144mph speeding A19 drivers given suspended jail terms

[d000hg]

I used to get on the A19 north at Stockton, always really hated that junction.

[NickFitz]

The lead driver should have pleaded innocent, and demonstrated the car was safe to drive at that speed.

Don't see how he could have claimed to be innocent - even if it was safe to drive at that speed. it was still illegal.

Also, it doesn't really matter a damn how safe the car is to drive at that speed. The important questions are how safe the driver is, how safe the road is, and how safe the other people using the road are.

[scooterscot]

Don't see how he could have claimed to be innocent - even if it was safe to drive at that speed. it was still illegal.

Also, it doesn't really matter a damn how safe the car is to drive at that speed. The important questions are how safe the driver is, how safe the road is, and how safe the other people using the road are.

I understand the emotion. However the law is reason free from passion.

Dangerous driving attracts a higher sentence than speeding so the police went for that. Rally drivers approach high speeds on roads in far less condition than the A19, but is it considered dangerous?

I recall a case in fife where a driver got done for dangerously driving his bmw m3, again 140mph+ on the M9. The judge threw the case out when the defendant had a representative from bmw testify that it was indeed safe to drive the car at that speed. Because of double jeopardy law the police could not charge him again with the lesser charge of speeding.

[DirtyDog]

I understand the emotion. However the law is reason free from passion.

Driving above the speed limit on that stretch of road is dangerous. Driving at double the speed limit on that road is dangerous.

So, how should they have proved that the driving at that speed on that road wasn't dangerous?

[DirtyDog]

I recall a case in fife where a driver got done for dangerously driving his bmw m3, again 140mph+ on the M9. The judge threw the case out when the defendant had a representative from bmw testify that it was indeed safe to drive the car at that speed. Because of double jeopardy law the police could not charge him again with the lesser charge of speeding.

Link?

[scooterscot]

Driving above the speed limit on that stretch of road is dangerous. Driving at double the speed limit on that road is dangerous.

So, how should they have proved that the driving at that speed on that road wasn't dangerous?

It's dangerous because you say so? Is this to be the prosecutions argument? I'll be the first to admit my arguments are as strong as a paper bathtub, but that reasoning dons't fly by me.

[d000hg]

It's dangerous because you say so? Is this to be the prosecutions argument? I'll be the first to admit my arguments are as strong as a paper bathtub, but that reasoning dons't fly by me.

Please make a case for driving at 140mph on a road which has crossings and people pulling into the fast lane while braking to reach the central reservation, and often has stationary cars in the central reservation right next to the fast lane, being safe.

Motorways and autobahns have slip-roads to remove these sources of danger.

[DirtyDog]

It's dangerous because you say so? Is this to be the prosecutions argument? I'll be the first to admit my arguments are as strong as a paper bathtub, but that reasoning dons't fly by me.

The prosecution argument would be on the basis of the number of accidents that occur on that stretch of road, the number of times that traffic comes to a sudden stop, the number of times there are obstructions in the outside lane etc. etc.

The combination of those factors would be enough to show that driving in excess of the speed limit would be dangerous. Trying to argue that it isn't dangerous, based on the assumption that they were driving a BMW, is ridiculous.

[NickFitz]

I understand the emotion. However the law is reason free from passion.

What emotion? I stated that driving at that speed was illegal, and that even if one ignores that fact, there are many more factors than the car's capabilities to be taken into account when considering the putative safety of the situation. Limited scope for hysterics there

[eek]

What emotion? I stated that driving at that speed was illegal, and that even if one ignores that fact, there are many more factors than the car's capabilities to be taken into account when considering the putative safety of the situation. Limited scope for hysterics there

You expect scooterscot to be rational? If only he had clients with work to keep him busy and friends to actually interact with....