Hamilton nicked for speeding!

[SteveA]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/motorSportsNews/idUKL1821334820071218

[J4MIE]

Disappointing, he's let himself down with that one. 122mph is just silly.

:down:

[A.F.F.]

Oh dear. It's all downhill for young Hamilton from now on. :s

[Dave B]

Silly, silly boy.

[SGWilko]

"who do you think you are, Fernando Alonso?" :laugh:

[F1boat]

McLaren might decide to appean the fine :)

[wmcot]

Disappointing, he's let himself down with that one. 122mph is just silly.

:down:

Yeah, a lot of other drivers are MUCH faster!!! :)

[Valve Bounce]

I like the accompanying article more interesting: http://uk.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUKSIN14069520071218

[yodasarmpit]

He's a young guy with tons of money and access to very fast cars, is it any surprise really?

And before everyone gets holier than thou, I'll bet 90% of forum members have broken the speed limit at some point.

[Stuartf12007]

122MPH is a disgrace, hope they throw the book at him.

[jso1985]

what an idiot :down: he could have killed himself and then not even Ron Dennis on a crane could have saved him

[wedge]

So it's OK for Jeremy Clarkson race Hammond and May across Europe or looking for the best driving roads with a bit of speeding thrown in for good measure - it gets labelled as entertainment.

F1 driver speeding/caught speeding is an freakin' idiot....

[wmcot]

122MPH is a disgrace, hope they throw the book at him.

Make sure you lead him by a good amount - it's hard to hit a target at 122 mph! ;)

[wmcot]

And before everyone gets holier than thou, I'll bet 90% of forum members have broken the speed limit at some point.

Only 90%? More like 99.9% (excluding me, of course) ;)

[janneppi]

First MS's taxi cab adventure, now this, I wish the drivers would have more imagination than simple speeding and reckless driving. Does having a no driver's license affect their F1 license?

[markabilly]

"who do you think you are, Fernando Alonso?" :laugh:


I like the accompanying article more interesting: http://uk.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUKSIN14069520071218
"In mitigation, Tan's lawyer said his client had been badly affected by his parents' divorce during his formative years"

Excellent defense--Rd should have used at the second hearing.....

[Mark]

He's a young guy with tons of money and access to very fast cars, is it any surprise really?

And before everyone gets holier than thou, I'll bet 90% of forum members have broken the speed limit at some point.

By about 10mph yes. Assuming he was on a French motorway where I believe the limit is 81mph then that was 41mph over the limit!

In the UK you would get longer than a 1 month ban, but of course if you are a celebrity you won't get banned at all ;)

[Rudy Tamasz]

I don't like LH and he's done plenty of things to be legitimately crucified for, but speeding is not one of them. Young boy, fast car, never-gonna-die attitude, totally explicable... Who of us didn't do reckless things when young?

[weeflyonthewall]

By about 10mph yes. Assuming he was on a French motorway where I believe the limit is 81mph then that was 41mph over the limit!

No Autobahn but as long as its straight why not give it a go? Especially when we consider what he was driving and there was a professional behind the wheel. Not that this excuses him from obeying traffic laws but posted speed limits are designed with the general public in mind. Didn't they used to nab speeders under insurance claims because the police claimed the driver didn't have a competition license or insurance? It must've been a surprise when young Lewis provided them with the appropriate F-1 evidence.

[janneppi]

Especially when we consider what he was driving and there was a professional behind the wheel. Not that this excuses him from obeying traffic laws but posted speed limits are designed with the general public in mind.
The thing is, Hamilton is part of the general public, he doesn't have a lincense to speed in public roads. While his reflexes are fast, the people around him are most likely normal people whose reflexes are much slower.

[ioan]

No Autobahn but as long as its straight why not give it a go? Especially when we consider what he was driving and there was a professional behind the wheel. Not that this excuses him from obeying traffic laws but posted speed limits are designed with the general public in mind.

Because for the general public would be difficult to do 122 mph on a straight road???

[SGWilko]

Because for the general public would be difficult to do 122 mph on a straight road???

It would for me, my 'runaround' is a Citroen 2CV. For me, 70 is an achievement!! :p :

[Valve Bounce]

I don't like LH and he's done plenty of things to be legitimately crucified for, but speeding is not one of them. Young boy, fast car, never-gonna-die attitude, totally explicable... Who of us didn't do reckless things when young?


