Record-breaking driver slammed for driving length of Britain in nine hours

[Mike Ruff, GW editor]

A record-breaking driver who traveled the length of Britain in just nine hours should be prosecuted for speeding, critics say. Tommy Davies broke the
[See the full post at: Record-breaking driver slammed for driving length of Britain in nine hours]

[jim walker]

What a complete prat ! a, for doing it and b, for publicising he’d done it, a 3 year driving ban and £3000 fine might bring him to his senses.

[Steph Savill]

Does this qualify for the Guinness Book of Records? Best to drive ‘Le Jog’ equivalent of 841 miles on the racing track in future.

[DARJAC]

Speed limits in municipal / built up areas should be enforced rigorously. Protecting pedestrians etc is a primary. However, I’d take issue with a couple of points.

Why is he a prat ?
Was he caught ?
Why ban him for being a well equipped driver that took on a pre-planned task in a well prepared vehicle with totally legal Detection devices such that he was appraised of the speed camera locations.
Weren’t speed cameras originally located in built up areas or to warn of accident black spots, not mounted on motorways to trigger at 80mph ( 10% plus 2mph over any posted limit as per ACPO guidelines) On that basis, the driver appeared to equip himself with the knowledge of where the danger areas on his route were & avoid becoming a statistic himself !
Why should he be prosecuted for an alleged road traffic speeding offence that was not detected ?

Could I offer that those gushing moral fortitude, pontificating on the use of speed in excess of the national speed limit should try sticking to 70mph on the M4 on any given day to measure how much of a risk driving at the national speed limit actually is !
One may want to acquaint themselves with NCAP crash test criteria. 30mph impact testing may give you a warm feeling of safety. Try the same test at 50mph, nevermind 70mph.
A sobering calculation for you :
“Kinetic energy is directly proportional to the mass of the object and to the square of its velocity: K.E. = 1/2 m v2 ” How safe are you at 70 mph compared to 100 mph if you collide with a solid object when our crash tests are all performed at 30 mph ?

I teach high speed driving & prepare vehicles for customers on this basis to drive the worlds most dangerous race track. Excessive speed in isolation is not the issue imho. A magistrate would consider circumstances so why should we pass judgement without all the facts ?
How is driving overnight between the hours of 10pm & 8am on Saturday night from Lands End to John O’groats a problem ? Clear, sparsely trafficked roads supported by good driving conditions would clearly minimise the risk in a venture of this kind imho.

My apologies for what is a rant from a mechanical Engineer that’s developed & tested motor vehicles for 30 years. All I would ask is that you question more & dismiss less when it comes to use of motor vehicles on the road.

Darren

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