Life without a car?

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Take the fine take the ban live with it and learn from it nowt else you can do. No excuse in the world is going to get you off.
 
Pretty much NO sympathy from me. A year ban seems very lenient to me. That sort of driving is a bit like firing a shotgun in random directions and hoping you don't kill anyone.
My suggestion is to stop driving permanently and get a job/hobby that does not need a car.
 
PMK said:
140mph is a nutty speed to be going - regardless of the road you describe.
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On British roads it is, because it is impossible to drive safely here at over 70mph unless you are in an emergency services vehicle ;).

He should have gone to Germany where doing 140mph will only see you overtaken a lot, on roads of a similar quality to the M74 .
 
Most police forces in the UK use the ProLaser III and it is normal practice for the device calibration to be checked every day when the officer using it commences duty. There will also be a calibration certificate issued by the manufacturer. The chance of successfully claiming the device is inaccurate is very remote.
 
Is he selling his car for silly money now? always fancied a Farr-Farr- Farr - fast car.
 
whitewash said:
I read that and thought exactly the same,i doubt there are any tracks that a saloon can get to that speed in the uk, proper tracks anyway excluding airfields etc
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I just checked the BTCC speeds at Snetterton (longest fastest straight of all UK tracks) from last year, fastest speed recorded was by a 300bhp Focus at 140.7mph. This would have come off Williams at a quicker pace than a Focus TDCi road car so basically have a head start and have a terminal speed a lot higher. Also a road car would have to brake a hell of a lot sooner.
If there is a track where it's possible to reach 135 in a Focus TDCi, I hope he lets us know, I want to have a go in my Mondeo.:thumbs:
 
I doubt if you will get out of this one, Steve :(

As far as I know, even the speed guns only need calibrated every year up here to be legal.
 
nilagin said:
What track has a long enough straight to get a Focus TDCi up to 135mph?:thinking:
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whitewash said:
I read that and thought exactly the same,i doubt there are any tracks that a saloon can get to that speed in the uk, proper tracks anyway excluding airfields etc
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I'm using the phrase 'track' loosely - it was on an old airfield in north Norfolk where a bunch of us were camping ( I forget where exactly as this was years ago), my mate and I thought it would be a good idea to race his Bimmer against my focus - the BMW was unsurprisingly a lot faster off the mark.

At the time my TDCI was quite new and still pretty quick - I strongly suspect that if I tried it now (with the car 8 years old and 130k on the clock) It would max out at a fair bit less, and probably blow the turbo or a seal etc trying, i'm grateful that it still gets up to 70 without anything going pop ;)

also to be absolutely honest that was 135 indicated - given that most speedos read high, I'd guess actual might have been more like 132

now okay racing on a scabby old airfield isn't the brightest thing either of us had ever done, but at least we were only endangering ourselves , rather than doing it on the public highway and endangering people with no choice in the matter
 
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nilagin said:
If there is a track where it's possible to reach 135 in a Focus TDCi, I hope he lets us know, I want to have a go in my Mondeo.:thumbs:
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I know nothing about the power output or weight of a diesel Focus, but in a moderately powerful car, with a good run through Camp I'd imagine it was possible to see 120mph at Avon rise at Castle Combe, which would be over 130 on the speedo. It's not a "straight" as such, but it's fairly straight - most things should be able to take Folly without lifting. A bad run through Camp will see you (hopefully) on the infield, or (hopefully not) in the tyres. I've seen both happen.

I had an old Peugeot 405 up to an actual 115mph (GPS indicated rather than speedometer indicated) at Avon rise and that was with a passenger at an "action day" with a vast amount of other cars on the track.

Snetterton is not what it once was, even on the old layout the entry to (what was) the Revett straight was never that fast through Sear. However, Alan Gow won't bring his circus to Combe so we don't have a comparison.

The other thing to remember is that not all venues for track days are race circuits as licensed by the MSA. When we used to run sprints at the Colerne RAF base, we saw well over 160mph (I seem to recall 180mph being achieved on one occasion) through the speed trap at the end of the main runway. Admittedly that was single seaters with the likes of a 3.5L Judd engine (as per normally aspirated F1 cars, in and shortly after the turbo era, albeit with a lot of extra exhaust to meet MSA noise regulations). I might have managed 89mph in a completely standard 39bhp Hillman Imp :lol:.

The track day crowd that also used the venue prior to the last resurfacing used a different layout, but airfield runways generally provide extensive straight lines of tarmac.
 
big soft moose said:
also to be absolutely honest that was 135 indicated - given that most speedos read high, I'd guess actual might have been more like 132
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I'd say your speedo was being very optimistic. Top speed, according to Ford, of a 2005 2.0TDCi Focus is 126mph.
 
nilagin said:
I'd say your speedo was being very optimistic. Top speed, according to Ford, of a 2005 2.0TDCi Focus is 126mph.
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fairy muff - the core point still remains though , I wouldn't do 126 on a public highway either
 
Apart from your "mate" being a total knob, I really can't see him not realising he was doing twice the legal limit, if he knows the road as well as he is saying he would know roughly how long it takes to get bergen different points on said road and would notice how quickly he is covering the ground.

I certainly wouldn't confess in Cory to not knowing what speed I was doing as you have just given evidence against you self for due care and attention.

I really don't think your friend has any choice but to suck it up and take his punishment.
 
