Ripper
15-05-2003, 14:50
Whilst this is very serious I am amazed that a speeding driver gets this but burglars and Gary Glitter people get a lot less.
Looks like Scotland's got it's act together on Law and Order - unless some of our Scottish owners can confirm that pondlife up there is treated with the same leniency as it is down here.......
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From the BBC website:-
Car dealer's speeding 'record'
McAllister was jailed for five months
A car dealer caught driving at what is believed to be the highest speed ever recorded by Scottish police has been jailed for five months.
Jason McAllister was caught by police travelling at 156.7 mph in a BMW M3 on the A90 between Aberdeen and Dundee in March.
Sentencing him, Forfar Sheriff Kevin Veal described his speed as "absolutely outrageous".
McAllister, of Manor Avenue, Aberdeen, had admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.
As well as the prison sentence, he was disqualified for four years and ordered to resit an extended test.
I understand it's the highest speed recorded by a speed detection unit by the Scottish police
Chris Macintosh, procurator fiscal
Procurator fiscal Chris Macintosh said a police patrol was told to be on the lookout for McAllister's vehicle.
Mr Macintosh said: "It was a BMW vehicle, it's a very powerful model.
"The vehicle was seen travelling at a very high speed."
Police clocked the vehicle several times and found he was doing 120.6mph in a 40mph zone and 156.7mph on the dual carriageway, which has a speed limit of 70mph.
Mr Macintosh said: "I understand it's the highest speed recorded by a speed detection unit by the Scottish police."
When stopped by police as he neared Dundee, McAllister said: "This is all that I need - I have just fallen out with the girlfriend."
Defence lawyer Lynne Bentley said: "He accepts there must be a custodial sentence.
Inspector Nick Hull: "It's crazy"
"It's his own car. Extremely stupidly he made the decision to drive."
Sheriff Veal told McAllister: "Anybody driving at this speed must realise that it's dangerous and inevitably a custodial option will be top of the priorities."
The sheriff said the fact that the accused had already been banned from driving reinforced his view.
Sheriff Veal said: "This level of speed is absolutely outrageous and poses a risk to every other road user."
Reacting to the case, Roger Vincent, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: "It was absolutely crazy for someone to try and drive at that speed on a public road.
"Anyone who has lost a relative in a crash caused by excessive speed would be horrified by the cavalier attitude of this driver."
Tayside Police Inspector Nick Hull said officers were astonished at the speed of McAllister's 3.2 litre vehicle.
He said: "We're not talking about someone who has allowed himself to slip just over the speed limit, we're talking about someone who had deliberately driven at 156 mph on a public road.
"The stopping distances at that sort of speed are around about a quarter of a mile, it's crazy."
Looks like Scotland's got it's act together on Law and Order - unless some of our Scottish owners can confirm that pondlife up there is treated with the same leniency as it is down here.......
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From the BBC website:-
Car dealer's speeding 'record'
McAllister was jailed for five months
A car dealer caught driving at what is believed to be the highest speed ever recorded by Scottish police has been jailed for five months.
Jason McAllister was caught by police travelling at 156.7 mph in a BMW M3 on the A90 between Aberdeen and Dundee in March.
Sentencing him, Forfar Sheriff Kevin Veal described his speed as "absolutely outrageous".
McAllister, of Manor Avenue, Aberdeen, had admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.
As well as the prison sentence, he was disqualified for four years and ordered to resit an extended test.
I understand it's the highest speed recorded by a speed detection unit by the Scottish police
Chris Macintosh, procurator fiscal
Procurator fiscal Chris Macintosh said a police patrol was told to be on the lookout for McAllister's vehicle.
Mr Macintosh said: "It was a BMW vehicle, it's a very powerful model.
"The vehicle was seen travelling at a very high speed."
Police clocked the vehicle several times and found he was doing 120.6mph in a 40mph zone and 156.7mph on the dual carriageway, which has a speed limit of 70mph.
Mr Macintosh said: "I understand it's the highest speed recorded by a speed detection unit by the Scottish police."
When stopped by police as he neared Dundee, McAllister said: "This is all that I need - I have just fallen out with the girlfriend."
Defence lawyer Lynne Bentley said: "He accepts there must be a custodial sentence.
Inspector Nick Hull: "It's crazy"
"It's his own car. Extremely stupidly he made the decision to drive."
Sheriff Veal told McAllister: "Anybody driving at this speed must realise that it's dangerous and inevitably a custodial option will be top of the priorities."
The sheriff said the fact that the accused had already been banned from driving reinforced his view.
Sheriff Veal said: "This level of speed is absolutely outrageous and poses a risk to every other road user."
Reacting to the case, Roger Vincent, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: "It was absolutely crazy for someone to try and drive at that speed on a public road.
"Anyone who has lost a relative in a crash caused by excessive speed would be horrified by the cavalier attitude of this driver."
Tayside Police Inspector Nick Hull said officers were astonished at the speed of McAllister's 3.2 litre vehicle.
He said: "We're not talking about someone who has allowed himself to slip just over the speed limit, we're talking about someone who had deliberately driven at 156 mph on a public road.
"The stopping distances at that sort of speed are around about a quarter of a mile, it's crazy."