Police driving expert caught at 118mph

Jan 15 2008 By Louise Hosie, The Journal

THE former head of a police driving school has been banned from the roads after being caught speeding at 118mph.

Paul Gee, 49, was clocked by a mobile camera near Falkirk in Central Scotland while on duty.

Gee, of Heddon-on-the-Wall in Northumberland, who recently retired as an inspector with Durham Constabulary, admitted the charge at Falkirk Sheriff Court yesterday.

He was disqualified from driving for three months and fined £500.

Gee claimed to have been testing the route to see if it was suitable as a training ground for traffic officers. His force tried to get Central Scotland Police to exempt him, but they refused and pursued the prosecution.

Sheriff Craig Caldwell told Gee: “I have sat here on very many occasions saying to those who use these roads that people who drive at near, and especially above, 100mph will not retain their driving licences.

“Your speed is perhaps not the highest I have seen, but it is very high indeed.”

Gee, who trained officers at Durham Constabulary’s advanced traffic school, was caught speeding on the M8 at a bridge near Falkirk on November 3.

The court heard Gee was caught speeding while going to pick up an officer who had been receiving treatment for a back injury at a rehabilitation centre in Auchterarder, Perthshire.

His solicitor David Hunter said: “On his way there, he took the view that he could drive at this speed on the basis he was looking to consider new routes for driver training.” Mr Hunter agreed with the sheriff that Gee had not adopted the correct protocol on this occasion by informing the police. He added that a later attempt had been made on his client’s behalf to contact Central Scotland Police for an exemption under road traffic legislation, but this was rejected.

The court heard that when Gee saw the speed camera, he moved from the outside lane to the inside lane and reduced his speed.

Gee had earlier pleaded not guilty to the speeding offence and his case was due to go to trial.

Mr Hunter said the court would have heard evidence that police forces train advanced drivers on motorways throughout the UK. Gee, a serving officer for 30 years, was awaiting the outcome of the case before getting another job, his solicitor said.

Sheriff Caldwell told Gee he had failed to adopt the “right mechanisms and protocols” by which driving at such a speed would have been allowed by the local police force.

Gee refused to comment outside court, but the length of the driving ban was criticised by road safety charity Brake.

Spokeswoman Lorna Jackson said: “Nobody should be travelling on a public road at 118mph. There can be no excuse for such a blatant flouting of the law.

“A three-month ban fails to adequately reflect the danger that this driver posed. Police are there to uphold the law, not put life at risk by travelling at excessive speeds.”

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “We have been closely following the case and have been informed of the result and the comments made by the sheriff.

“Since Mr Gee is no longer an employee, no further action is required by the force.”