I didn’t rag off but stopped and admitted the offence. He was a nice chap and said I may get some points and a fine. However I have now been summoned to court regarding the speeding and also dangerous driving.
I am happy to pay a fine but I can’t afford to lose my licence as I’m a builder and have to drive a van. Can speeding equate to dangerous driving? What can I do? Will telling the court I’m going on a Police safety day prevent me from being banned?
Answer
The Police safety day on its own is not enough from getting you banned, but may help a bit in trying to reduce the level of your sentence. With regards to dangerous driving the answer is yes, traveling at 148mph in a 70mph (or whatever the speed limit was) can amount to dangerous driving.
In simple terms, as far as the law is concerned, dangerous driving is driving in a manner which falls far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver. As such, a court will likely view that traveling at more than twice the speed limit can amount to dangerous driving and I find it difficult to imagine you would be able to prove otherwise.
While I’m sympathetic to your job situation, dangerous driving on its own carries a sentence of a disqualification for a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of two years in prison. You now need to get a specialist solicitor with a view to ‘damage limitation’ and trying to obtain the most lenient sentence possible.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
Motorcycle Monthly October 2016
