Justice - well done that Judge!
Discussion
First published on Saturday 12 October 2002:
Banned driver jailed for car chase
by our news team
A banned driver who dodged police cars in a 120mph chase across Sussex, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Nathan Wilson's driving was described as horrendous and a danger to other motorists by Judge Richard Brown at Lewes Crown Court yesterday.
Wilson, 21, of Ravenswood Drive, Woodingdean, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance.
Mr Nicholas Hall, prosecuting, said a Rover 214 car was stolen by Wilson on April 9, from outside a house in Bolney.
The next evening, it was spotted by police patrolling the M23.
Officers saw it brake sharply and then drive away at speed. The car was followed as it travelled towards Brighton.
Mr Hall said: "At one point it reached speeds of 110mph, swerving from lane to lane, causing cars to scatter."
When it got to Handcross, it went four times round the roundabout and did a hand brake turn before going back on the A23. Mr Hall said the vehicle reached speeds of 120mph and at times drove on the hard shoulder without lights.
He said: "Between Handcross and Brighton, the car was in collision with three other vehicles but there was not a great deal of damage.
"At Pyecombe, two police cars drove parallel in front of the vehicle to try to get it to stop but the speeding car nipped in between causing them to swerve."
The car then continued on to the A27 but failed to negotiate the roundabout. Wilson leapt out of the car but fell over as he tried to escape and was arrested.
Neil Mercer, defending, said Wilson accepted his record was appalling.
He said: "He has a problem with cars. He simply can't resist them."
He said Wilson, who has nine previous convictions for driving while disqualified, was unemployed and had never taken a test.
"He knows he is driving illegally and when he is approached by police officers he always drives off."
Judge Richard Brown told him: "This was a horrendous piece of driving, which put other people's lives at risk. You paid little heed to the rules of the road."
Wilson was banned from driving for two years.
JMGS4 said: 120mph? for a rover 214............... you gotta be jokin' friend....................
Unlikely but not impossible...
I used to have a 214 when I was student, it was surprisingly quick for a "grandad mobile". I once got it up to an indicated 127mph. And it felt rock solid at that speed too!
Sounds like this man has a serious mental problem - his lawyer more or less admits the same. Basically he shouldn't be let out until it is absolutely certain he is cured by whatever means. He will kill someone otherwise so treat him like the criminal psychotic he is and stick him in Rampton......M
you know what... this is typical..
M@H said: and how much is 2 1/2 years behind bars going to cost us taxpayers then
Matt.
we're really never happy are we.. if they don't go to prison, we complain that justice is not being done... if they do end up insde, we complain about how much it'll cost.
As much as we'd like them to be, more illiberal measures are not available to the courts - we can't lop off their hands or lobotomise them so what bloody choice do we have.. yes, prision isn't cheap, but it's what's there and this guy sounds like the exact sort who should be in there..
Go on CarZ.. have a go.. 
Never happy.. ? I'd be happier if society was such that tossers like this didn't exist.. with better social values installed in people we could all walk the streets at night, and our little kids wouldn't get abducted.. et al et al..
as it is we just seem to be infatuated with giving people either a paultry fine, or a stretch in a glorified hotel with more mod cons than my house..
Bring back rock breaking, chain gangs and a legal system to be afraid of if youre in the wrong.. then I'll be satisfied..
Matt.
Never happy.. ? I'd be happier if society was such that tossers like this didn't exist.. with better social values installed in people we could all walk the streets at night, and our little kids wouldn't get abducted.. et al et al..
as it is we just seem to be infatuated with giving people either a paultry fine, or a stretch in a glorified hotel with more mod cons than my house..
Bring back rock breaking, chain gangs and a legal system to be afraid of if youre in the wrong.. then I'll be satisfied..
Matt.
fair comment mate - I wasn't singling you out... well not really, it's just that you provided the exact jingoistic sentiment I was looking to rail against..
I know exactly what you mean about the state of society, but I sometimes wonder if we spend so much time lamenting on here that we lose sight of the fact that in spite of our circular arguments and daily mailisms, things really aren't all that bad..
Sometimes I think we need to stop thinking like a bunch of old farts who fought a war for the likes of us.. if you see what I mean..
(I'm probably wrong but I've a bottle full of Devils Advocaat here and I'm working my way thru it
)
[All that aside, it's true to say that I hold humanity in such low esteem that I'm constantly unsurprised by the degree of criminality, stupidity, ignorance and ineptitude displayed by an ever increasing section of the population. I'm working on finding out why and how to fix it.. could take me a while... ]
I know exactly what you mean about the state of society, but I sometimes wonder if we spend so much time lamenting on here that we lose sight of the fact that in spite of our circular arguments and daily mailisms, things really aren't all that bad..
