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Thatsnews
PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 14:44 
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What an idiot. :roll:

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/39L ... 3734753.jp

Quote:
'Look no hands' as officer on 999 call breaks speed limit



You've been framed: What the speed camera saw. Click VIEW GALLERY to see full-size


« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »

View GalleryBy Robert Sutcliffe
A POLICE officer took his hands off the wheel and made "thumbs-up" gestures at a speed camera as he answered two 999 calls just hours apart.


David Mayes, 34, was captured on camera in July last year on Halifax Road, near Browning Road, Grenoside, Sheffield.

Yesterday the South Yorkshire policeman was banned from driving for six months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of careless driving.

He was also fined £400 for both offences, which he committed in the early hours of the morning.

Mayes has already been suspended from front-line duties and faces misconduct proceedings.

Malcolm Christy, prosecuting at Halifax Magistrates' Court, told how on both occasions his hands were off the wheel.

The speed limit was 40mph, but Mayes was driving at 68mph and 73mph.

Mr Christy said: "He was legitimately driving at these speeds – it is the lack of care not the speed.''

In mitigation, Tom Nutter said the married father-of-two was full of remorse.

"It was an episode of complete stupidity and his behaviour was wholly uncharacteristic," he said.

"He is wholly remorseful. His actions not only impact on his standing but on the South Yorkshire constabulary and the wider police service as a whole.''

He added: "He has not been suspended from work. However, he has been removed from front-line policing and placed on restricted duties.

"He has also been prevented from driving any police vehicle since August 4.

"He will have to face internal disciplinary procedures. He would like to express his shame and remorse for having to come before the courts.

"He fully recognises that in acting as he did not only did his driving fall below the standard expected but his conduct fell below what was expected of a serving police officer.''

Chairman of the bench Andrew Entwistle said: "You exhibited a blatant disregard for the safety of other road users and failed to take into account the risk to the passengers.''

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: "His conduct fell well below what we and the public expect of our officers and he now faces misconduct proceedings.

"This type of behaviour will not be tolerated. We have taken a robust stance which has ended with a prosecution and a court appearance.

"At the moment he remains suspended from driving and removed from public duties.''

The full article contains 422 words and appears in n/a newspaper.Last Updated: 01 February 2008 8:24 AM

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Ziltro
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 18:03 
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Hmm... speed camera causes someone to drive dangerously? :scratchchin:

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Thatsnews
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 23:06 
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Ziltro wrote:
Hmm... speed camera causes someone to drive dangerously? :scratchchin:


Shhh! Don't tell them that! :steering: :camera: :jester: :legorally:

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JK
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 00:48 
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It was only for a moment and didn't look at all dangerous to me. I'm pretty sure the driver was still in full control of the vehicle.
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Thatsnews
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 01:33 
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JK wrote:
It was only for a moment and didn't look at all dangerous to me. I'm pretty sure the driver was still in full control of the vehicle.


Sets a bad example, though, doesn't it?

If it became well-known that the local police drove around with their hands off the wheel for any length of time, how could they police other road users?

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JK
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 02:57 
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My driving instructor encouraged me to let go of the steering wheel when I was learning to drive because I was holding it too hard just to prove the vehicle would hold a straight course without any intervention.

De Ja Vue when learning to fly a Cessna! Just trim the aircraft so it would fly straight and level hands off.

What about F1 GP winners who drive a circuit waving their arms in the air for most of the lap?

No, I think this is the nanny state getting dangerously OTT. Have we now actually reached Orwell's 1984 Big Brother scenario? This is nothing but further misuse of camera technology with petty busy bodies interfering with our civil liberties.

A word in the ear (or even a clip behind the ear) ought to have been sufficient to have dealt with this incident.
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pdavid
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 03:49 
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The Article wrote:
Mr Christy said: "He was legitimately driving at these speeds – it is the lack of care not the speed.''


