Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > The truth about Speeding Convictions

[Paul James]

Originally Posted by Jools

Exactly Paul.

From what I've been told, the police car was being driven in a very aggresive and threatening manner. As you say, it was hurtling up behind people until sitting right on their back wheel, pulling out to overtake but then not overtaking when he could have simply gone past. Then blasting past doing overtakes in breathtakingly stupid places, choosing to do so on the narrowest and twistiest parts of the road, putting the squeeze on people as he went past. Then having gone past, slowing right up again, for all the world just like some member of Joe Public DLAC in a blacked out Volvo S60R and looking to hassle a bunch of bikes. All in the name of safety eh?

Furthermore, the bikes weren't travelling in a single group, they'd got strung out and were riding in two and threes, so while matey was acting the arse with the people at the back, the others weren't even in sight. So at what point exactly did he glance down at his speedo and decide they were all guilty? When he was doing his charge up to the back of the group? When he was blasting past them? What about the people at the front? He only came past them when they had slowed down for a built up area, to less than the speed limit, to let the others catch up, so how can he assert that they are all guilty as well? By association?

Alright, hands up, although I wasn't on this particular ride out, these people are all friends of mine, so it's clear where my sympathies lie.

To retain a bit of balance, most of them have admitted that they're not angels and 'make progress', I don't think that any one of them has a problem with getting a speeding ticket if it's a fair cop, just that the way this was done smacks of being goaded into commiting an offence in the first place, then being given a ticket without any other evidence apart from the fact that you were there.

Pretty much what I heard but you've the edge on me at the dramatic presentation Jools

Bottom line in the circumstances the guys shouldn't have put their hands up IMHO, always easy in hindsight but a lesson to be learned for all of us.

Bit of balance is required over the whole speedaphobic world we live in and the emphasis shifted to truly dangerous driving such as mobile phone juggling.