A motorist caught by a safety camera van travelling at more than double the speed on the A20 at Gorse in Farningham has been banned from driving for six months and fined £1000.
John Morris, 48, from Battle in East Sussex pleaded guilty at Maidstone Magistrates Court on 14 January after being charged with driving his BMW M5 at 138mph in national speed limit zone (maximum limit for cars on this single-carriageway stretch is 60mph) on 28 October last year.
Katherine Barrett, Communications Officer for the Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership said: “Driving at 138mph is not an accident, just a total and blatant disregard for the safety of other people on the road. There is not a single excuse as to why Mr Morris could think that it was appropriate travel at this speed. He should feel lucky with regards to the outcome of this incident because if something had gone wrong and he had killed someone he would have had to live with that for the rest of his life.”
The safety camera van that detected Mr Morris ‘backs up’ (i.e. operates within the signed area) of the fixed yellow camera on Gorse Hill. This camera was installed in 2003 because five people had been killed or seriously injured along that stretch of road in the three years prior to installation. In the last three year period there have been no serious or fatal crashes.
-END-
NOTE TO EDITORS:
- A photo of the offence is attached to the email.
- The Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership was formed in July 2002 and comprises Kent County Council, Medway Council, Kent Police, Highways Agency and Her Majesty’s Courts Service. Log on to www.kmscp.org to find out more.
- The Partnership is working to reduce death and serious injuries on Kent and Medway’s roads by deterring drivers from speeding – particularly at places where there has been a history of injury crashes – and to improve quality of life for everyone in the community.