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http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.j ... wstop.html

Anti-speed police chief clocked at 82mph in 40mph zone
By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter
(Filed: 17/04/2005)

The head of the Metropolitan Police traffic division faces disciplinary action after being driven in a marked police car at 86mph - at times at more than twice the applicable limit - because he was late for a meeting.

Chief Supt Les Owen, who has launched a series of anti-speeding campaigns in recent years, was being driven in busy built-up areas of north-east London on his way to collect a colleague for a meeting at the force's traffic headquarters near Buckingham Palace.

The vehicle, a Vauxhall Omega, sped along parts of the North Circular and surrounding roads at 82mph in a 40mph limit. The vehicle, which occasionally used its emergency siren, hit its top speed of 86mph in a 50mph limit.

Details of the case can be revealed by The Telegraph - five days after Mr Owen's police driver successfully appealed against an earlier court decision to give him six penalty points on his driving licence.

The penalty was reduced to three points for Pc Mark Bradley, 44, an officer with 25 years in the force.

Road safety campaigners were incensed yesterday that a police car, not attending an emergency, had been driven at such a high speed.

Mr Owen is the subject of an internal police inquiry and one of the issues that will be considered is whether he should bear any responsibility for the speed at which Pc Bradley was driving.

The chief superintendent has not been accused of a criminal offence and he is expected to deny acting improperly if he is accused of misconduct. Mr Owen launched a campaign called London Safety Camera Partnership 18 months ago, which involved new digital speeding cameras for an accident black spot.

In a speech at the time, he said: "We aim to educate drivers first and foremost about the hazards and repercussions of speeding."

The scheme was launched with the support of Roadpeace, a charity that supports bereaved and injured road crash victims. Bob Gale, a committee member, said at the launch: "The tragic fact is that nearly all fatalities and injuries on the road are preventable.

"These are not accidents - they are caused by appalling, irresponsible behaviour, speeding being one of the most common infringements. A speeding vehicle is a lethal weapon."

Yesterday Dr Gale, 69, a retired research chemist whose son Luke, 21, was killed on his moped in a collision with a speeding motorist in Bristol in 1999, said he was shocked by the disclosure involving Mr Owen.

"Police officers must lead by example - like Caesar's wife they should be above suspicion," he said. "There is no excuse for a police car to be travelling at this sort of speed in a non emergency."
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Hmm, I thought the police were exempt from speed limits when driving on police purposes.

I'm really not sure whether this is an outrage or an injustice

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Why do senior police officers (and come to think of it politicians) need drivers to take them about? Perhaps if it was their licence at risk they would practice what they preach. Or perhaps it wasn't really dangerous.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.