How the Brits deal with extreme speeders

[LVSteve]

Not to hijack the other driving threads, I thought y'all would be interested to see this. Guy gets pinched for doing double the 70 limit, resulting in:

Seizure of the vehicle;

56 day driving ban;

$2300 in fines.

I've no clue what the costs are to recover a seized vehicle as those kinds of laws came in after I left.

Ban for Colchester Lamborghini driver caught doing 140mph

Fred McKennon was clocked by officers doing speed checks, say police.

www.bbc.com

 

[robertrwalsh]

The limeys have an issue with dangerously stupid driving. I guess they figure if you are rich enough to drive a Lambo you are rich enough to not be an idiot and endanger others. It works for me. They just pulled "Hermione Granger's" license for chronic speeding.

 

[s&wchad]

From the article:

PC Matthew Mehen said: "Speeding at this level is completely unacceptable and shows a reckless disregard for safety.

"Excessive speed dramatically reduces a driver's ability to react to changing road conditions and shortens braking distances."

If excessive speed shortens braking distances, wouldn't that be a good thing?

 

[Rustyt1953]

"Limeys"?

 

[fiasconva]

56 day driving ban??? That's it? It will probably take him that long to get his vehicle back. If he can afford that Lambo $2300 in fines aren't going to hurt him too much.

 

[lihpster]

The Finns fine you for speeding based on your income. Higher income, higher fine. I have heard of at least 2 individuals whose fines, for single incidents, were over 100K euros.

 

[oldbrownhat]

56 day driving ban??? That's it? It will probably take him that long to get his vehicle back. If he can afford that Lambo $2300 in fines aren't going to hurt him too much.

The fines should be based on a percentage of the value of the vehicle, with repeat offenders having the vehicle sent to the scrap yard. (But I'm feeling a bit grumpy today.)

 

[JohnRippert]

"Limeys"?

One of my favorite Limeys.

 

[s&wchad]

So this allegedly happened in January and they're just getting around to censuring him. No one was injured.

I wonder how many wealthy taxpayers in GB are a drain on their Nation. If he can afford a Lamborghini, he's probably giving 60% of his income to the Crown...
He'll pay the pittance and hire a chauffeur.

I'd move to Germany, where I could cruise the Autobahn.

 

[BE Mike]

Louisville, KY has stiffened up their laws regarding street takeovers, drag racing and other antics with vehicles. They seize violators' rides and arrest the drivers. They've seized a lot of Dodge muscle cars lately. I seems to have had some impact. On another topic, I've noticed that some apparently wealthy owners of Cadillac, Lexus, BMW and other expensive rides seem to drive as if they are privileged, by speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating, etc.

 

[ladder13]

The biggest car show around here is a monthly C&C on a Sat. The Dodge owners were so rude and obnoxious around the neighborhood that they were banned from the show.

Cars and Coffee Morrisville - Events

Cars and Coffee event page for next month.

www.carsandcoffeemorrisville.com

 

[greenwellg]

So this allegedly happened in January and they're just getting around to censuring him. No one was injured.

I wonder how many wealthy taxpayers in GB are a drain on their Nation. If he can afford a Lamborghini, he's probably giving 60% of his income to the Crown...
He'll pay the pittance and hire a chauffeur.

I'd move to Germany, where I could cruise the Autobahn.

Just don't tailgate anyone. They put two marks on the lanes and if you are within the two marks then you can get fined based on your net worth. In the case I read about that fine was $35,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rudi]

If you want to drive that fast, go to a track. Don't risk other's lives for your personal fun. Idiots!

 

[Phenix]

Not to hijack the other driving threads, I thought y'all would be interested to see this. Guy gets pinched for doing double the 70 limit, resulting in:

Seizure of the vehicle;

56 day driving ban;

$2300 in fines.

I've no clue what the costs are to recover a seized vehicle as those kinds of laws came in after I left.

Ban for Colchester Lamborghini driver caught doing 140mph

Fred McKennon was clocked by officers doing speed checks, say police.

www.bbc.com

That's almost as bad as what the law does to you over there if you get caught mis-gendering somebody at work or on the internet.
Socialist Idiots!

 

[Mister Coffee]

140 mph? Ouch. That's automatic arrest and jail time in my jurisdiction.

I'm not saying I haven't done 120 mph. Okay, 130. But it was just for a bit.

