One law for them, A different law for us

[Zep 0]

Default 159mph cop wins his appeal.
Shropshire traffic police officer Mark Milton, who drove at speeds of up to 159mph while test driving a new patrol car, today won a landmark legal victory to overturn his dangerous driving conviction.But two top judges ruled that Constable Milton’s case must now go back before the district judge who convicted him for “reconsideration”.

Pc Milton, of Bratton, Telford, took his case to London’s High Court last week to challenge the point of law on which his conviction was based.

Today, David Twigg, his solicitor, said Lady Justice Smith and Mr Justice Gross had ordered the conviction be set aside and the case be sent back to District Judge Peter Wallis, who could potentially reconvict him.

Mr Twigg said the ruling had set a precedent for emergency service drivers.

“It will figure significantly in other future dangerous driving cases where anyone can lay claim to having specialist driving skills,” he said.

Mr Twigg said 40-year-old Constable Milton was “pleased”.

“Obviously we would rather not go back to Ludlow Magistrates Court one more time,” he added.

This is the second time the grade-one advanced driver’s case has been through the legal system.

Last February the High Court overturned a district judge’s decision at Ludlow Magistrates’ Court to acquit him of dangerous driving and ordered a retrial. That resulted in his conviction and this month’s appeal.

His trial heard recording equipment had captured him driving an unmarked Vauxhall Vectra at 159mph on the M54 and up to 83mph in built-up areas. He told the court he had been driving according to his training and “honing his skills”.

He was given an absolute discharge and there was no order to pay a fine nor was his licence endorsed.

Constable Milton’s challenge hinged around the terms of the 1988 Road Traffic Act, which his QC said made clear the driver’s “exceptional driving skills” should have been taken into account.

Lawyers for the Director of Public Prosecutions argued his skills were irrelevant.

Justice at its finest....
Great isnt...

He should of taken the points and punishment when it was delt.

News story from the Shropshire Star


Shropshire, you can now drive as fast as you want

I wonder if I can appeal my speeding fines as I have exceptional driving skills also.

Gone fishing

[shropshire 0]

TeHe.... damned Salopians get away with murder...

Dont' worry, you're never going to get speeding fines in the Santana


Mr Zep sir.... I'm planning another long weekend trip (may 18 probably). Jane's coming over this time and we'd love to see you again....

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[miked10270 0]

So, so far the Magistrates Court has ACQUITTED him, and were told to reconsider. Then they found him guilty, and have been told to reconsider.

There's already legislation that allows emergency services immunity from prosecution for certain parts of the traffic laws (among them are speeding & obeying certain "compulsory" traffic signs). As such, he could only be convicted of Dangerous or Careless Driving.

But... Was he driving dangerously (forget ANY chance of a Careless Driving conviction) given that he has been trained at great expense to drive safely at such speeds?

I think not.

Mike.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[Zep 0]

May be he wasent driving dangerously, but he wasent answering an emergency call either, If he wants to hone his skills most race tracks
operate a pay an play, In my mind the prosecution should be upheld,

Gone fishing

[dorbie 0]

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But... Was he driving dangerously ................... given that he has been trained at great expense to drive safely at such speeds?

I think not.

Bollocks, such speeds are innately dangerous.

The training merely mitigates the risk.

If he was training on duty he should be let off, you can't expect these guys to magically attain & maintain these skills or familiarize themselves with a new vehicle on the first pursuit with it.

It is rank hypocrisy though, In the UK you can get done for reckless doing 30 in a 5 mph in some places even with nobody around (and for all sorts of other bullshit and they WILL throw the book at you), the public is given no right to exercise descretionary judgement. So I'm not even going to play the world smallest viloin I have here. Traffic police in the UK are right thorough-going bar stewards.

[Zep 0]

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TeHe.... damned Salopians get away with murder...

Dont' worry, you're never going to get speeding fines in the Santana


Mr Zep sir.... I'm planning another long weekend trip (may 18 probably). Jane's coming over this time and we'd love to see you again....

As long as you promise not to mention 6 sigma I'll pop up for a BBQ. JD's on me

Gone fishing

[shropshire 0]

Cool - I'll PM you closer to the time.
CYA

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[miked10270 0]

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May be he wasn't driving dangerously, but he wasn't answering an emergency call either, If he wants to hone his skills most race tracks
operate a pay an play, In my mind the prosecution should be upheld,

BUT... He was originally trained on public roads, and is expected to maintain his skills for high-speed driving on public roads. This is different from race-track driving.

In the meantime, higher courts have overturned BOTH the verdicts available to the Magistrates... So God only knows where this'll go now!

As for "One law for Us... A different law for you'se"... 'Twas ever thus!

Mike.

Edited to explain: "Life on Mars" is a BBC TV series where a modern-day cop (DI Sam Tyler) finds himself back in 1973; Cue the culture-clash with his boss, DCI Gene Hunt. Camberwick Green was a 1970's kids TV show.

Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable.

Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode.

[livetofall 0]

Ah everybody quit whinin about the speeding. Dont be envious, become a cop, after all its one of the perks, compared to having the risk of being shot daily.

www.911missinglinks.com the definitive truth of 9/11..the who and why, not how

You can handle the TRUTH www.theforbiddentruth.net

[Scoop 0]

Its because of dickeads like this that our force will be installing 'black box' type data recorders in the response vehicles. Soon every part of police driving will be under scrutiny.

"So, PC Smith, why was it that on approaching the junction you were still doing 100 mph, surely you couldn't see if it was safe" etc

Or for their paticular favourite one "Why was the traction control/ESP turned off at time of the accident?"

The guy was a wanker for driving like that and the job as a whole are wankers for prosecuting their own drivers whenever there is an accident.

Interestingly, there is no legislation that grants exemption for emergancy vehicles to go through red lights, speed or otherwise contravene the road traffic act. It is accepted practice, which is why doctors with their green 'courtesy lights' often go through red lights or make progress through traffic and almost every private ambulance has blue lights too. Its all about whether you can justify your actions if you were to be questioned which is why each TRAINED police response/pursuit driver can use the lights & sirens at their own discretion. Some are resourced to calls deemed to require an immediate response and downgrade the calls themselves responding casually and sometimes vice versa.

I personally think he should be in trouble if he wasn't responding to a call or on a pre-arranged training exercise. I hope he had his police driving permit taken off him and hes been banished to foot patrol for a year. That would be like hell to a traffic officer

[jakee 1,263]

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Dont be envious, become a cop, after all its one of the perks, compared to having the risk of being shot daily.

This is England, the risks of being shot on duty are really pretty low for the average bobby (no matter what JohnRich would have you believe)

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Lucky... 0]

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Ah everybody quit whinin about the speeding. Dont be envious, become a cop, after all its one of the perks, compared to having the risk of being shot daily.

What's one of the perks, immunity from the law?

[Lucky... 0]

Quote

Quote

Dont be envious, become a cop, after all its one of the perks, compared to having the risk of being shot daily.

This is England, the risks of being shot on duty are really pretty low for the average bobby (no matter what JohnRich would have you believe)

Far, far less than the US.