Nimrod Pilot Escapes Ban

[serf]

A Nimrod pilot escaped a longer driving bad to allow him to continue search and rescue duties.

The 47 year old pilot, from Elgin, was caught speeding at 109 mph and was only banned for 1 month instead of 4 months.

He said that he had been unable to focus on the fight against global terrorism due to the stress of the case!

The report is on text, scotland.

[DEL Mode]

Maybe if he cannot concentrate on his driving, he should not be part of the War on terror.

[Pontius Navigator]

Why was he doing 109? We used to use a little bit of excess on QRA as our par time from 2 hours to airborne was usually less than 60 minutes and I lived quite some distance away.

[MostlyHarmless]

Personally I'm glad *Someone* has got something out of this "Terror" hysteria...

[southside]

Hang on, Hang on......


Nimrod and the fight against global terrorism...... Now there is a sentance I never thought I'd see.....


Shame the Magistrates took the bait.....

[Talking Radalt]

One stone, two birds:
Send Nimrod driver somewhere hot and sandy.
Pilot continues war on terror (mummy's brave, brave soldier) and at the same time is deprived of even having the opportunity to drive like a tw@t!

[Hueymeister]

He's not the first to try this....another multi mate challenged his ban recently.

[buoy15]

Speed well below V1 though - still safe !

And allowed to continue to serve his country, unlike some of you knockers out there ! Get a life!

[Bigears]

News report here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4379244.stm)
'Firstly, I have had regard to the fact that while you were in the Gulf you have been unable to drive operationally and that has had an impact on operations and yourself.'
Eh? :confused:

[StopStart]

sweet work :ok:

[Safeware]

Clark told the court he was driving someone else's car and had allowed his speed to creep up because it did not have cruise control.

But if he was used to cruise control, he would have taken his foot off the accelerator, not held it down.

Never mind, some champion riggling.

sw

[Talking Radalt]

Fair enough, some top blagging but (when viewed along side the Boscastle Rescue thread), using SAR as mitigation is a bit lame IMHO.

[CWW]

OK, I'll bite...
Nimrod and the fight against global terrorism...... Now there is a sentance(sic) I never thought I'd see.....
...and you thought their main role was currently what, exactly?
Send Nimrod driver somewhere hot and sandy.
...as opposed to already spending a large chunk of his year where, exactly?

[Charlie Luncher]

Nice work:ok:

CWW now now remember the RAF is all about the Lincoln and south forces. You know the ones that work 12:00 Monday to 10:00 Friday no nights, not forgetting they do get to deploy regularly - on exercises. :eek:

Anyone remember the Whingeneer :8 who bought the highly expensive Super-ECM gear from the BX to avoid this only to be caught by Moray's finest with a stop watch and 2 marks on the road. :*
Charlie sends

[spekesoftly]

The punishment for really excessive speeding seems to vary considerably.

A motorcyclist (with pillion) shown on BBC TV last night, was clocked by Police doing 134mph - fined £130 and 6 points, but no ban.

As for the Nimrod pilot's comment about the lack of cruise control - well good luck to him for blagging it, but I'm very surprised that the Sheriff didn't double his sentence for taking the pi$$. :hmm:

[Onan the Clumsy]

So was that Me 109 mph or Bf 109 mph?


oh sorry, wrong forum

[Mad_Mark]

Just shows that as far as the press are concerned, if you fly you must be a pilot :rolleyes: Looks like your brevet lost it's other wing Paul ;)

This thread is also prooving that few, even amongst serving members, have a clue about what the Nimrod does and where, but are happy to mouth off about it's uselessness and the lack of a need to replace it, as seen on other threads.

Oh well, shouldn't complain really, 5-6 months deployed every year keeps me away from the wife :ok:

MadMark!!! :mad:

[jacob's ladder]

Shame he missed out the bit about rooms being available in the Mess for those on SAR standby!

[Talking Radalt]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send Nimrod driver somewhere hot and sandy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


...as opposed to already spending a large chunk of his year where, exactly?

Yeah I know they already go East, hence the option to send Supersonic Sid there again. :hmm:

[LuckyBreak]

More to the point, is 109mph actually dangerous if you have the lightning reactions of a Nimrod driver?