Sometimes I think we need to stop thinking like a bunch of old farts who fought a war for the likes of us.. if you see what I mean..
(I'm probably wrong but I've a bottle full of Devils Advocaat here and I'm working my way thru it
) [All that aside, it's true to say that I hold humanity in such low esteem that I'm constantly unsurprised by the degree of criminality, stupidity, ignorance and ineptitude displayed by an ever increasing section of the population. I'm working on finding out why and how to fix it.. could take me a while... ]
Its a double edged sword though isn't it.. we stand on the edge of a totalitarian nanny state where we are told what is good for us, the feckless are rewarded, and the common working man is seen as easy pickings for a government and regime trying to shore up relations with the US and other countries so Mr Blair and his ego can try to position themselves for a Nobel Prize and top job as President of Europe.
Blunkett has earned a bit of my respect lately by telling the right wing elements of the party that the governemnt needs to trust ordinary people more and stop trying to run their lives, however his most recent rumblings will doubtless see him manouvred into political wilderness over then next 18 months.
We are currently in a postion where ministers are seeking to impose politically correct dogma on schools, local government and police, and where public services are failing, yet where it is the duty of ministers to intervene and sort out this mess, we seem hell bent on foreign extravagance and support rather than getting our own house in order.
Labour governments in the past attempted to impose too many regulations whereas the Tories went too far the other way and abandoned communities. Government should be there to support and encourage people to help themselves but not to attempt to do everything for them, and not handicap those who do help themselves.
And as for sounding like those who "fought in the war" for us.. well I don't have a problem with that.. they were people who put their lives on the line to defend what we today seem collectively happy to give away. Brussels will soon be running this country, and the most that we seem to do is moan about it in closed groups, not actually stand up and be counted.. remember only 12 months ago, it was "illegal" to have a british flag on your numberplate.. how absurd is that..??
Matt.
(sorry that just turned into a rant didn't it
)
>> Edited by M@H on Monday 14th October 16:05
Blunkett has earned a bit of my respect lately by telling the right wing elements of the party that the governemnt needs to trust ordinary people more and stop trying to run their lives, however his most recent rumblings will doubtless see him manouvred into political wilderness over then next 18 months.
We are currently in a postion where ministers are seeking to impose politically correct dogma on schools, local government and police, and where public services are failing, yet where it is the duty of ministers to intervene and sort out this mess, we seem hell bent on foreign extravagance and support rather than getting our own house in order.
Labour governments in the past attempted to impose too many regulations whereas the Tories went too far the other way and abandoned communities. Government should be there to support and encourage people to help themselves but not to attempt to do everything for them, and not handicap those who do help themselves.
And as for sounding like those who "fought in the war" for us.. well I don't have a problem with that.. they were people who put their lives on the line to defend what we today seem collectively happy to give away. Brussels will soon be running this country, and the most that we seem to do is moan about it in closed groups, not actually stand up and be counted.. remember only 12 months ago, it was "illegal" to have a british flag on your numberplate.. how absurd is that..??
Matt.
(sorry that just turned into a rant didn't it
) >> Edited by M@H on Monday 14th October 16:05
good point well made, but what would you have us do... ?
M@H said: the most that we seem to do is moan about it in closed groups, not actually stand up and be counted..
my thoughts are:
(i) Vote... I do that already
(ii) Write to newspapers... I do that already
(iii) Write to MPs & Ministers... I do that already
(iv) Protest in the streets - well I have no dog on a string and I have a job, so how do I do that?
I know that many more people need to engage in (i), (ii) and (iii)
My current idea is for a large section of us to infiltrate the Conservative Party and steer it back in the right direction.. starting by skewering IDS and chucking him on the bonfire alongside Billy Liar.. compassionate conservatism, my arse..
Brutal Murderous Conservatism? I'd vote for that..
Seriously mate.. I've been wondering about getting into politics to try and get things right.. but which party do you affiliate yourself with..? most of the UKIP types seem to be viewed with a level of novelty by much of the populace.. 
Matt.
(Edited to say I do i,ii, and iii)
>> Edited by M@H on Monday 14th October 16:08
Matt.
(Edited to say I do i,ii, and iii)
>> Edited by M@H on Monday 14th October 16:08
I've thought about politics too, but wanting to be a politician effectively disqualifies you from being a good politician - it's a craving for power in most who experience it..
