My wife and I have just returned home from from a lovely week in North Wales. Our cottage was comfortable with stunning views across Conwy harbour. Being out of the holiday season (although we were blessed with three sunny days) the roads were quiet and for once we travelled at our own modest speed rather than that of the cars in front.
The A55 runs east-west across the North Wales coast, and is of near-motorway standard. The other evening we were on our way back from a trip round Anglesey and my wife was driving at a relaxed sixty-something as I contemplated the dinner to come. Suddenly, with a blast of noise, we were overtaken by a Lamborghini, followed at a few car lengths, by a Ferrari. I do not presume to estimate their precise speed, but they appeared to be racing or in convoy, and their speed was, at a conservative guesstimate, well into the realm of double the national 70 mph limit.
Then they were gone. A mile up the road was a gathering of Heddlu cars (Welsh for police, I am told) but they would have had no chance of doing anything about the hooligans in their £150,000 worth of toys, even if their diesel Skodas had been up to the job.
All right, nobody died, but the drivers concerned took a calculated risk with others' lives. My magistrate's instincts kicked in, and I saw this as a clear Dangerous Driving matter, calling for heavy fines, and, most importantly, substantial driving bans. They can throw money at their cars, but it's loss of licence that really hits home.
I rarely do traffic cases since they have been hived off into special courts, but sometimes I would like a flip-up sign on my car saying "If you knew I was a magistrate you might not have done that".
Pure fantasy, of course.
If they had known you're a magistrate, they would probably have stuck two fingers upas they went past.
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling though, seeing somebody do something stupid on the road makes me wish I had blues and twos.
There's no way of knowing of course, but I'd guess the drivers were not the owners of the cars but were young Herberts charged with delivering them somewhere and having an ill-advised testosterone-fuelled race. The real owners, knowing the fortune it would cost to mend a dent or scratch, may be more careful.
ReplyDeleteBtw, the national speed limit is actually 60mph so I trust the near motorway standard of the road did not lull your wife into excess speed herself. You mention "sixty-something". (I do realise that a couple of sections of the A55 have a special legal status and 70mph is permitted despite not being a motorway.)
Umm, Nationalist, isn't any dual carriageway by default 70?
Delete@Nationalist the A55 is dual carriageway therefore national spotted limit is 70 for cars. It used to be known for having an average speed s somewhat faster than that before the North Wales police got excited about traffic enforcement.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can meaningfully add is that neither of the two cars in question are owned by anyone on the island - no question . Anglesey resident
ReplyDeleteAnonymous and Anonymous are right. I've looked it up and there's only a small section of 50mph (to reduce noise for residents) and it's dual carriageway everywhere except over a bridge. And I was forgetting dual carriageways default to 70mph. Duh!
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, nobody bats an eyelid in Germany.
ReplyDelete"All right, nobody died" and there was no accident or anybody close to being injured. Yet we have just had two horrendous accidents with HGVs in Glasgow and now Bristol at low speeds with many deaths. If you want to take a serious line, surely the use and regulation of HGVs is far more important than your somewhat jealous post.
Speed in itself is not a danger if: the driver is competent , the car can handle it and the road conditions are favourable. motorways and autobahns are the place for those speeds. however, racing or other sports followed by arseholes are dangerous no matter where they take place and if caught the cars should be taken off them and crushed. Fines don't work on people like this but crushing their precious penis substitute does.
ReplyDeleteSpeed limits on the motorways should be at least 80 ( as they are by default) but rather than messing about we should make this leagal.
As for the arseholes in Anglesey well they seem to have got away- but I reckon decent police work should be able to track them down!
Re first sentence and second paragraph Tiptop 14.16 - absolute nonsense. As for the police tracking down the car owners - those pink things with curly tails aloft come to mind.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick question here, and I know this thread has probably died now. But what has them being "rich" got to do with anything?
ReplyDelete