[spekesoftly]

if you have the lightning reactions of a Nimrod driver?

Or the perception to notice your speed, without an electronic limiter? :rolleyes:

[VigilantPilot]

There does seems to be major discrepancies between punishments for speeding. This nimrod chap appears repentant and is unfortunate to get not just a ban but his name splashed across the news for 109mph.

Yet last night, I saw that bbc documentary about traffic cops, and there was an ape-like motorbike rider, 130mph with a pillion passenger who gets a small fine and 6 points. Not only that, but he is on national television telling everyone inccluding the copper that he is unrepentant about breaking the law because he has got a shiny new bike and he considers himself capable of that speed. He should have got a 12 month ban for the attitude alone!

[spekesoftly]

This nimrod chap appears repentant and is unfortunate to get not just a ban but his name splashed across the news for 109mph.

Agreed, but partly symptomatic I suggest, of his somewhat unusual (and successful) plea of mitigation. Many other mundane cases are probably of little interest to the local scribe.


It was also interesting to note how the police driver warmed to the personality of the motorcyclist - probably in marked contrast to the usual verbal abuse!

[egbt]

OK, honestly now, who would not try and blag their way to a lower sentence?

I do agree with most of the comments regarding that bike driver, what a :mad: , 134mph in those conditions:yuk:

[Talking Radalt]

This nimrod chap appears repentant and is unfortunate to get not just a ban but his name splashed across the news for 109mph...
Yet last night, I saw that bbc documentary about traffic cops, and there was an ape-like motorbike rider, 130mph with a pillion passenger who gets a small fine and 6 points
Difference is, grotty biker ape isn't seen as a representavtive of the Crown.
Like it or not, and whether Nimord jockey was on duty or not, "we" are all viewed differently to grotty bikers (thank god) by Joe Civvy do-gooders who will roll out the usual "I pay your wages" argument and expect us all to be squeaky clean. It comes with wearing a uniform, any uniform, even those with golden arches on the baseball cap.
Remember The Scum publishing a centre spread about how squaddies had the audacity to actually enjoy themselves and make life bearable during a tour at MPA by acting like the average readership of said rag?

[Krystal n chips]

Vigilant pilot---watched the same prog and couldn't agree more re the biker---but what really made me "laugh"--:yuk: was the plod who opined that said biker was an ok bloke etc and er, didn't have an attitude ! really ??--or did the rest of us with reasoning powers imagine the whole exchange was one of pleasant and meaningful debate then ? :rolleyes:

Have to say I think said Nimrod driver has been "rather fortunate" however.

[jacob's ladder]

All very impressive - particularly as he's an AEOp - or is it WSOp these days?

[feet dry]

Afternoon all,

Regarding the biker on that programme the other night, we were not actually told at what speed the officer clocked him at. Yes we saw the police car driving at 130mph or so to catch up which is a whole different kettle of fish - not necessarily the speed at which the bike was being ridden.

I would think that there would be more outrage at the shot of the copper chasing that chap in the Astra - driving one handed talking into his radio and not wearing his seat belt.

[Fox_4]

Why not use his reaction time argument. Its a whole lot better than the guy that got off his 6 month ban for saying all the kids in the outlying villages that he dressed up as santa for over christmas would be let down if he was banned.

There are far worse things out there than 109mph. You only know half the story especially since some local news journo was the reporter in court.

Give the guy a break.

:cool:

[DEL Mode]

Two thoughts: -

First - Let every one drive as fast as they want because there’s no point having a law backed off by excuses.

Second - Have a law and enforce it.

Seems to me that neither is practical, nor is extracting the urine.

[Training Risky]

For me, all traffic police lost their last scraps of credibility when the cdr of the Met's traffic div let his driver use the blues and twos to get him to a meeting, whilst speeding through heavy London traffic.

Fair play to this ingenious member of the pie/curry eating fraternity.

Fire all traffic police and speed camera operators or redeploy them on anti-burgling/murder/terror ops!

:mad:

[Tigs2]

Top Blagging!

Some of you seem to think this guy should have rolled over and taken the full penalty of the law - why??