I know Ken Bilston didn't - his Austin 7 wouldn't go faster than 31 MPH, and that was going downhill. Would you believe he was nicked going to Uni one morning by some policeman in a patrol car!! The said he was doing 35 and he showed them his car was not capable of exceeding 31. :D

[555-04Q2]

Speeding :?: No one here ever speeds :s hock: String him up I say :p :

[aryan]

Silly, silly boy.

What is silly is the arcane 60's idea of a speed limit on a freeway, calculated based on the lowest common denominator of a car/driver package.

[aryan]

Because for the general public would be difficult to do 122 mph on a straight road???

because the general public, can then MOVE OVER if he can't keep up and not used the fast lane, like they do in autobahns in germany.

[aryan]

122MPH is a disgrace, hope they throw the book at him.

What is a disgrace is the general attitude in this forum, a motoring forum... have we all forgotten that when the speed limit was first introduced, it was specifically mentioned in the legislation that this was intended as a "Temporary Measure".

Of course what happened afterwards was that THEY realised that its such a good revenue stream and it would be a pity to let it go. So they started their marketing campaign of brainwashing us into believing that ITS FOR YOUR SAFETY. THINK OF THE CHILDEREN.

The way I see it, we have insurance ratings system for car/drivers, why not have a similar rating system according to which a speed limit can be calculated? i.e, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton should not obey the same speed limit as my 93 year old grandma. Lewis' Merc with a ceramic carbon break should not have to obey the same speed limit as a 3.5 tonnes Hummer with 12" non-ventilated discs. An oh yes, you can include the driver's accident history into the calculations as well, just like insurance rating...

[Dave B]

I agree that the speed limit on motorways is too low in most cases, but that doesn't mean that one driver should unilaterally choose to flout it because his skill and equipment happen to be better than others road users.

To have unsegregated traffic moving at different speeds as you suggest would be a recipe for chaos and catastrophe in equal measure.

I'm a huge Hamilton fan but I cannot defend him on this one other than to comment that being caught speeding seems to be a rite of passage for F1 drivers. He's still silly, though.

[Easy Drifter]

There are very few drivers who do not speed at some time or other. Racing drivers probably do so more than most.
Speed limits on multi lane roads are usually too low.
In SW Ont. the county 2 lane roads have a higher limit than the Prov. Highways!
Germany has the right idea.
There are times when even approaching the speed limit is dangerous.
Most of the big name drivers have been caught umpteen times for speeding but usually get off when recognized and they give out an autograph.
We just had a TV series 'Canada's Worst Drivers #3". Not one of the bunch should ever have received a licence in the first place. At the end the one decreed the worst voluntarily gave up his licence. Several of the others should have. They did have professional instruction during the show and some of them really did learn enough to be safer.
In Ont. most of the Provincial Police usually give you 20k. over without bothering you in good conditions.

[markabilly]

There are very few drivers who do not speed at some time or other. Racing drivers probably do so more than most.
Speed limits on multi lane roads are usually too low.
In SW Ont. the county 2 lane roads have a higher limit than the Prov. Highways!
Germany has the right idea.
There are times when even approaching the speed limit is dangerous.
Most of the big name drivers have been caught umpteen times for speeding but usually get off when recognized and they give out an autograph.
We just had a TV series 'Canada's Worst Drivers #3". Not one of the bunch should ever have received a licence in the first place. At the end the one decreed the worst voluntarily gave up his licence. Several of the others should have. They did have professional instruction during the show and some of them really did learn enough to be safer.
In Ont. most of the Provincial Police usually give you 20k. over without bothering you in good conditions.

20 k???
Lucky
Here is about 5mph, (55 vs. 60) when you are lucky

And 95% of ticketing occurs on open road, relatively safe--Cops do not like getting run over either. So go 40 or 50 mph plus over the limit where the road is most crooked and danagerous, and you never ever get stopped. Do 87 mph on the long safe and striaght highway, and you can go to jail on Class B misdeamoner for reckless driving, and need a lawyer or serve jail time

[Robinho]

off season young British driver gets caught speeding in France in his employers marque - what a suprise, bit of publicity for Merc, no real consequences other than a fine a one month ban in France (he wouldn't have done it in the UK).

whilst speeding is against the law, and not to be condoned in any circumstance i'm not going to condemn roundly as i don't know the circumstances - if it was dry, straight practically deserted road then no a big surprise, nor massively dangerous, although the consequences of an accident could have been severe.

