I've read on another forum of a biker caught doing 142 mph who got six points and £1,000 fine, awarded today. Magistrates are in Surrey, in case you are wondering.
I was stunned, to say the least, as was the offender it seems, who was expecting a ban. He pleaded guilty, and conducted his own defence. He works as a mechanic, and offered his potential loss of job as a factor in his sentencing, it seems.
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He didn't 'get off it'. He was found guilty, given points and fined.
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I think all who see his punishment will agree that he got off, albeit with a punishment. The lack of even a short ban, and with only a six point penalty, meaning he can still get three more without a totting-up ban, is amazing, in my view.
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He didn't 'get off it'. He was found guilty, given points and fined.
OK, he didn't get off - but he certainly did get off lightly. I appreciate that ALL factors need to be considered when sentencing but it does seem rather unfair. For example, I don't have to drive as part of my job but working/living 40 miles apart means that I need to drive to get to and from work (Public transport would take me 4 changes and 3 hours for each journey) .
If I were to be banned, it may have similar consequences for my job as it does for the mechanic fella.
I wonder how many of us could get off this lightly for doing 142mph?
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I knew someone with 12 points via the totting up process (none expired) and was still allowed to drive. He brought all of his extended family to court and argued he'd lose his current position as an IT contractor (which he would have taking into account location) and therefore they gave a huge fine and more points - taking him to 15 I think.
I disagree with him getting away without a ban of any duration but he did! Unbelievable.
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"If I were to be banned, it may have similar consequences for my job as it does for the mechanic fella. "
And if you came up in front of the beak you would have the opportunity to plead your case.
I always think such a defence should be no defence. If the vehicle is so important to your job you make sure you drive responsibly. Let him keep his licence, but get him back on L plates until he passes his test again.
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A friend of mine also totted up 12 points on his licence. He pleaded potential loss of job and was given an extra point (putting him on 13) and a £500 fine, but allowed to keep his licence. He is a civil engineer, largely office based..
Six of the points were the result of speeding past the same camera twice in 3 weeks; the second time he was demonstrating to someone how he had been flashed previously! But thats another story.
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Well, it's nice to know that there are some magistrates who don't seem to have swallowed the story that speed is the one great motoring evil and cause of all deaths on the roads. :-)
That, said, I do agree that doing 142 is absolute lunacy, and is absolutely inexcusable on a public road, unless, perhaps, one is on a German Autobahn. I just hope that the chap doesn't do it again.
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On the subject of getting off lightly a friend of ours got away with a driving ban after being caught (they had already accumalated a few points on previous convictions)by claiming they were a great asset to the comunity on the grounds that they were a childminder.
I think a hefty fine and a few more points were awarded.Would you want your child looked after by someone who drives in such a manner, probably with your child on board.
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rustbucket (the original)
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Has this story off another forum been authenticated by a news item or similar.
Surely it would have been reported widely. I thought there was mandatory sentencing with some offences and the Magistrates have no discretion.
Anyway in my opinion if its true that he should be banned for others safety.
wemyss
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The usual armchair condemers are out in force. Who are you to say if the man was reckless. The speedlimit has remained unchanged for many years despite modern vehicles being capable of greater speeds.
I regularly travel at 100 plus on the motorway and cruise at 85-90, my philosophy is to travel at the mazimum speed that the conditions (not the limit) allow this does not make me a bad driver or the motercycilist.
The guy could have been speeding when the road was quiet and with good road conditions.
He was alowed to keep his licence, so what ! why should the state deprive him of his living and risk the hardship this would cause his family All for traveling at high speed in a vehicle that is designed to handle sutch speeds.
For the record I have a clean licence.
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'my philosophy is to travel at the mazimum speed that the conditions (not the limit) allow '
Dangerous stuff to admit there Navara. Effectively, you're saying that because you don't believe or subscribe to a law, then you wont (and/or dont) obey it.
I can feel a philosphical debate coming on
AI
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How is 142 in the UK dangerous but not so on an autbahn? In law one has a limit and some of the others do not , but in the end they are both just strips of concrete.
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To say he got off lightly, I disagree. He didn't harm anyone I presume, so why should he be punished more than some drunken yob who beats up a stranger? Is speeding not cool but being plastered (ow whatever this week's trendy word) is?
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This is the problem, real criminals get off and the motorist gets done.
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As others have said - he didn't get off. He was punished with a fine and points.
We don't know the full facts of the case. To my mind there is a big difference between 142mph on an empty motorway in good conditions and 45mph outside a school at 4pm while talking on your mobile. People are just grabbing at the headline of 142mph and assuming he was reckless.
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I think he was certainly lucky - on a forum I look at a biker got done for Dangerous Driving (entirely due to his speed of 124MPH on a motorway) and last week he was banned for 12 months.
This was in Scotland and apparently it's standard practice there to add a Dangerous Driving charge is the speed in considered excessive.
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How is 142 in the UK dangerous but not so on an autbahn? In law one has a limit and some of the others do not , but in the end they are both just strips of concrete.
It must be dangerous in the UK because it is waaaayyyy over the limit, but since it there is no limit on the autobahn, it is clearly not per se dangerous ;-)
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am I the only person that can find no mention (via google) of 142 mph, motorbike , surrey ?
MTC
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A shaggy dog story, if ever I heard one.
With no offence to the OP, I would challenge whoever posted this on the other forum to produce some evidence. Get caught doing 142 and unless the magistrate happens to be president of the local Hells Angels chapter you will need to invest in a good pair of shoes.
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I think we need to know the exact facts before we judge this case, but I wouldn't believe everything that is written on an internet forum. My gut instinct is that he may have actually been prosecuted for and convicted of exceeding the speed limit (in the opinion of a police officer), and that maybe the policeman reached 142mph in order to catch up with him. So although they didn't have a definate capture of his exact speed, they decided to prosecute him for exceeding the limit instead.
I know someone that this has happened to, in a very similar vein and he got away with 6 points and a £500 fine. The policeman was hiding adjacent to a dual carriageway as this guy zoomed past him at around 140mph. They didn't have his exact speed but they knew it was excessive and prosecuted him on that basis.
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