OK he did 109 and that has raised some comments such as 'driving like a tw@t', is he really? Hands up if youve done over the ton in Germany. If so were you driving like a tw@t? probably not. Why did you do it - because you could. The thing about this guy is he has broken the law, just like the rest of us who have ever driven above 70 in the UK, but more than likely never been caught. Me thinks the only folks out there who can slag this chap off are the ones who have NEVER broken the speed limit. So where are you? Dont think there will be many somehow.

[Talking Radalt]

OK he did 109 and that has raised some comments such as 'driving like a tw@t', is he really? Hands up if youve done over the ton in Germany
Spot the difference.
A9 in Scotland: Single lane (in places) two way with no central barrier.............
Autobahn in Germany: Two lanes, one way, lots of Armco

:hmm:

[BEagle]

Like most things in Germany, there are Rules of Construction for Autbahns. There are specific minimum radius requirements for bends which may be on unrestricted sections; if those cannot be met, then there will be an associated limit. Similarly, there are gradient limits, road construction standards (i.e. depth of road foundations), mandatory road surface inspections, speed restrictions at various Autobahnkreuz intersections etc etc....

But any Autobahn speed limits are both reasonable and appropriate - as are other speed limits in Germany.

However, in the UK there is a blanket speed limit on motorways and dual carriageways which ACPO once said was too low. The trouble is, the great unwashed simply won't respect any limit unless it's strictly enforced. Variable speed limits on the M25 do actually work, however.

The UK thus has both unrealistic limits on 'good' roads (which are constructed to far lower standards than an Autobahn) - and a spreading rash of totally unreasonable politically-led minor road limits. Roads which once had 70 or 60 limits have all of a sudden had 50 limits inflicted on them - and in this part of the world virtually any house within sight of a road causes the state nannies to impose a 40 or 30 limit on that road section. Frustrated drivers ignore these stupid political enviro-fundamentalist limits, so along come mobile revenue scameras....

Compare the speed limits as they are today with the way they were 10 years ago - and the driving standards at the time when police traffic vehicles were still to be seen on the roads. I'm all for higher reasonable speed limits - but anything more than 10% over that limit and you should expect to be 'done'. I understand the Dutch did that some years ago when their absurdly low limits were brought into line with other European countries' limits.

But 109 mph is hard to defend on the grounds of a 'momentary lapse of concentration'.....

If Sweetie Darling and Ladyboy get their way, you can anticipate Big Brother uplinking your position and speed to some Central Government agency which will then automatically prosecute you for disobeying speed limits. NooLabor will have achieved its Brave New World order.

[Mad_Mark]

Spot the difference.
A9 in Scotland: Single lane (in places) two way with no central barrier.............
Autobahn in Germany: Two lanes, one way, lots of Armco

In this case though the A9 WAS two lanes one way, with a not just Armco between the carriageways but about 200m of countryside!

Do you still think your argument holds in THIS particular case Radalt :confused:

Not defending his actions, he did the crime and got his punishment. But, did it really warrant such coverage in the national press :confused:


MadMark!!! :mad:

[Talking Radalt]

Do you still think your argument holds in THIS particular case Radalt

Having read Beagle's expansion on my thoughts.......yes.

[MAD Boom]

For those who have never lost friends/loved ones due to mere idiotic driving- and that's exactly what this was- I suggest you finish all this 'top blagging', 'well done mate' c**p and realise that it's a big issue.
The guy should be locked up with the key thrown away, and to have the audacity to use service reasons as an excuse should see him out the door right away.
I feel embarrased to be of the same trade as this chimp.

[thunderbird7]

Bet this would have stopped him..

http://www.micom.net/oops/SpeedEnforcement1.jpg

[charliegolf]

Lots of views, agree some and don't others.

With speeding, you do the crime and takes your medicine, but to use the war on terror as an excuse- that's the no-no, in my view.

It's clearly not the case that he can't do his duty- he can stay in the mess on SAR standby- the rest can be accomodated at his own cost.

Agree totally with Mad Boom- talking up 'how great a blag' it was ranks with throwing sickies, and saying 'everyone does it don't they?' We don't.

That's why he deserves to be pilloried in the press, not that he speeded.

CG