Serve him right

[Val_2]

Did you see the article in today's Telegramme about the english bloke caught for driving his Aston Martin at 221 km/h on the voie express (RN12) near to Rennes yesterday morning - twice the speed limit of 110 km/h. They have thrown the book at him with a fine of 1500€, confiscation of his licence to drive in France and an appearance at the Tribunal in August and told the British Embassy to sort it out. No sympathy from this quarter, he could have killed many people through his stupidity.

[Dick Smith]

Was this part of the annual cull of English drivers speeding to Le Mans?

[Sunday Driver]

It's a killer of a  story - here's a translation.....

Driving an Aston Martin DB9 - James Bond's car - doesn't give you the same freedoms as Her Majesty's spy. That was what a 39 year old English company director learned to his cost yesterday.

At 10.30 am yesterday morning, on the RN 12 near Plénée-Jugon (22), the St Brieuc motorway police spotted the driver of the English registered Aston Martin heading at high speed in the direction of Rennes.  Chased by the police patrol, the driver initially managed to evade the gendarmes, but after a warning was radioed ahead to the Rennes motorway police, the driver was intercepted on his approach to the Breton capital. Observations by the gendarmes determined that the driver had travelled the 60 km from Langouhèdre to Rennes in 20 minutes, ie at an average speed of 180 km/h.  And that was not all - upon checking the speed radar control centre, it appears that the man had been flashed by the Langouhèdre fixed radar camera at a speed of 221 km/h!

The Dinan public prosecutor remanded the driver on 1,500 € bail to appear before the correctional court on August 10 to answer charges of dangerous driving and exceeding the speed limit.  In addition, the Dinan sub-prefect issued a decree prohibiting the driver from driving on French territory and his licence was retained and forwarded to the British Embassy.

[BJSLIV]

If he is really lucky they can also impound the car.

[Dick Smith]

If they do I bet it doesn't get crushed...

[Alcazar]

This post has been deleted.

[Dick Smith]

This post has been deleted because the post to which it refers has also been deleted.

[Sunday Driver]

I think both the tone of the quoted article and the responses here indicated satisfaction that someone found to have been behaving irresponsibly (dangerous driving, excessive speed, running from the police) has been properly called to account under the law. 

You seem to be saying that driving at twice the legal speed is acceptable provided no-one gets hurt. I have to say, you have no way of knowing from the available facts whether other motorists were put at risk. Had the article reported anyone being hurt, then French law provides for an appropriate escalation in the severity of the punishment

The regulations set down in the Code de la Route are clear and the speed limits are a matter of law in France. The comparisons you make with UK sentences for other serious offences aren't really material to this case.  

Nevertheless, to carry your "who did it hurt" argument forward, what if the child rapist's victim hadn't been particularly upset about being abused?  Would that have made things OK?  The abuse would still have been an absolute offence - as is the speeding.

[Ty Korrigan]

Its all over the Ouest France here in 22...

[hastobe]

There was another case reported in our local (UK) paper last week - a driver in Dordogne driving under the influence of alhohol (and from the state of the car) too fast, killed his wife, his child, his child's best friend and her father.  The mother was critically ill in hospital and not expected to survive.  Two families destroyed and the prospect of a considerable time behind bars.  Speeding / drink driving is no joking matter.

Btw - I agree that sentences (generally) and certainly for serious driving offences are too light - but I think in this case the guilty party has a life sentence in the truest sense of the phrase.

Kathie

[Hoddy]

I know that the case in 24 is not all that it seems and that some of the reporting of it has been very poor.

A member of this forum is very closely involved in it and I would ask forum members to respect their feelings.

Hoddy

[Viv]

So that's not the one that was alleged to have involved a retired police officer, twice the legal alcohol limit, with more people in the car than there should have been?

[Hoddy]

I have asked everyone to be careful about this particular case.

I know that complaints have been made to the BBC and ItV and the Press Complaints Commission. If any further reference is made to it I shall feel obliged to lock the thread.

Thanks for your co-operation.

Hoddy

[Quillan]

Non relevent off topic posts have been removed from this thread.

[Wendy]

For a start, I detest people who feel the need to drive THAT fast ANYWHERE. I dont give a damn what sort of car it is. Other than police, firemen or the ambulance. A car is as much a loaded weapon as is a gun or a knife. And in the wrong hands it certainly does kill and such drivers are murderers. My friend was mown down and killed while changing a tyre in a pull over lane by such an imbecile. 220 km's an hour...and for what??!! Impound his precious bloody car, trash it, and then take him to the morgue to see someone killed by someone like him who thinks they are king of the road with no respect for anyone else. Sorry, but Ive no sympathy at all for people who drive like that, it is the cause of  so many needless and tragic deaths.

[Wendy]

Serve him right, indeed. And to whoever whinged about my post...how does one blow a raspberry in text form?. Well, thats for you!. Are you related to the git who got done then?.

[Jc]

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

[Alcazar]

And another raspberry to whoever whinged about MY posts[:P]

And one for Dick, 'cos he argued with me[:D][:D]

Alcazar

[Cassis]

I thought it was you who got it pulled?[8-)]

[Russethouse]

Back to the topic:

I'm going to watch our local news tonight, many times on a Monday or Tuesday they report the death of young men killed in TA's over the weekend, often single vehicle incidents where a driver has ignored the speed limit, put there for their safety, come off the road and *bang * into a tree. Tell their parents speed doesn't kill ! Or are you going to tell me that they all have mechanical failures, punctures etc ?

Alcazaar - Have you ever had a car crash? Or lost anyone in a TA ?

