cruiser647 Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 A man clocked by police driving at 173mph in a 50mph zone has been spared a jail sentence after it was found his sports car was incapable of travelling that fast.Officers recorded Tex O'Reilly driving at 173mph in his Lotus Elise as he drove along a country lane in Derbyshire last July, Derby Crown Court was told. But defence lawyers successfully argued the 36-year-old Derbyshire builder's unmodified car had a top speed of 127mph. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on the basis that he had driven at just 105mph. (why didn't he ask to have the case thrown out?) A recording of 173mph would usually have warranted a jail term, but the prosecution failed to disprove the defence claims and accepted O'Reilly's basis of plea. The father-of-three from Canal Bridge, Willington, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving and was given a £5000 fine and two-year driving ban. (Is that all? And in a 50 mph zone! Muppet!) Judge Andrew Hamilton said: "May I make it absolutely clear that had you been driving at 150mph you would have been going immediately to prison. "However, you were not driving at 150mph, you were driving at 105mph, and for whatever reason the prosecution have accepted that basis of plea, and that puts the case in a different light." He does deserve his punishment, but if they clocked him at '173 mph' and they were more than 50 mph out, then how come he admitted doing 105 mph? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 perhaps not the sharpest tool in the box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) Tex O'Reilly ... Oh come on thats gotta be a made up name, reminds me of the Alan Partiridge episode: YouTube - Alan Partrige-Meeting Tex After the offence O'Reilly sold the car to a buyer in Germany, and the prosecution could not find out if it had been modified to go faster. How fast can a modified Lotus Elise S go? Edited March 23, 2009 by Andy_Bangle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlot Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Good time of year to have to sell an Elise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Agreed, he should have gone for a specimen charge of speeding as don't know/can't prove the speed I got 6 points for 112 using this route once (am now reformed...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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