Also, being a politician is an invitation to get hung by the media.. you can't be a good *and* a successful politician.. the former never gets the chance to put his point accross to the media and is hung for it (having ideas that cannot be effectively distilled into a 6 second soundbite) and the latter is so bent on presentation that purpose and truth are far down the list of priorities and are all but forgotten in the quest for opinion poll ratings..
That's it.. if there's one thing that needs to be done it's to outlaw the use of opinion polls by the snivel service and the government.
in fact, mentioning the snivel service brings us to what I think the core problem is.. Successive governments of whatever hue are only able to effect such changes as the civil service are compliant with.. the latter institution is full of all the wrong people.. do-gooders, "it's always been this way" merchants who've been there 30 years, those who like the authority of a traffic warden but don't want to face the public and people with too much spare time on their hands.
In the face of this, the most perceptive, honest and radical government would end up looking as effectual as Callaghan's Class of 79.
"Yes Minister" was no further from the truth of things than Spitting Image, or Rory Bremner.. and there's a frightening level of truth spoken in jest between the lot of them..
Anyway, the truth is that the people who *should* be running the country are too busy being enterprising to get involved in a game of back-stabbery, back-sliding and back-handers.
:sigh: I don't have the answer mate, but I know that anyone who gets into politics with the greater-good in mind either bends with the wind, or breaks.
Also, being a politician is an invitation to get hung by the media.. you can't be a good *and* a successful politician.. the former never gets the chance to put his point accross to the media and is hung for it (having ideas that cannot be effectively distilled into a 6 second soundbite) and the latter is so bent on presentation that purpose and truth are far down the list of priorities and are all but forgotten in the quest for opinion poll ratings..
That's it.. if there's one thing that needs to be done it's to outlaw the use of opinion polls by the snivel service and the government.
in fact, mentioning the snivel service brings us to what I think the core problem is.. Successive governments of whatever hue are only able to effect such changes as the civil service are compliant with.. the latter institution is full of all the wrong people.. do-gooders, "it's always been this way" merchants who've been there 30 years, those who like the authority of a traffic warden but don't want to face the public and people with too much spare time on their hands.
In the face of this, the most perceptive, honest and radical government would end up looking as effectual as Callaghan's Class of 79.
"Yes Minister" was no further from the truth of things than Spitting Image, or Rory Bremner.. and there's a frightening level of truth spoken in jest between the lot of them..
Anyway, the truth is that the people who *should* be running the country are too busy being enterprising to get involved in a game of back-stabbery, back-sliding and back-handers.
:sigh: I don't have the answer mate, but I know that anyone who gets into politics with the greater-good in mind either bends with the wind, or breaks.
My current idea is for a large section of us to infiltrate the Conservative Party and steer it back in the right direction.
No f'ing chance CarZee, unless you've got plenty of grey wigs, horlicks and incontinence pads.
I'd pick the lib dems (you won't stick out for being under 70 for a start), make it into a real Liberal Party with a liberal agenda that meant just that, ie libertarianism, - the government makes sure essential services are there and raises tax to pay for them. The rest of the time they leave you alone to get on with it and no nanny state rubbish. (of course what is 'esential' is the arguing point..)
BTW anyone come up with a cocktail recipe for 'Devils Advocat' yet?
yep - Advocaat, Mescal and Tabasco 
Here's the problem with the DibLems... they all need to die. Right now.
At least the fundamental ethics of the Tory party really are those of libertarianism..
you won't find Rab C Kennedy endorsing the primacy of individual liberty. No, he'll endorse left wing liberalism - today's equivalent of socialism. This is a totally different thing.. DibLems are more left-wing than the leadership of New Labia. That's a 'Bad Thing' from my point of view.
The most dangerous thing about them is that they plan to give us a little of what we want (legalise pot) so we're all too battered to notice that they'll bring the country to it's knees with reforms that'll turn us into Belgium.
No, we need a party that's against further EU integration, state controls, high taxes, redistribution and nannyism.
>> Edited by CarZee on Monday 14th October 16:38
Here's the problem with the DibLems... they all need to die. Right now.
At least the fundamental ethics of the Tory party really are those of libertarianism..
you won't find Rab C Kennedy endorsing the primacy of individual liberty. No, he'll endorse left wing liberalism - today's equivalent of socialism. This is a totally different thing.. DibLems are more left-wing than the leadership of New Labia. That's a 'Bad Thing' from my point of view.
The most dangerous thing about them is that they plan to give us a little of what we want (legalise pot) so we're all too battered to notice that they'll bring the country to it's knees with reforms that'll turn us into Belgium.
No, we need a party that's against further EU integration, state controls, high taxes, redistribution and nannyism.
>> Edited by CarZee on Monday 14th October 16:38
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