So Thursday morning at about 3am, I was on my way to a friend's place as we were all on our way down to Folkestone and on to Le Mans for the weekend.
Cruising down a deserted M42 at 95mph I was aware of a dark car following me, matching my speed exactly but thought nothing of it. He followed me for a couple of miles and off at the same junction. I turned off onto a dual-carriageway and again put the hammer down and back up to about 80-85 and again he was still following me.
He followed me off at the next roundabout and then, sure enough, the blue lights started flashing. Oh crap
I was invited for a little chat in the back of their car. He said the main reason they'd pulled me over was because it was a new Audi being driven fast at 3am and, since there have been quite a lot of Audi thefts in the area of late, they were concerned it might have been stolen. Checked my licence and the car details and so forth and then started mentioning that I was travelling rather too fast.
I kind of laughed a little and said that yeah, I knew full well I was going too fast and had no real excuse, other that we had to get to Folkestone for the tunnel and were against the clock. Was fully expecting him to issue a penalty and, at this point, as he'd followed me at a good 95mph for a couple of miles, I was praying I'd get away with a basic SP30 and nothing more than that.
He let me go! He chuckled a little and said I was sure to see plenty of fast cars over the weekend at Le Mans and just to cool it down a bit. I laughed back and gave him my best sheepish look and was on my way.
I fully respected him after that. I know full well I was going too fast and breaking the law and wouldn't have kicked up a stink if he'd issued a penalty, no matter what it was because it was a "fair cop" so to speak. He obviously recognised that, despite my driving above the limit, I wasn't driving dangerously or unsafely. I was indicating properly, keeping to the inside lane and not weaving around or fluctuating my speed like a madman.
We need more police like this. People who know how and when to use their discretion when it comes to driving offences. Yes I was lucky, there's no denying that, but I don't feel I was "lucky" to get away with it, but rather "lucky" that I was stopped by someone with a bit of common sense and compassion.
Cruising down a deserted M42 at 95mph I was aware of a dark car following me, matching my speed exactly but thought nothing of it. He followed me for a couple of miles and off at the same junction. I turned off onto a dual-carriageway and again put the hammer down and back up to about 80-85 and again he was still following me.
He followed me off at the next roundabout and then, sure enough, the blue lights started flashing. Oh crap
I was invited for a little chat in the back of their car. He said the main reason they'd pulled me over was because it was a new Audi being driven fast at 3am and, since there have been quite a lot of Audi thefts in the area of late, they were concerned it might have been stolen. Checked my licence and the car details and so forth and then started mentioning that I was travelling rather too fast.
I kind of laughed a little and said that yeah, I knew full well I was going too fast and had no real excuse, other that we had to get to Folkestone for the tunnel and were against the clock. Was fully expecting him to issue a penalty and, at this point, as he'd followed me at a good 95mph for a couple of miles, I was praying I'd get away with a basic SP30 and nothing more than that.
He let me go! He chuckled a little and said I was sure to see plenty of fast cars over the weekend at Le Mans and just to cool it down a bit. I laughed back and gave him my best sheepish look and was on my way.
I fully respected him after that. I know full well I was going too fast and breaking the law and wouldn't have kicked up a stink if he'd issued a penalty, no matter what it was because it was a "fair cop" so to speak. He obviously recognised that, despite my driving above the limit, I wasn't driving dangerously or unsafely. I was indicating properly, keeping to the inside lane and not weaving around or fluctuating my speed like a madman.
We need more police like this. People who know how and when to use their discretion when it comes to driving offences. Yes I was lucky, there's no denying that, but I don't feel I was "lucky" to get away with it, but rather "lucky" that I was stopped by someone with a bit of common sense and compassion.