Skip to main content

Faster

A handful of British-registered performance cars proved something of a handful for the French police recently. The five cars, including two Porsches and a Lamborghini, rocketed past an off-duty officer travelling in his own vehicle along a stretch of autoroute close to the Spanish border. Because of the high speeds involved, the French police opted to use a helicopter operating out of its base in Bayonne to track the cars. The drivers did spot the helicopter tailing them and then slowed down but were still
July 1, 2015 Read time: 1 min
A handful of British-registered performance cars proved something of a handful for the French police recently. The five cars, including two Porsches and a Lamborghini, rocketed past an off-duty officer travelling in his own vehicle along a stretch of autoroute close to the Spanish border. Because of the high speeds involved, the French police opted to use a helicopter operating out of its base in Bayonne to track the cars. The drivers did spot the helicopter tailing them and then slowed down but were still booked for speeding when they halted to pay their tolls at the next booth. The French police were less than impressed and imposed large on-the-spot fines, although they had not been able to determine the exact speed of the vehicles from the air.

Related Content

  • Brake calls for tougher sentences for UK road death drivers
    May 28, 2014
    UK road safety charity Brake has renewed calls for tougher charges and penalties for drivers who kill and injure following the publication of British government criminal justice figures for 2013. The figures show the large proportion of drivers who kill and seriously injure being let off with relatively low penalties, reinforcing the importance of a forthcoming review of charges and penalties, recently announced by government. In total, 438 drivers were convicted of causing death or bodily harm. Just over
  • Weigh-in-motion key to maximising road life
    February 24, 2012
    The market and technology for weigh-in-motion systems continues to evolve – Mike Woof writes. for both mature and developing highway infrastructure networks, traffic densities play an important role in determining road wear and life. Monitoring traffic volumes and individual vehicle weight is crucial for ensuring roads can cope in the long term and that maintenance can be planned, while the problem of overloading can be eliminated.
  • What kind of future is there for road tolls?
    November 12, 2013
    Hugh Basham, transport strategy and policy director, UK and Ireland, at DHL Supply Chain, enters the ongoing global debate around the use of road tolls Road pricing has always polarised opinion. Whilst road users - who are already struggling to cope with high fuel prices and insurance premiums – may resent the additional expense, environmentalists and frequent drivers often welcome the introduction of tolls as offering an escape from gridlocked roads. Charging to use the road network isn’t a new phenomenon
  • Argentinan study backs up previous research highlighting women safer drivers than males
    December 8, 2014
    A study carried out in Argentina by NGO Luchemos por la Vida reveals that female drivers are safer than male drivers. The study was based on data from 4,724 drivers in Buenos Aires city. The results reveal that women drivers take fewer risks and are less likely to break the law than male drivers. Women drivers wear seat belts more than men, are less likely to drive through red lights and are also less likely to use a phone while behind the wheel. The findings match previous international studies.