Mitigating Circumstances - Letter to Magistrates

Originally Posted by getyerkneedown

I dont know how you can say that. Have you ridden with me? Ask any of the people i used to ride with and they will vouch that while fast, i am not dangerous. The police officers even said as much when they stopped me.

I pride myself on my riding, yes im an excessive speeder, but thats all im guilty of. Not being dangerous.

If you speed in excess all the time then you are being a danger, no matter how safe you think you are.....

And for your employer to say that this is out of character is an obvious lie as you already have 11 points for speeding... and that is how the board will look at it.

However, this is not a battering GYKD for speeding thread this time...

But people have given you sound advise about the letter/not writting it/showing a legal advisor and you appear to have not used any of the advise given.

And i seriously doubt a police officer is going to tell you that you are a safe rider after you have just caused him to chase you for miles.... that is like him watching a scumbag rapist doing his thing then arresting him and saying 'by the way, nice technique' not going to happen

[timwilky]

Originally Posted by getyerkneedown

I dont know how you can say that. Have you ridden with me? Ask any of the people i used to ride with and they will vouch that while fast, i am not dangerous. The police officers even said as much when they stopped me.

I pride myself on my riding, yes im an excessive speeder, but thats all im guilty of. Not being dangerous.

Joe, it is Joe isn't it.?

I am not having a go or saying that your riding is dangerous. Simply that the courts have no knowledge of your riding abilities and will take the view that you are a known habitual speeder and punish you accordingly.

A character witness may be able to verify that this last act of speeding was now not your normal behavoir. But unfortunately you have to balance that against the records that the court hold that show you have been given 3 other prior "warnings" about your speed.

Mitigating circumstances as such would be where a ban could cause severe penalty upon third parties. Such as if you were required to transport an elderly or disabled close family member as the sole or principle driver. Loosing ones job is generally not looked on as mitiging circumstances as the loss of a licence does not prevent you from working, but simply limits the type of work you can do.

As I said in my earlier post. I hope all goes well for you. Get yourself good legal representation. They are generally more proficient at convincing their worships as to how remorseful thier client is, than you could ever hope to do yourself.

Originally Posted by timwilky

Young Man!.

... please expect a sever and fine.

Which bit of him should he expect them to cut off. Ouch

Originally Posted by DeeJay

And i seriously doubt a police officer is going to tell you that you are a safe rider after you have just caused him to chase you for miles.... that is like him watching a scumbag rapist doing his thing then arresting him and saying 'by the way, nice technique' not going to happen

Well thats exactly what PC Broadhead of North Yorkshire Police said. "In all fairness to you, you werent dangerous, just too plain fast"

having read ALL related threads and posts, i have come to a conclusion, and whilst this is only my opinion, and others deffinately have there own.

a ban is a long time coming. and the least you deserve. to even consider running from the cops , let olone on a 400cc, whilst being chased by a prepped subaru. what was going through your head!!!!!

habitual speeder, i dont know how long youve had a license but it hasnt taken you long to reach the finish line, i have speeding points but i have learned from them ( mainly where not to go too fast) and it could be said that they are an occupational hazard for the leisure biker, but you dont appear to have learnt anything from your pulls. and as for trying to outrun the cops, the police attempted to pull you beacause they felt that your speed was a danger to yourself or other road users, how can racing off help that.....

bad luck and all that, but one potential less red patch on a lampost.

Comments from all who've posted them read, and understood.

To those who think that fast riding=dangerous... try signing onto the IAM course. I did and learnt a lot from them... mainly, how to ride fast yet safe.

My instructor, a chap called Phil on a ducati supersport 800, explained a few very good things... little sayings like "sacrifice line for safety" and "hope to go, plan to stop"

I got nothing but praise from him for my riding ability, my observation etc... yes i still have things to learn - we all do. Anyone who thinks that we never stop learning is deluding themselves.

But if you sign onto the IAM course, you will soon realise that riding fast, is NOT dangerous.

To those who have called me wreckless, dangerous, a hazard etc... ill bear your comments in mind, and when i get back into bikes - about 4 years from now, well go for a ride... and you will be made to eat your words.

I know that im not dangerous, the police who pulled me knew i wasnt dangerous, AND SAID AS SUCH. I do know people who ARE dangerous, and the things they do are just stupid.

Also, im not a leisure biker or weekend warrior... i use the bike as main transport, and for 4 years of my riding/driving career, bikes were my sole form of transport. My average milage on bikes each year has been in the region of 35-40 THOUSAND.

I beg to differ.

I don't think anyone is really having a go here...

I think we would all agree that the appropriate use of speed is not dangerous, BUT the court (which is what you are talking about) will not see it that way. They deal in facts and the facts are that according to your record you look like a habitual speeder. They will therefore, deal with you as such and you will get banned - harsh but that is the law.

No one can comment on your riding unless they have been out with you, but again that is not the role of the court. As far as they are concerned you have been caught breaking the law, a law that you have a record of breaking on other occasions, therefore, you will be punished as a repeat offender - simple as that.

Coupled with all of that, you ran from the Police. That act will mean pleading mitigating circumstances will be useless. Again the court will assume that you KNEW you were breaking the law (i.e it wasn't a simple mistake) and you attempted to evade capture. Frankly I think you are shafted, it'll be at least a year and a fine.

Also, above all else make sure you get proper legal representation at court. It'll be worth the money... As has been said you have been fast tracked through the court, what you don't want is a nightmare...

I can't be arsed going and finding the thread, but I thought that GYKD was just being done for excessive speeding, no mention was made of running from the police?

IMO speeding does NOT equal dangerous. Going 75 mph on a motorway is considered speeding, does that mean its also dangerous? oh please.

Good luck with this GYKD

Sorry having read your past comments I think you need the book throwing at you. You have a history of speeding, you have admitted to a DR10 offence (Driving/Attempting to Drive with excess alcohol), you say you practiced riding your bike by jumping up on the tank and riding with no hands, and you have run from the police - I fail to see how anyone would not come to the conclusion that you are a rider we would prefer not to see on the public roads.