Trout

iTrader: (1)

He'll get exactly what Paris Hilton got now he is inside.

If he is lucky they might use the soap as lube

Leslie

I can quite understand the point about prison and how criminals get away with it, but this bloke still deserves what he got for driving at those speeds on the public road.

Les

speedking

I have seen scrappy old escort vans doing 100mph that were probably far more dangerous than a Porsche at 170mph. It is obvious that at 70mph a Porsche is far safer than a Nova. The absolute value of the speed should not determine the punishment.

PeteBrant

Well it is once you get to a certain point- Simply because regardless of what car you are in, your reaction times are simply not quick enough to be travelling at that speed on public roads.

Besides which I don't think that the punishment should depend on the vehicle in any case. That would lead to the rich being less cupable for crimes than the poor.

Scooby Roo

I think the point being made is the inconsistency of our judicial system.

The point of sending this kn#bber to jail was to make a point to other motorists. There was a comment earlier that said it will be a long time before his record is broken. If the guy wasn't jailed then there's the bait for the taking.

IMHO to be consistent the guy should have been given a large bout of Community Service and banned. The ban should have been for longer than the 3 years. But that's just my opinion. Problem was the guy was such a t!t he deserves everything he got.....and he broke the law therefore he's a criminal.

Roo

Adidas

Can I put a bit of a perspective on it.

Say someone came into YOUR house/office, took the keys to YOUR car and then ragged it up the nearest dual carriageway, you'd be screaming out for him to be thrown inside and the key chucked away. Where's the difference??

What that news report doesn't explain is if he was convicted on the excees speed alone ( which he admitted too) or was he also found guilty for the aggravated vehicle taking?

The Snug Rhino

Where is this jail? Toy Town?

The system doesnt work like that, the judge doesnt have a list of vacant cells!

Adidas

Of course the burglar should receive the custodial sentance.

The point I'm making is that people are quick to say he shouldn't go inside for the speeding alone. However, if it was their car in question they'd be screaming blue murder and saying he should be sharing a cell with Mr Big who is missing his night time snuggle with Mrs Big

Leslie

It is not the car so much as the ability of the driver. Cars have of course become much safer to drive over the years, but the reaction times and driving abilities of the average driver have not.

At that sort of speed, and dont think I do not know very well what that is like,but on the public roads, if a problem suddenly arises not only is it very much more difficult to avoid an accident but obviously the result of that accident will be extremely more serious.

It is very selfish to think you can drive like that on public roads without a care for the lives of innocent people that you are putting at risk.

Anyone driving at those sort of speeds on public roads deserves all that he gets!

Les

2000TLondon

Indeed! A good example is he wasn't able to react and slow down quickly enough for the police, or he wasn't paying enough attention / reading the road ahead well enough to see the police performing a traffic stop. Which makes him very, very dangerous, plus the location, time of day etc. He's not just a "motorist"

speedking

So we agree then Leslie A driver's ability can be slightly poorer because a better car compensates for it. Slightly worse reactions + better brakes = same stopping distance.

A crappy van weaving about at 75 is more dangerous than a Porsche doing 85, indicating, leaving clearance, anticipating well in advance etc. The policeman may use his discretion to decide which is more dangerous, while the camera does not. Guess which is being invested in to make the roads 'safer' </rant>

Leslie

Yes I agree with all of that. Driver ability is a bit different though. It is true that older cars with poor handling characteristics taught people to be better at handling cars because they had to really. Put into a better car then one would expect them to handle it easily.

I also think that driver abiliity, like handling any type of machinery, can be either natural or the bloke has to work at it to achieve good results. It also depends on whether the driver is interested in improving himself or is happy to accept a lower standard, or does not even realise he is of a lower standard!

If you are a "natural" then if you work at it then you can become very good indeed. However, someone who is not gifted that way but wants to be good can also achieve a high standard with a positive attitude towards becoming better.

The best indication I had of all that was in my previous job when i was training people from scratch up to an advanced level and I saw exactly what I was just saying. One warning though, the naturals could easily become over confident after they had mastered the basics and that was the time when they were likely to make the final error by thinking they were fireproof!

It was all very interesting but I still say that three figure speeds on our public roads are dangerous and out of place however good you are. It was also revealing that most of the racing drivers I knew who would drive on the limit on a track would not dream of doing anything like that on the roads.

Les