Tell him to join the circus because he's a clown. Deserves what he gets imo. Twice the speed limit? ? Ridiculous!!!!
 
Much as I am fed up with motorists being persecuted for speeding (getting caught breaking the speed limit means you get punished far more seriously in fines and increased insurance plus bans than many anti social crimes and even posessing a knife, theft etc...).... even I am struggling to feel any sympathy. You do not do 140 without realising it.... 80 yes, maybe even 90, and in my Tiguan you can do 95 and it doesnt feel too fast on an empty road but anything over 100... you are just plain stupid.
 
To put things back on track. Speaking as someone with no car who enjoys landscape photography.

You quickly become familiar with places within walking/bus distance.
It gets boring as you end up tramping the same ground over and over.
Occasionally I get a lift from a friend so can go further afield but I never have the brass neck to ask. I await the offer when they are few and far between.
 
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nilagin said:
I'd say your speedo was being very optimistic. Top speed, according to Ford, of a 2005 2.0TDCi Focus is 126mph.
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Had one of those for 2/3 years till a Ford dealer broke it, they do have a bit of poke tbf, dunno what the top speed was but it had plenty left when I hit my limit.
I probably break speed limits all the time but we've all got a line beyond which we consider things are getting silly.
140 is madness, I mean I wouldn't want anyone to be banged up for it but what does it take to make someone comprehend just how unacceptable that speed is on a public road.
It would be easy to say throw the book at him but if 100 under any circumstances is nuts and an automatic ban, do I draw the line at 100 because its nuts or because its a ban.....that's a tough question to answer truthfully.
 
140 mph could be up to £5k and/or 6 months jail time - if you get off with just a ban you , sorry your mate , can think your/him self lucky
 
What you'll be saving in fuel should cover the cost of some nice walking boots and a tent for golden hour.
 
stupar said:
You quickly become familiar with places within walking/bus distance.
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Despite having the use of a car, I prefer using the bus to go to places. I don't like doing circular walks which would be necessary if I had left a car somewhere.

I prefer to go somewhere, walk for a while then get a bus home - hopefully after a pint in a conveniently located pub. Something else I can't do if I'm driving.


Steve.
 
No sympathy. Twice the legal isn't "A little bit over by mistake" but a deliberate, unmistakable act. Don't give a dam what could have happened to the driver, but DO care about the innocent bystanders and the folk who clean up the mess.
Driving on our roads is a privilege not a right, this driver has proved they don't deserve that privilege. Prison-maybe, ten year ban-hopefully, long retraining and re-test-definatly.
 
Do the crime........................
 
IMO the M74 is probably the best motorway I know. Some parts of it are superb but not at 140mph.

Doubtless his brief will advise him but I can't see anything other than just admitting it and apologising for his behaviour.

Anything else, such as it was a clear, fenced section of the road or, didn't realise it was that fast, are just digging the hole deeper.

The road conditions may have helped his case a little if the speed had been 90 or even just over the 100 but at 140, I don't think it will have any effect.

Looks like a substantial ban (in England, more then 56 days means the licence is revoked and a reapplication is needed), a hefty fine, increased insurance premiums. He will also need to tell the insurance company if he is banned as failure to do so could mean the insurers refuse any subsequent claim (eg the car gets damaged while standing outside the house, or another driver has an accident in the car).

Dave
 
they have to prove it was dangerous which is not as easy as it sounds. he will be getting a serious fine an points no matter what
 
ST4 said:
Naw, he lives in the city. He likes getting golden hour morning shots and trains etc don't run at the times he can get there.

Is it worth him rekindling an old friendship to get driven about?. Me thinks hes screwed
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I'd pick 'your' friends more carefully if I were you, sounds like a right user of people.

ST4 said:
Offence took place in Scotland, but the ban if convicted will be at least a year?

He does genuinely regret doing what he did, but he doesn't feel he was going that fast and if he was, is horrified he did that.
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Rubbish, I've driven a few cars around race tracks and once your above 100-110 it really gets your attention, no way can a diesel Merc drift it's way to top speed, that's foot planted to the floor time, assuming it's the C220cdi doing 138mph on 30th June.

Looks like prison is a possibility for that in Scotland.
 
PaulF said:
I'd pick 'your' friends more carefully if I were you, sounds like a right user of people.
.
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Doesn't "he" have any freinds who might share interests ? - perhaps 'he' should join a photography forum and see if he can find anyone interested in sharing trip expenses for those forays
 
I believe the given fine should be so high he would have to sell his gear to pay it.
Problem solved.
"Oh but, your Honour, I'm sorry and I'll never do it again"........Please.
 
POAH said:
they have to prove it was dangerous which is not as easy as it sounds. he will be getting a serious fine an points no matter what
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They don't have to prove it was dangerous.
The speed alone qualifies it as such in law. If they can prove the speed, job done.
 
big soft moose said:
Doesn't "he" have any freinds who might share interests ? - perhaps 'he' should join a photography forum and see if he can find anyone interested in sharing trip expenses for those forays
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A very sensible suggestion and one he would be happy to do. He feels, that whilst he has been a total ar5e if he avoids prison, he'd still like to see the world outside the city and would like to take pictures
 
I have to say i'd believe his penitence for this was a lot more genuine if he dropped the 3rd person schtick and just said "I've been a total arse" etc

The it wasn't me, it was "my mate" thing is getting old - its only one step away from "a big boy did it and ran away"
 
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