Didn't know a Vectra could go this fast

[Manic Moran]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060202...iKZXvqs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-

LONDON (Reuters) - A British traffic officer caught driving at 159 mph but cleared by a court of speeding and dangerous driving faces a legal move at the High Court in London Wednesday to convict him.

The Attorney General will appeal against the acquittal of constable Mark Milton and seek a High Court order that the advanced police driver should be convicted over his high speed blast in the early hours of December 5, 2003.

Milton, a qualified advanced driver, was recorded by an onboard camera in his upgraded unmarked Vauxhall Vectra police car traveling at 91 mph in a 30 mph zone and hitting 159 mph on the M54 motorway. The legal limit in Britain is 70 mph.

Milton's defense, accepted by the local judge in May 2005, was that he had taken the car on a test run around Telford, Shropshire, where he was based.

The judge said the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had driven dangerously and that the car was being "used for police purposes" when the incident occurred.

The ruling prompted outrage in the media and condemnation from motoring groups.

Wednesday, lawyers for the Attorney General will argue the district judge erred in law when he made his judgment.

 

[jayjaya29]

Damn, was moving pretty fast.

 

[Plexface]

91mph in a 30mph zone?! That's pretty sick :shock:

 

[GraemeH]

The cock-suckers do it all the time here.

Not just speeding but you'll see them want to pull an illegal maneuver(say, turn right at a no right turn etc), turn their blue lights on, perform the maneuver, then turn them right back off. Parking in disabled spots so they can get into the shop with a shorter walk. This is just typical.

And i hate this attitude that it's not so bad because you're 'an Advanced Driver'. I know plenty of far superior drivers that have been busted for doing 10mph over the limit. Who listens to that as a defence?

 

[TechZ]

Power = corruption.

Doesnt mean they ALL do it, but most people do abuse their authority

 

[dutch_designer]

gooooood, these guys should know they can't get away with stuff like that while nailing us for every mile we go over the limit or ever inch our tires are parked over the line or whatever stupid reason they can find to get money off of us.

 

[Y8tes]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/4664592.stm

I think his defence falls apart when he dosen't have any lights or sirens in place. Although, I do like the judge's remarks at the bottom:

"Excessive speed alone is not a basis to convict for dangerous driving,"

 

[Evo7]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/4664592.stm

I think his defence falls apart when he dosen't have any lights or sirens in place. Although, I do like the judge's remarks at the bottom:

"Excessive speed alone is not a basis to convict for dangerous driving,"

All the emergency service vehicles lately seem to be driving with their blue lights flashing, but the siren isn't going. Even if they're driving through an area which has heavy traffic :shock: So no-one can tell if there is one coming and they should move out of the way.

 

[VUK]

how about this, me and my dad rushing home on M1 (in UK) doing 120mph, (70mph limit) and next thing we see is a police car (bmw 530d) overtaking us doing 120mph+(no blue lights)!!! crusing!!!

 

[TechZ]

how about this, me and my dad rushing home on M1 (in UK) doing 120mph, (70mph limit) and next thing we see is a police car (bmw 530d) overtaking us doing 120mph+(no blue lights)!!! crusing!!!

/me signs up to be a cop...

 

[AutoMX]

cops here dont speed that much, they go maybe 95, but theres a couple things to keep in mind, one of them beign that they drive crown victorias, not exactly the most thrilling ride, and they drive relatively slow to scare everyone into not passing them.

cops here run red lights, park / hide wherever they want (including in bushes, literally, off road in ditches, etc..), drive on the wrong side of the road if they wanna go faster, drive on the shoulder or divider, basically what they want. it's not like someone will pull them over, nor are there speed cameras, and most patrol car cameras dont record the patrol car's speed, only date and time, not that they could be held accountable really.

 

[VWKafer]

What in the hell was he thinking, doing that with the dashboard camera on.... come on...

 

[wookiewacker]

according to the story in the papers when it happened the vectra gsi he was driving was tuned and had a remapped ecu - the car was capable of 167mph and apparently it doesnt take much to do the same to all vectra gsi 's

 

[thedguy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/4664592.stm

I think his defence falls apart when he dosen't have any lights or sirens in place. Although, I do like the judge's remarks at the bottom:

"Excessive speed alone is not a basis to convict for dangerous driving,"

All the emergency service vehicles lately seem to be driving with their blue lights flashing, but the siren isn't going. Even if they're driving through an area which has heavy traffic :shock: So no-one can tell if there is one coming and they should move out of the way.

In the USA your required to look for them. Probably why we license the hearing impared (and BTW, I've driven with several Def people and they are loads better drivers than most people).

cops here dont speed that much, they go maybe 95, but theres a couple things to keep in mind, one of them beign that they drive crown victorias, not exactly the most thrilling ride, and they drive relatively slow to scare everyone into not passing them.

My dad at about 3am one time was going to work doing 90, got passed by a cop doing 95. That was back when you could actually exceed 70mph on Orange County.

I've pretty much come to expect cops to be hiding where you can't see. That tall shrub high enough to hide a car, probably a cop behind it, the fuel station with the huge above ground fuel tanks strategically positioned, probably a cop behind it, etc, etc. Out in the midwest there is no where to hide, kinda nice really.