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154mph biker walks free with fine
Jul 24 2004
Duncan Higgitt, The Western Mail

A MOTORCYCLIST yesterday admitted speeding at 154mph on a Welsh dual carriageway - but went free.

Matthew Elmore, 36, who was travelling 20mph faster than a Formula One car's average racing speed, was caught at more than double the speed limit but claimed he did not realise he was doing over 70.

He was fined £2,000 yesterday.

Elmore could have been jailed but he walked free after the court heard he planned to sell the £7,000 racing machine.

Bike fan Elmore was on his high-powered Ducati motorbike when he sped past a traffic officer at the roadside, near Usk.

Prosecutor Catherine Yardley said, "Pc Greville Phillips was on duty when he heard the sound of a high-powered motorcycle approaching from the rear.

"Pc Phillips estimated he was travelling at more than the maximum 70mph limit.

"The officer checked the speed and found he was doing 154mph."

Magistrates at Newport, South Wales, heard Elmore would have been covering 68 metres a second.

Van driver Elmore, of Abergavenny, South Wales, admitted dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention and speeding.

Elmore, who is married, was fined £2,000, ordered to pay £150 costs and banned for two years.

The court heard he would use the money he receives from the sale of his bike to help pay his fine.

Chris Davies, defending, said Elmore had not realised he had been speeding on the A449 near Usk, Monmouthshire.

He said, "He does not recollect driving at that speed - he was shocked to discover it and cannot offer any explanation.

"His pleasure is motorbikes but he has only had one endorsement on his licence."

The magistrates told Elmore the speed at which he was travelling would not be tolerated - even though he had previously committed only one minor speeding offence.

Elmore's 154mph was faster than the average speed of the Formula One cars at this month's Grand Prix racing at Silverstone. There, the world-class drivers averaged 131mph.

Elmore's arrest and sentencing will be used by supporters of speed cameras as proof that motorists are continuing to flout limits at dangerous speeds.

According to Department for Transport figures for all of the speed camera sites in Wales, use of the devices has helped cut the number of deaths from an average of 238.5 a year to 100 - a drop of almost 60%.

It is reported there have also been large falls in the number of less-serious accidents in each of the four police force areas of Wales.

John Rowling, manager of the Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership, said, "Fortunately, this kind of speed is the exception, not the norm. I can only imagine the terrible consequences had he lost control at this speed.

"Driving behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated by any member of society."

A spokeswoman for the partnership said they would like to compliment the majority of motorcyclists for their safe and competent riding.

She said 44 motorcyclists were killed in Wales last year.

Nationwide, the 42 partnerships are campaigning for more flexibility in how they operate to be able to target specific areas.

Earlier this month residents of Llanidloes, near Newtown, campaigned that a camera which had been switched off should be used again.

Local people there warnthat lives are being put at risk on the town's bypass because of the absence of a speed camera.[/url]

Surely losing control at 150 on a bike is no more dangerous than losing control at, say, 70? You're petty likely to end up dead at either speed, I'd have thought.

_________________
-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..