Tinted windows? Where I live, people have illegal window tint to hide the other illegal stuff they are doing (playing with their cellphones). The mfr.s know this, so the cars come from the from the factory with the illegal tint.

 

[LVSteve]

That's almost as bad as what the law does to you over there if you get caught mis-gendering somebody at work or on the internet.
Socialist Idiots!

I am going to guess that you have never lived in a place where anti-social behavior with cars takes place, including street takeovers and the like. I do, and seizure of a vehicle under such circumstances and the one linked in my OP seems fair enough to me. I would equate driving 140 mph with other cars about with walking down a crowded street waving loaded 1911 at people while tapping the side of a competition weight trigger with the safety off. One slip up and things are going to go badly.

I can assure you that my driver training in the UK barely prepared me for driving at the legal limit on the public road, let alone double it. I'd be very surprised if the perp in this case had ever been on a high speed driving course for the public highway. That's generally the reserve of the LE Class 1 drivers out of the Hendon training center, or wherever it's done these days. People can say "I've done club racing" or "I've done a bunch of track days" all they want, none of that is applicable to the public road, especially in the UK with its traffic density and road conditions. I happen to know the stretch of road where this guy got pinched, and driving along there at that speed was major league dumb.

 

[Ματθιας]

New Mexico had vehicle forfeiture, but...

City to return man's Chevy Chevelle nearly a decade after it was seized in Albuquerque


New Mexico .gov and law enforcement, corruption is thy name.

 

[John in Yuma]

They should get a special license endorsement allowing them to drive only Smart cars for life.
Other Lambo drivers would see their fate and FEAR!

 

[Phenix]

I am going to guess that you have never lived in a place where anti-social behavior with cars takes place, including street takeovers and the like. I do, and seizure of a vehicle under such circumstances and the one linked in my OP seems fair enough to me. I would equate driving 140 mph with other cars about with walking down a crowded street waving loaded 1911 at people while tapping the side of a competition weight trigger with the safety off. One slip up and things are going to go badly.

I can assure you that my driver training in the UK barely prepared me for driving at the legal limit on the public road, let alone double it. I'd be very surprised if the perp in this case had ever been on a high speed driving course for the public highway. That's generally the reserve of the LE Class 1 drivers out of the Hendon training center, or wherever it's done these days. People can say "I've done club racing" or "I've done a bunch of track days" all they want, none of that is applicable to the public road, especially in the UK with its traffic density and road conditions. I happen to know the stretch of road where this guy got pinched, and driving along there at that speed was major league dumb.

I would agree that anyone driving 140 mph in most situations is beyond stupid and careless. I have driven a fair amount in Germany, Belgium, and Holland years ago when I was over there in the military. First few times were pretty scary, particularly on the German autobahn, where some stretches had no speed limit. I also discovered that my careful and courteous driving was seen as a sign of weakness, and Germans would pass and cut in front of me so close that their tail lights would only be 3 to 5 feet from my headlights when they crossed over into my lane ahead of me-and me driving 80 to 90 mph at that! On a 3 lanes each way highway, driving in the middle lane, we could be going 80-plus mph and have cars and semi's passing us on both sides like we were puttering along at 40.
One of the interesting things I noticed was that while the Belgians seemed to drive about as fast and aggressively as the Germans, they weren't quite as good at it. More wrecks in Belgium.

 

[LVSteve]

One of the interesting things I noticed was that while the Belgians seemed to drive about as fast and aggressively as the Germans, they weren't quite as good at it. More wrecks in Belgium.

German driver training requirements and their test are about the strictest in Europe. I think it was Germany where at one time if you failed the driving test three times, the state decided that driving was not for you, ever.

The Finns have an extremely demanding driver training regime, requiring time on the skid pan and supervised night driving. Even when you pass your test, your initial license is restricted in certain ways. I believe the restrictions and their duration are affected by how old you are, too. Many have pushed for something similar in the UK in recent years, calling it "graduated licensing", I think. One plan was something like pass your test at 17, fine, but you cannot take more than one passenger under 21 until you have had your license for two years.

Thinking back to when I learned to drive, this probably is a good idea. The UK driving test takes place entirely in the urban environment, therefore so does most driver training. Whether the UK test still contains some of the particular maneuvers like the three-point turn and reversing around a corner I cannot say. How you were required to control the vehicle in those evolutions would leave many here shaking their heads, I'm sure.