So what he is saying is that even though he exceeded the speed limit by a significant amount, it was something other than exceeding the speed limit that made the situation unsafe. You mean, he's saying that exceeding the speed limit doesn't necessarily make a situation unsafe? Funny, I didn't think that was a permissable defense to a strict liability crime like exceeding the speed limit, but I'll remember that one next time I'm in front of a judge.

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CJG
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 21:00 
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:gatso2: Hmm, take your hands off the wheel while moving at 68mph and run over a pot hole. Wouldn't you lose control of the car?

Take your hands off the wheel while moving over a wet area of road at 73mph and the car aquaplanes or skids, can you recover control in time?

It may have only been for a moment but that could be the moment that Sod's Law gets the better of you.

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hairyben
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 21:06 
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This is an odd one- why would a police officer knowingly allow himself to be photographed doing something like this? It goes way beyond the offence itself...

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Yokel
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 22:09 
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JK wrote:
It was only for a moment and didn't look at all dangerous to me. I'm pretty sure the driver was still in full control of the vehicle.


Like the woman fined for eating an apple whilst her car was stationary? Like the idea of prosecuting drvers who smoke whilst driving?

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steve_k
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 22:39 
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Changing gear?
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CJG
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 22:56 
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steve_k wrote:
Changing gear?


:gatso2: That's allowed. IMHO by taking your hands off the steering wheel to operate the stickshift, handbrake, lights and indicator stalks you are presumably in control of the vehicle. Ditto with the heating system but probably not with the car radio.

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Last edited by CJG on Sat Feb 02, 2008 22:56, edited 1 time in total.

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JK
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 22:56 
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Yokel wrote:
JK wrote:
It was only for a moment and didn't look at all dangerous to me. I'm pretty sure the driver was still in full control of the vehicle.


Like the woman fined for eating an apple whilst her car was stationary? Like the idea of prosecuting drvers who smoke whilst driving?


Indeed, yes.

It seems this criminalise everybody syndrome is caused by police being able to treat the imaginary crime of apple eating exactly the same as an armed robbery to meet crime targets. That is so the PM can brag how well the police have done under their government to meet targets and solve so many crimes. The crimes have ha to be created specially so they can meet the targets! I've read this idea will be ditched and crimes will become better classified (ie not all treated the same) but I'll believe it when it happens.
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Ernest Marsh
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 23:41 
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Our errant policeman was charged with careless driving - not speeding, as he was genuinely on a 999 call in the early hours of the morning.

While it seems an incredibly dangerous thing to do, and was certainly foolish, I have to ask what made him do it?

The real risk would appear to be that posed by the forward facing flash going off at night in the drivers face, as he legitimately attended and emergency call!

And what of the speed camera... is it really making the road safer? Had our over confident policeman been a 19 year old in a souped up Saxo or Nova, he could have driven like that for another 10 days before a penalty arrived on the doorstep. Even then there is no saying he would have taken any notice - just resolved not to be caught next time in the same place.

FAR better that a traffic policeman with a speed gun is targeting the dangerous drivers, and STOPPING them immediately!
Sadly we are seeing less and less traffic police in the country, and especially in Cumbria considering the amount of motorway and rural roads they have to patrol.

So in answer to my own question, I suggest that our policeman is incredibly frustrated that a remote camera is flashing in his face as he tries to carry out an important job, and despite the claims made for them, offer no safety benefit.
DfT figures show that only 5% of accidents can be attributed to illegal speeding - that's the type addressed by speed cameras.

It's a shame that he has ruined his career prospects while those responsible for abandoning our safety on the roads to a method which only addresses 5% of accidents, go unpunished.

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Ernest Marsh
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 00:15 
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I have just seen CJG's post, which is now locked - it is worth adding it here:

CJG wrote:
From the police force that brought you "NIP SERVED ON A TWO-YEAR OLD and POLICE CHIEF IS BANNED FOR SPEEDING."

http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/Safety-group-slams-39handsoff39-.3738119.jp
Quote:
Safety group slams 'hands-off' policeman caught on speed camera

PC David Mayes making a thumbs-up gesture while driving through a speed camera on Halifax Road, Grenoside, Sheffield

A ROAD safety group has criticised a South Yorkshire Police officer caught giving the thumbs up signal with both hands while he answered a 999 call.
PC David Mayes, aged 34, was twice caught with both hands off the wheel when his patrol car activated a camera on Halifax Road, Grenoside, Sheffield.

