Sometimes someone gets caught driving so quick that context is not needed understand how reckless they were. Like one British road cop who was recently caught driving at 154mph. And while such matters would probably be swept under the carpet in the US, clearly in the UK police officers face the consequences. Who knew?
BBC reports that in January this year, police officer Adam Smith was caught speeding on the A1(M) near Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire. He was initially caught driving at 98mph, but was later recorded reaching his full speed of 154mph. None of the news sources we saw reported the speed limit at the time, but it appears to have been 70 mph. However, even if it was 75 mph, 154 mph would still be more than twice the legal limit.
Worse still, PC Smith appears to have experience of working in road safety. Yorkshire Police are working to crack down on street racing and in October, three months before he was caught speeding, he recorded a video telling residents “this is Selby, not Silverstone”. Apparently, however, he simply concluded that the law didn’t apply to him and he could drive as quick as he wanted, dangerously.
To his credit, however, during a recent misdemeanor hearing, Smith did not blame his reckless driving on some mysterious, imperceptible hand controlling the accelerator and admitted that his actions “had no police purpose.” Police Chief Constable Tim Forber branded PC Smith’s actions “completely unjustified”, saying his actions could “significantly undermine” public confidence in cops.
Forber fired Smith and placed him on the College of Policing’s ineligibility list, something the United States could certainly benefit from, as would literally any police officer facing the consequences of their actions.
“That speed was clearly excessive, completely unreasonable, and that is a very different matter than an officer or citizen who is cited for moderate speeding due to lack of concentration,” Forber said at the hearing. “Accordingly, the only appropriate course of action in these circumstances is dismissal without notice.”
