Mobile Speed Camera Loses Motoring Journalist His Job

RobBrady

A former racing driver, who is now a motoring journalist for Auto Express, is set to lose his job following been caught by a mobile speed camera.

41 year old Owen Mildenhall from Edenbridge in Kent drove his Porsche 911 Carrera at 127mph in a 60mph zone of the Scottish Highlands.

In mitigation, he argued: "I was just accelerating out of the roundabout. I was not going to sustain that speed. I was testing the vehicle acceleration through the gears. I understand that’s not an excuse."

In his defence, his solicitor said that the road conditions were good with a bright moon and that he was a road tester for a motoring magazine who clocked up 80,000 miles a year. He added that his client has held a racing licence for 10 years.

After admitting driving dangerously, he was handed a 15 month ban from driving and a £2,000 fine - his solicitor said the ban would mean Mildenhall would lose his job.

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Robert Brady

rf065 · Lifetime Member Joined: Oct 10, 2005 Posts: 80

For anyone who does not know the A96, it is the main road from Aberdeen to Inverness. It runs entirely through rural land, with farm access roads and other junctions everywhere along it's length. It's as far removed from a m/way or dual c/way as you can possibly get and should have been upgraded years ago. Due to the amount of accidents, outdated roads like this are constantly patrolled by the police, only a lunatic would drive at 127mph and expect to get away with it.

Russ

Snudge · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 11:52 am Post subject:

I take your point - slow moving farm vehicles could be on, crossing or joining the road so the high speed was inappropriate.
I'm wondering what speed the cops were doing to catch the guy though?

sussamb · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 12:32 pm Post subject:

I suspect from reading the comment that 'he wasn't intending to sustain that speed' he was going considerably slower when they caught up with him. Even so, as Snudge points out, they are trained to drive safely (albeit no driving is 100% safe) and follow a strict procedure referred to as IPSGA when dealing with hazards, which would include avoiding slow moving farm vehicles Wink

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dales · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 3:34 pm Post subject:

There are not very many farm vehicles around at 12:45 in the morning.
Just hurrah henries in hot pursuit.

Dales.
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rf065 · Lifetime Member Joined: Oct 10, 2005 Posts: 80

dales · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:26 pm Post subject:

Perhaps he thought the limit was 140 mph.

After all, MaFt seems to have set up a pMobile category for this speed eg camera 168079.

Dales.
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Philip · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:25 pm Post subject:

I'm not convinced that the police drivers' abilities are THAT much better than those of somebody who is actively involved in testing cars on a daily basis and who has held a race licence for 10 years. (Not denigrating the police - I have been driven by Class 1 police drivers and have been extremely impressed with their observation and car control).

What the police DO have, however, is a prominently marked car, blue flashing lights and a siren, all of which (coupled with their training) means that they are much more apparent to other road users when driving at speed.
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Philip

sussamb · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:48 pm Post subject:

You'd think so wouldn't you? I've still had cars pull out of junctions in front of me when I've had lights and sirens going. Some people either don't look or aren't able to comprehend what they're seeing Rolling Eyes

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Snudge · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:50 pm Post subject:

M8TJT · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:58 pm Post subject:

I wonder if she had her head down in a phone or was listening to her iPod.

sussamb · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 5:04 pm Post subject:

Wouldn't surprise me. A girl was killed close to where I live ... and that's exactly what she was doing when she stepped into the road without looking. Sad loss of a young life but clearly her fault and my real sympathies are with the driver.
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