Is 6 months in jail a bit harsh...

[R1Geezer]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Speed ing-Motorcyclist-Robert-Bennett-Has-Been-Jaile d-For-Riding-With-Son-On-Back-At-122mph/Articl e/200903115232326?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Hea der_0&lid=ARTICLE_15232326_Speeding_Motorcycli st_Robert_Bennett_Has_Been_Jailed_For_Riding_W ith_Son_On_Back_At_122mph

Is this not actually punishing his family? He'll no doubt lose his job etc etc

[ummmm]

I know it was his son. I've also read the link. Although it's not fair still doesn't change the fact that he deserves to be punished for his stupidity.

[DrFilth]

159 mph is ok for some car drivers


Pc Milton was "familiarising" himself with a new car, the court heard
A police constable who reached 159mph on a motorway has been cleared of speeding and dangerous driving.

Pc Mark Milton, 38, from Telford, Shropshire, was recorded by the patrol car's video camera on the M54 in 2003, Ludlow Magistrates' Court heard.

District Judge Bruce Morgan acquitted him after calling the constable the "creme de la creme" of police drivers.



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[Julnar]

I agree, R1Geezer, the sentence does seem extremely harsh considering he didn't crash, didn't hurt anyone and was just being an irresponsible idiot and hazard to other road users. I would have thought a big fine, a ban from driving for a number of years and possibly even the confiscation of his bike would have been more appropriate. As someone has mentioned; if he'd been a member of the House of Lords and killed someone he would have only got 12 weeks.

[Octavius]

People keep saying child, how old was the son?*


*Not particularly relevant to the sentence, just asking.

[Julnar]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/79182 12.stm
According to the BBC link, the son is 14 Octavius.

[gilf]

His son was 14.

Don't have a problem with the sentence, but as always it is disproportionate when compared with other violations.

[DrFilth]

his lad is 14 and i have just watched the police video .
i think R1 Geezer will back me up when he sees the video , i can't see how he was doing anywhere near 122 mph. if you have ever ridden a bike at speed when going round a bend you have to bank it over . check the video and tell me if you think he is going anywhere near that speed.
the speed camera also needs a flat surface to get a correct reading. it is a load of b0lloks ! the guy is innocent




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[DrFilth]

BBC programme "Inside Out" reported on the unsafe readings from certain speed cameras. On 19th January 2007 this was followed up with another story with real evidence that the LT1 20:20 can give quite serious mis-readings when the laser is moved just fractionally when pointed at a moving vehicle. This was highlighted where the condemned driver won his case in court, when it was found that the operator could easily have used the camera in the incorrect way.



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[tamborine]

DrFilth...Hope the speed readings can be contested by the biker's legal team - he's in for huge compensation ;)

[anotheoldgit]

Perhaps under Human Rights legislation he will be awarded legal aid, and then released and chauffeured home in a stretched limo, back into the arms of his family. Then perhaps further down the line he will be able to claim compensation for wrongful imprisonment.

Oh no I must have just dropped off and I didn't realise he was a British subject.

No wonder our prisons are full.

Agree entirely with DrFilth.

[DrFilth]

tamborine he has no chance unless he has a good win on the lotto
i have been looking for a link ,they had an expert with a speed gun focused on a fireblade parked on its side stand the camera recorded that the bike was doing 30 ish

there is that much on the internet i can't find it


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[Octavius]

It was a rather stupid thing to do, although I do think the sentence was a bit harsh. Whilst these cameras may have a margin of error, I doubt they could be over 50mph out of calibration could they??

A heft fine and a very long ban would have served society better I think.

[jake-the-peg]

Why do I get the feeling that Filth would be baying for his blood had it been an asylum seeker?

I suspect it will be reduced on appeal 6 months is the maximum the magistrate could award and the aggravating factors do not necessarilly sound as bad as some quoted on the bench book (eg drugs, police persuit etc.)

All the same it does sound as if a custodial sentence was warrented.

We really need an american style offence of reckless endangerment

[tamborine]

�85m going on lotto on Friday - have a spin to give him a wee cut?

[DrFilth]

thanks tamborine i'm gonna have a couple on friday

Octavius even rossi could not get a bike round a bend at speed sitting upright

have you ever had a bike at that kind of speed near a bend ?


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[Gromit]

The sentence is justified without doubt.

It is not unusual to see idiot bikers putting their lives at risk. If their lives are so empty they need the thrill of dangerous riding then fine. As long as they don't crash into another innocent road user or put innocent people at risk, then it is up to them if they want to throw away their lives.

Clearly this case he was putting his passenger in great peril. The video clearly shows the roads were wet and he shouldn't have even been doing 60mph.

[cassa333]

6 months is about right.

Lets hope that he puts other people first from now on and not his own selfish desire to show off.

Anything less than a custodial sentance and this idiot wouldn't get the message.

[Octavius]

Crikey, if they can be 50mph out of true, then I am in danger of being clocked at doing at least 85 on my current bike, down hill, tail wind. Mind you, the noise police probably would have got to me first.

[DrFilth]

( Why do I get the feeling that Filth would be baying for his blood had it been an asylum seeker? )

jake show me a link to any asylum seeker biker that i have ever said a bad word about. you are just a t0sser trying to cause trouble

i shall wait to see a link ?

as legend would say

tick tock tick tock


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[rov1200]

He seems a bit old acting like a teenager. Is this what we call mid-life crisis?