:
Sorry, can't agree with most of what is being posted here. The fact that this guy is a "racing driver" is totally irrelevant. Driving on a race track and driving on a road are two very different things. Also what none of those who are supporting this idiot have mentioned is that he had been on the road for most of the day.
What really annoys me is when some people say the speed was excessive and it was. they are immediately jumped on for being a supporter of BRAKE. do they not see that comments like "it's only 127" plays straight into BRAKE's hands.
To those people who think 127 is OK for them. Please explain to the rest of us, why you think your driving is so much better and when can we join? When we are 17 and just passed our test? when we are 70 with poor eyesight? When we have done a couple of track days?
Mind you look at this speed king http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-ea... Bet he would be allowed in your 127MPH club.
ZZZZZWhat really annoys me is when some people say the speed was excessive and it was. they are immediately jumped on for being a supporter of BRAKE. do they not see that comments like "it's only 127" plays straight into BRAKE's hands.
To those people who think 127 is OK for them. Please explain to the rest of us, why you think your driving is so much better and when can we join? When we are 17 and just passed our test? when we are 70 with poor eyesight? When we have done a couple of track days?
Mind you look at this speed king http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-ea... Bet he would be allowed in your 127MPH club.
Grandfondo said:
When the speed is well over 100mph then dangerous driving is the norm!
Interesting...In England, 'Dangerous Driving' pretty much requires someone to admit they knew what they were doing was dangerous - so much so that we added a new law (Causing Death by Reckless or Inconsiderate Driving?) to ensure people were still prosecuted when they maintained they did not consider their driving a risk.
Problem is - some people think that law is being used for people who would previously have been convicted of the more serious 'causing death by dangerous driving" law (obviously it being easier to prove the former it will be chosen in some cases)
Drumroll said:
Sorry, can't agree with most of what is being posted here. The fact that this guy is a "racing driver" is totally irrelevant. Driving on a race track and driving on a road are two very different things. Also what none of those who are supporting this idiot have mentioned is that he had been on the road for most of the day.
What really annoys me is when some people say the speed was excessive and it was. they are immediately jumped on for being a supporter of BRAKE. do they not see that comments like "it's only 127" plays straight into BRAKE's hands.
To those people who think 127 is OK for them. Please explain to the rest of us, why you think your driving is so much better and when can we join? When we are 17 and just passed our test? when we are 70 with poor eyesight? When we have done a couple of track days?
Mind you look at this speed king http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-ea... Bet he would be allowed in your 127MPH club.
It might be time for me to finally leave PH. Have you seriously never exceeded NSL on a public road? My last few cars have been able to do that in 2nd gear. What really annoys me is when some people say the speed was excessive and it was. they are immediately jumped on for being a supporter of BRAKE. do they not see that comments like "it's only 127" plays straight into BRAKE's hands.
To those people who think 127 is OK for them. Please explain to the rest of us, why you think your driving is so much better and when can we join? When we are 17 and just passed our test? when we are 70 with poor eyesight? When we have done a couple of track days?
Mind you look at this speed king http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-ea... Bet he would be allowed in your 127MPH club.
MC Bodge said:
Have you ever experienced it? UK or abroad?
Yes. I've driven a car at similar speeds on an empty road. I was nobbish to do so, and it's a nobbish thing to do.No it doesn't feel particularly unsafe when you're doing it, but the fact is, it is. That's more to do with other nobs on the road and their lack of skill, but that in itself is a good reason not to do it.
When you exceed the speed limit you are breaking the laws of the land. You weigh the risk and make your choice. You may be totally safe, it's still against the law. There may be no limits on the autobahn - however that is Germany, their laws are different. You may consider the law stupid - however it's still the law.
The law doesn't have consideration for - "You are a racing driver and it's 1am so that's fine" other non motoring laws don't have consideration for who you are and the job you do in life - so why should driving laws?
Racing drivers make mistakes. Paul Walker can attest to that.
Not saying he was right or wrong, safe or not. The conviction purely comes down to the law of the land you live in. I am sure there is some leniency the police will give but at more than twice the speed limit they really have no choice other than to prosecute.
The law doesn't have consideration for - "You are a racing driver and it's 1am so that's fine" other non motoring laws don't have consideration for who you are and the job you do in life - so why should driving laws?
Racing drivers make mistakes. Paul Walker can attest to that.
Not saying he was right or wrong, safe or not. The conviction purely comes down to the law of the land you live in. I am sure there is some leniency the police will give but at more than twice the speed limit they really have no choice other than to prosecute.
Edited by EK993 on Sunday 30th November 03:14
Haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if I am repeating what has already been said, but:
1. He has plenty of opportunities to drive at 127 mph on track, so why did he need to do it on a public road?
2. He may be able to track test vehicles without a licence.....I don't know, but I doubt it, as I suspect it would invalidate the track's insurance. One of the conditions of taking part in a track day is that you have a valid licence.
1. He has plenty of opportunities to drive at 127 mph on track, so why did he need to do it on a public road?
2. He may be able to track test vehicles without a licence.....I don't know, but I doubt it, as I suspect it would invalidate the track's insurance. One of the conditions of taking part in a track day is that you have a valid licence.
TheBMWDriver said:
I am not with the rest of you lot on this, 127 on the motorway is one thing but doing that on a Single lane road in the middle of the night is madness.
If a deer popped out infant of him there is no way he could avoid it at that sort of speed.
And that is his risk. Do we punish people for risking their own lives these days? If so my parachuting and Scuba diving will see me jailed, let alone driving. If a deer popped out infant of him there is no way he could avoid it at that sort of speed.
One of the things about driving fast at night is that you can see other cars more easily. I also suspect that he knew this road quite well to be going at that speed with only headlights to light the way.
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