if foggy, dark and rush hour he would be a fool.

i'm not going to sit here and say i've never sped, even significantly for a small stretch - when conditions have prevailed - some will say it isn't my judgement to make, but its the sort of judgement most people make to some extent every day.

and anyone who says they don't speed is a lyer, i honestly belive that everyone speeds virtually every time they get in a car, no matter how careful they are, whether it accidentally doing 22mph in a 20mph zone, or hitting 45 when leaving a 40 zone for a 60 zone, or voce versa, not being exactly the limit as it changes down. the fact that a large number of people deny this, means they have little awareness of what speeds they actually are doing are often more dangerous - i'm not saying that anyone here does this, but i bet a lot of people have sat behind someone doing 45-50 on a perfectly safe 60mph pice of road, and then marvelled at their ignorance as they sail on at the same speed through a village still doing 45! and no doubt they tell people they don't speed - sorry for ranting off tpoic a little but IMO its not speed that is a problem, its inappropriate speed or inability to handle speed which is a bigger danger

[Easy Drifter]

Cops here are not as generous in the towns as out in the country. In the towns it is about 10k or 6mph. Some areas patrolled by Regional forces are much stricter. York and Niagara Regions come to mind.
The OPP Commissioner is very anti speeding so we may see the OPP not giving as much leeway soon.
A new law has anyone doing 50k over losing their car on the spot for 7 days (no driving away by passenger) and immediate 7 day loss of license plus towing and storage charges. The fine on conviction will be $2000.00 to $10000.00 and possible jail time. Insurance will go out of sight.
The OPP commish wants this to apply to 30k over.
On a 2 lane highway it is easy to go more than 30k over when passing a slow vehicle with not much time.

[weeflyonthewall]

100 mph or more in California and they impound your car, hit you with a hefty fine, etc. It could be worse, some county prosecutors like that assault with a deadly weapon option. Yikes....

[Robinho]

which is why he did it in France, not California!

[Garry Walker]

The thing is, Hamilton is part of the general public, he doesn't have a lincense to speed in public roads. While his reflexes are fast, the people around him are most likely normal people whose reflexes are much slower.

Hamiltons reaction times, or that of most F1 drivers, are nothing special. They are just average in that regard, I remember Schumacher had pretty average reaction times. What makes them special is that they are so good at what they do, they can sense the car going off, before it actually has went into a slide for example. But that ability to predict will not help them the slightest if someone suddenly brakes in front of them, or an animal jumps in front of the car.



What is a disgrace is the general attitude in this forum, a motoring forum... have we all forgotten that when the speed limit was first introduced, it was specifically mentioned in the legislation that this was intended as a "Temporary Measure".

Of course what happened afterwards was that THEY realised that its such a good revenue stream and it would be a pity to let it go. So they started their marketing campaign of brainwashing us into believing that ITS FOR YOUR SAFETY. THINK OF THE CHILDEREN.

You know, your post is so stupid, that when I read it, I began to think of a certain group of people who whenever something happens, they will blame it on the jews.

Speed limit is there for obeying, whether you are a racing driver with a Ferrari or an old woman with a Mini. If you want to speed, go to a racing track. And it indeed does make it safer.

[SteveA]

I think the dangers of speeding are best conveyed by the medium of song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ufc8bnD8DE).

[Jag_Warrior]

How does he expect to be seen as a (true) celebrity if he's polite to the cop... and doesn't have a dash of coke or a dead hooker in the trunk?!

//yawn//

[Sirius]

It certainly won't be the last time either.

Sirius

[jso1985]

You know, your post is so stupid, that when I read it, I began to think of a certain group of people who whenever something happens, they will blame it on the jews.

Speed limit is there for obeying, whether you are a racing driver with a Ferrari or an old woman with a Mini. If you want to speed, go to a racing track. And it indeed does make it safer.

Couldn't agree more :up: , like it or not, speed limits are to avoid people getting killed when they lose control of their car, so it's for your own good and has to be obeyed

[Easy Drifter]

I very highly doubt that anyone on these forums who has been driving for more than a few months has not been speeding at some time or other. Try driving across Sask., where if your dog runs away you can watch him go for 3 days, and not speed. The same applies to many prairie states.
We all speed, just not as much a LH was. And yes I have been guilty of breaking the speed limit by huge amounts, just not for several years.

[jso1985]

but as posted befor here, there's a difference between breaking the limits by 5-10 MPH and breaking them the way Hamilton did