159mph policeman walks free

[rs2coupe]

The high speed blast down the motorway, fair enough. He's a trained driver, trying the car out in the middle of the night on a quiet stretch of tarmac. I challenge anyone here to tell me they've not explored the upper end of their cars limits on a quiet road late at night.

90mph through a 30mph limit. String him up.
Sorry for being harsh, but I've a friend that lost her little girl to some knob doing 75 through a 30 zone. They had to pick the pieces up. They never did find her left foot, theory is that some animal/dog etc, ran off with it.
I wonder how this guy would react if this had happened to him?

Nuff said..

Damn dude! now that puts it into the heart

[curlyks2]

Personally I would rather see banned the idiots that drive at 25 mph and not concentrating on driving, those that are more interested in what the kids are doing or changing the radio, etc etc.

Or failing to use a hands free kit while talking on their mobile. This was such a high profile and well publicised law, with such high availability of very cheap hands free kits, that there should be no excuses.

90mph through a 30mph limit. String him up.

Have to agree. Can (just about) blink at the 159mph on the open road guilty with no punishment (agree he's probably not had an enjoyable life since this all kicked off). Just cannot excuse 90mph in a 30mph though.

what do they mean by "creme de la creme"

That which floats to the top?

Ck.

[Coxy]

The M54 is a very nice stretch of road to "play" on!
I live next to J2!!

Like others have said, 159 on the motorway, fair enough. It's a quiet motorway and at the time he was on it, he'd be lucky to see another car (especially at that speed), but the 90 in a 30 is probably the bit which has caused more outrage.

[flossymeister]

if you check my first post guys, you'll see i agree on the 90 in a 30 - that was the one that really got me too. however, i think that, in the UK, driving any car close to its engineered limit is ridiculous. I don't care how empty the road is, or how amazing your brakes are or how phenomenal your reactions are. You CANNOT account for other road users, and the physics just doesn't add up.

I don't agree with a 70mph limit on motorways - in the modern era it is just plain ridiculous for it to be that slow. I also consider autobahns to be much safer than our motorways because everyone HAS to concentrate because other cars can be approaching you from behind at more than twice your speed.

However, no one expects it in the UK, and that is why it is so dangerous and criminally irresponsible in my opinion.

As it happens, i dont own an S2, but I have a B5 S4 2.7biturbo. And I do resist the temptation to put my car near its max speed (approx 165 if you took the limiter off) on public roads in this country. As you can see above, I consider that to be extremely irresponsible and selfish behaviour. I think Jas11n's story explains why quite adequately. I can also add my own experience - i had a bad crash on a quiet stretch of the M4 one evening. There was a dark old car broadside blocking the middle and outside lanes of the motorway, and a lorry stopped in the inside lane. I was doing 70 mph at the time. I could not see the broadside car until i was approx 70 metres away from it, when my headlights caught a reflective strip on the side of it, because it was dark and because it was sideways its headlights were not visible. Thankfully, because i was doing a sensible speed, i managed to avoid both the car and the stationary lorry and not kill anyone.

Now, to transfer such a scenario to 159mph. At 159mph, you are travelling at roughly 70 metres per second. factor in that braking from just 70mph to 0 takes eg 85 metres in a Subaru impreza Turbo WRX (not bad brakes), and that reaction times at night will certainly be EVEN SLOWER than in the day time as your visibility is much reduced. You can see that to stop from 159mph in a bloody Vectra would take you a quarter of a mile or so, in favourable conditions.

When was the last time you saw the road 1/4 mile ahead clearly AT NIGHT, especially when driving at 159 mph. You'd need binoculars with a nightscope attachment. Which i don't believe are standard issue, even to police drivers.

Hence I consider such a speed to be almost a criminal as 90 in a 30, and worthy of a life ban.

rant over, promise!

Tim

[Fat Audi 80]

Hi,

I have "seen" 6000 rpm in sixth in my Audi S2. I was on the A1M on bank holiday Monday coming back from Scotland at 7.00am in the morning. On that particular occasion there were no other vehicles on either carriageway. My visibility was over a mile, and for a few seconds a brief forray towards its top speed was relatively safe. (As safe as fast driving can be)

So I have to disagree with you on your theory that you cannot safely do those speeds in the UK. You can, but only on a handful of occasions.

I can count on one hand the number of times I have been over 140 mph in my S2 since I have owned the car. (2.5 years)

Also I disagree with you on the engineering side. The S2 (or vectra for that matter) are NOT on the edge of their engineered limit. They cannot go much faster granted, but my S2 certainly tracks straight and true, does not exhibit "light steering" or have any aerodymanic issues at those speeds. It feels fantastic, otherwise I would not feel safe doing it.

I Also slightly disagree on the 90 in a 30 limit blanket condemnation too. (Hear me out). For example: There is a 30 mph limit in Didcot where I live that has a railway line on one side, with a 10ft wide pavement, it is a very wide single carriageway road with another 10ft wide pavement on the other side which then immediately backs onto some industrial buildings with fencing. You can easily do 60mph there. I don't, I hasten to add, but have done "squirts" up to 50 late an night through there when no one is about.

I do however stick to 30's, 40's and 50 limits most of the time, especially when is it obvious that anymore would be silly.

What I am trying to say is I think the guy was "responsibly" testing the car, but that the testing process needs to be more rigid, rather than just going out for a "blast"

But, anyone doing more than thirty in a built up area is plain irresponsible. It is all about speed in the right context.

Cheers,

Steve.