On one occasion he was clocked driving at 68mph and on the other at 73mph on the 40mph stretch.

The disgraced officer, who was laughing at the time the camera flashed, has been banned from driving for six months and taken off public duties pending disciplinary proceedings instigated by South Yorkshire Police.

Afterpleading guilty to two counts of careless driving the married dad-of-two was also fined £400.

A spokeswoman for road safety group Brake charity said today: "Mayes' action is quite extraordinary. While travelling above the speed limit, on an emergency call, he should have been fully focused on driving.

"Instead he has put himself and others at risk by taking his hands off the wheel and seemingly made light of the situation with his thumbs-up gesture.

"When a policeman is seen openly mocking road laws, it sends a negative message to law-abiding drivers."

South Yorkshire Police said the officer's case was heard before Calderdale magistrates, near Halifax, rather than Sheffield was so an "independent" CPS solicitor could be used.



I spotted this story in the Daily Express. There's no link available. Brake have also stated: "This case shows us that the culture of excessive speed, combined with a reckless disregard for the safety of others, worryingly extends to some police officers."


What do you think about Brake's statement. Does the Devil get all the best lines? Examine the first comment on relating to the story on the Star's page.

I took a look, and it's a dual carriageway.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=halifax+road,+sheffield&sll=54.162434,-3.647461&sspn=13.096111,35.507813&ie=UTF8&ll=53.425268,-1.492778&spn=0.001624,0.004334&t=h&z=18&om=0

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Thatsnews
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 01:27 
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Clearly the two officers did it on purpose. They were both grinning and making thumbs up gestures, so there must have been some premeditation involved. And he did it twice.

If South Yorkshire Police/CPS prosecute people for having one hand off the wheel whilst using a mobile, surely they would have to prosecute anyone for having both hands off the wheel like he did?

And I have just noticed that the silly sod had his eyes off the road! He is looking directly into the camera. What an idiot! :shock:

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hairyben
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:10 
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I'm still curious as to why an officer would do this. You can't really file it under simple careless driving, the end. Many people are guilty of careless driving, but most wouldn't knowingly do it in front of a police officer, they don't want to be caught, unless there's underlying reasons. The officer did it in front of a camera. Can we presume he intended to be photographed in the act? What was he thinking and what did he think the outcome would be? Either he's astonishingly stupid and/or reckless, in which case you think that'd have been picked up in basic police training, or what else?

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weepej
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:11 
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JK wrote:
It was only for a moment and didn't look at all dangerous to me. I'm pretty sure the driver was still in full control of the vehicle.


With his hands off the wheel?!?!

AHH HAAAAA HAA HAAAAAA HAAAA!
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Thatsnews
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 14:13 
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But as had been alluded to, if there had not been a speed camera there, the officer would not have posed for it.

So this is a circumstance when it is proven that someone drove in a dangerous manner because of a speed camera.

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WildCat
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 14:16 
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weepej wrote:
JK wrote:
It was only for a moment and didn't look at all dangerous to me. I'm pretty sure the driver was still in full control of the vehicle.


With his hands off the wheel?!?!

AHH HAAAAA HAA HAAAAAA HAAAA!



Allegedly at high speeds.. you can drift und in any case this ist supposed to be danger site according to the scamsters.

He was a f:censored:t . when folk are being done for eating butty etc whilst driving. If you not in control with one hand on wheel - then definitely not in control with no hands on wheel :banghead:

This officer let down all drivers und all serving policemen. :furious: Und ist an attitude of "am on blue lights so I can do what I like attitude" too here. I think a t:censored: d in a uniform und if he sacked.. good. We need immature officers like we need holes in head. :furious:

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