Frankly I don't think is up to the motorist to decide where the authorities have put cameras or speed limits to collect fines, or to keep road users safe, we haven't got the knowledge. If you suspect that a camera is there for the purpose of raising revenue only, then complain to your MP.

[Alcazar]

[quote user="Russethouse"]

Back to the topic:

I'm going to watch our local news tonight, many times on a Monday or Tuesday they report the death of young men killed in TA's over the weekend, often single vehicle incidents where a driver has ignored the speed limit, put there for their safety, come off the road and *bang * into a tree. Tell their parents speed doesn't kill ! Or are you going to tell me that they all have mechanical failures, punctures etc ?[/quote]

No, come on: HOW do you know ANY of them were down to speeding? Just because some reporter says so, doesn't MAKE it so. Speeding is the bete noir at the mo, so they all climb on the bandwagon. Many, may accidents happen due to inattention, not knowing a road, and yes, INAPPROPRIATE speed. That is to say, speed INSIDE the speed limit, but not appropriate because of other factors, road layout, traffic, inexpewrience of driver/rider, bad visibility etc etc.

[quote user="Russethouse"]Alcazar - Have you ever had a car crash? Or lost anyone in a TA ?[/quote]

Yep to both. A couple or so crashes, some my fault as a younger man, some not. I do drive a LOT of miles a year though.

I've lost people due to accidents, yes, mostly on motorcycles, which, as I said in another thread, make up only 4% of the vehicles on the road, but are involved in 30% of the fatalities, DfT figures. Unfortunately, many, and in fact the ACPO preferred, speed cameras, CAN'T catch speeding motorcyclists, as they are forward facing, and motorcycles carry no front registration mark[:(] Yet the powers that be tell us that cameras are NOT about revenue. You can't have it both ways. Forward facing cameras are about identifying the driver, so that no-one can say it wasn't me and escape the fine.

[quote user="Russethouse"]Frankly I don't think is up to the motorist to decide where the authorities have put cameras or speed limits to collect fines, or to keep road users safe, we haven't got the knowledge. If you suspect that a camera is there for the purpose of raising revenue only, then complain to your MP.

[/quote]

Not up to us? Because WE don't have the knowledge? But the scamera groups do? Don't make me laugh. In my area alone, I could point to half a dozen OBVIOUS scam sites. The government looked into camera sites..............or at least were supposed to. What they ACTUALLY did was to approach the scamera partnerships and ask if they were satisfied with the positioning of THEIR cameras. How many do you think said "No"? You don't kill the goose who's laying golden egss.

And as for complaining to ANYONE in government, I wouldn't waste my time. THEY set the system up. THEY benifit from the scams, sorry, fines[:D]

Alcazar

[Russethouse]

>>No, come on: HOW do you know ANY of them were down to speeding? Just because some reporter says so, doesn't MAKE it so. Speeding is the bete noir at the mo, so they all climb on the bandwagon. Many, may accidents happen due to inattention, not knowing a road, and yes, INAPPROPRIATE speed. That is to say, speed INSIDE the speed limit, but not appropriate because of other factors, road layout, traffic, inexpewrience of driver/rider, bad visibility etc etc.<<

Who DO you believe, other than yourself ?

My opinion is that young men (and it IS mainly young men who are involved) are taking silly risks involving speed on roads thats were not designed for it, many of these crashes happen either very late at night or early in the morning when the road is often clear - how inviting for the less experienced driver to put their foot down ?

In some cases alcohol may be a factor, but certainly the young adults I know are keener on the no drinking and driving rules than some of the older generation.

I' m sorry but the long and short of it is, the safest way to drive and the way to avoid fines, is to keep to the speed limit.

Why do you think you are particularly qualified to say which camera is there for what reason, especially on a piece of road you are not familiar with?

Personally I would make cyclists pay road fund or insurance - but thats another topic !

[Viv]

" Personally I would make cyclists pay road fund or insurance - but thats another topic !"

 

Me too and horseriders.

Don't mind anyone using the roads as long as they obey the law ( that includes cyclists going through red traffic lights [:@] as they always seem to in the UK) and have a reasonably proficiency eg can control their animals.

I used to horseride myself and always slow down for horses, but that didn't stop one charging into a car that I was a passenger in once. Fortunately the horse and rider weren't too badly injured but the car was badly damaged and the car owner had to foot the bill to get it repaired as the horse owner did not have or need any insurance.

Back to topic, the UK roads are far too over crowded for everyone to drive at the speed they want to. IMHO I think the standard to driving is worse in France but fortunately, the roads are a little less congested on the whole.

[ali-cat]

 A couple or so crashes, some my fault as a younger man, some not.

Experiecned drivers, who think they are good drivers, can get away with breaking the law & speeding, are only deluding themselves.  Unfortunately it's the other road users, misfortunate enough to meet them, who have to pay the price. 

 

[Tony F Dordogne]

It's great thinking that you can pick and choose which laws you can keep to and which you can't - seems like a recipe for anarchy.

And where do you draw the line - in a past life people I interviewed told me that in THEIR opinion it was ok to molest children, commit rape etc because THEY didn't agree with the law - you're at the top of a very slippery slope here and before you haa boo my view, think it through, you cannot pick and choose. which laws you abide by - don't like the laws, move to another place where they let you drive the way that you want to.

Like it or not, the law is the law - everybody is entitled to their own opinion about it but has the positioning of speed cameras in the UK anything to do with France where to me they seem well signposted and even appear in the Michelin atlases - except the mobile units that is.