[flossymeister]

[QUOTE=Fat Audi 80]Hi,
But, anyone doing more than thirty in a built up area is plain irresponsible. It is all about speed in the right context.[QUOTE=Fat Audi 80]

absolutely Steve, that's my point as well and i titally agree that there are times, places etc where speeds in excess of the stated speed limit are safe - see my previous post.

[QUOTE=Fat Audi 80]
Also I disagree with you on the engineering side. The S2 (or vectra for that matter) are NOT on the edge of their engineered limit. They cannot go much faster granted, but my S2 certainly tracks straight and true, does not exhibit "light steering" or have any aerodymanic issues at those speeds. It feels fantastic, otherwise I would not feel safe doing it.[QUOTE=Fat Audi 80]

All i can say to that is "try doing an EMERGENCY stop from 159mph in a vectra". Or, indeed, a standard S2 I expect. Certainly i wouldn't want to be going that quick in my car with its standard brake and suspension set up, and my car is a B5 generation S4. And I would also disagree on your visibility at that speed. I just really hope you don't come unstuck one day/night, both for your sake and that of other road users who may not be as capable drivers as you.

[Fat Audi 80]

I take your point, and of course travelling at 140mph is more dangerous than 70mph. But I feel I put the risks into context. Yes you can have a blowout. Yes a deer can run out in front of you (happened while my wife was driving and we missed it), yes a bolt of lightening could hit the car, but I feel you would be really really really unlucky to have a deer run out in front you etc of doing 140 when it is only the second time you have done that speed all year.

I guess I am playing the law of averages, but we all do that every second of our lives in one shape or form anyway.

Cheers,

Steve

[flossymeister]

points well made Steve, and I totally agree it is very low risk the way you and indeed most others do it.

For me, having a "near-miss" on the M4 a few years back (see earlier post in this thread) was a real eye opener. It was completely not my fault, was totally beyond my control and i wasn't breaking the speed limit...... but other people's incompetence very nearly resulted in several fatalities - indeed had i been travelling any faster i'm sure i would have T-boned the stationary car with its two occupants still in it. It was just that nasty discovery at first hand that sometimes you are powerless to avoid a situation as the result of uncontrollable variables.... like other drivers or deer, as you say (had a few near misses like that myself in scotland over the years).

and, i'd have to admit, i may occasionally get my kicks round secluded roundabouts in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night :mischeif:

cheers,

Tim

[Fat Audi 80]

I had a nasty incident in my GTI a while back on a A road where I couldn't stop for a stationary vehicle on my side of the road. Fortunately there was nothing coming the other way and I went round him, but it certainly made me think about my approach to A road driving again....

Cheers,

Steve

[pixsaudisex2]

what makes me laugh about this is ( after owning an ex police omega ) is that i find it hard to belive a vectra can even do 159 miles an hour if you ask me this just proves the police radar guns aint that good at giving a correct speed at them sort of speeds ( must of been trackin a helicopter behind him) plus if the copper or any one wants to find out the handling of his car he should like every one else go out and pay for a track day or vauxhall pay

[S2 PTH]

I wonder what would happen if a driver with the same qualifications as this man, but not a policeman had done 159mph? Would the courts take into consideration his/her advanced skills? Err probably not!
I'm not sure what the M54 is like, but I know for a fact that the corners of the M4 were built to be 'safe' at 125mph in cars which could do the speed. But I couldn't imagine doing over 140 let alone close to 160mph, as its just not straight enough! In France you could sit at 170mph for a few miniutes quite comfortably, as some of the roads are perfectly staight!
However, that said, 90 in a 30 is worse, although as others have said, you shouldn't necessarily picture a 30road with speedbumps and kids playing football with parked cars either side... I've sat next to my dad at 105 in a 30 (while testing an ex-demo T5-R) which didnt feel dangerous, due to the fact that it was a rediculous 30zone (although I would agree that he was speeding excessively). However, I've been in the car with taxi drivers doing 25 in 30's thinking WTF is this guy doing, SLOW DOWN! Its all relative to the road, so by that notion I wouldn't be too judgemental, as I know that the press will take one thing and make it sound 100times worse. A friend of my had an accident in which someone was killed, and although it was clearly not his fault (and proved by the courts) the TV program about 'Boy Racers' still made close friends of his ask him a few questions- the press can make you believe anything!

_phil

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Little did I realise that when I started this thread, it would open up something of a can of worms!

Everyone here has made some valid points, like roads not necessarily being as dangerous or sometimes even more dangerous than the applicable limits would have you believe. Also, I appreciate that the press will take the sensational line and make a story seem a lot worse than the facts may actually be.

However my original point remains valid - that we, supposedly ordinary drivers, would not be given the same treatment that the police officer was given - found to be guilty of the offence and then discharged without penalty. Even if the mitigating circumstances were plentiful and valid, it is clear to me that an "ordinary" driver would have been handed a stiff penalty for the offences.

I have maintained that police drivers would be better served to familiarise themselves with a car at a location like the old Millbrook proving ground, lots of varying road conditions and slow and fast sections, away from the public.

No witch hunts here, just dealing with reality.

__MDC__

[Fat Audi 80]

I agree with everything you said there Mr Kitten.

Cheers,

Steve

[pixsaudisex2]

another one for this can you explain how on the programme like top gear they get away with using walkie talkis not hands free are they and surely the camara footage should be enough to give them all three points on there licence surely,,

[rotoryboy]

And here we go again.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23374159-details/Driver%20killed%20in%20head-on%20crash%20as%20two%20police%20cars%20test%20new%20speed%20camera/article.do