Speedy reaction

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Speedy reaction

Your advice to KS who was speeding to his pregnant wife fortuitously comes after a report in the Daily Telegraph of a police officer caught driving at 68mph in a 30mph zone because his baby was sick. He then criticised the colleague who caught him for “not helping in an emergency” - and escaped punishment. Where KS drove at 103mph is not stated but if on open road it is not necessarily more dangerous than 68mph in a 30 mph zone. Is police behaviour always to be excused? It is not so long since one of them drove at speeds well over 100mph merely 'to familiarise himself' with the car, only to be described by the magistrate as the 'creme de la creme' of drivers. Police authorities also seem to have fallible memories or bad records, being frequently unable to remember who was driving the car. This never results in the prosecution of the Registered Keeper!

Asked on 7 August 2010 by DS, Bedford

Answered by Honest John

If a police officer is to drive a car capable of 160mph in chases, don't
you think he should be allowed to familiarise himself with its high speed handling in a non-chase situation first? Many people think such training should be restricted to a racetrack. You hear of Formula 1 cars achieving 200mph on racetracks. But racetracks are actually quite restrictive, with short straights and tight corners, where high-speed motorway chases at up to 160mph cannot be emulated in police cars. Even the runway at Bruntingthorpe comes to an end by the time a police car could have reached 160mph.

Tags: speeding courts driving police fines

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