Banned after driving at 135mph on the A1

Driving a powerful car on the A1 a 30-year-old man '˜opened up' on a straight stretch of road and reached a speed of 135mph, Banbridge Magistrates Court heard last Friday.

Andrew Williamson, Ashgrove Crescent, Banbridge, admitted excess speed on June 6 this year.

He was fined £250, ordered to pay a £15 offender’ levy and banned from driving for six months.

For having an incorrect form of registration mark he was fined £75.

The court was informed that at 9.35pm he was detected doing 135mph in a 70mph zone on the A1 at Loughbrickland.

It was stated that Williamson was also displaying an incorrect form of registration on the vehicle.

A barrister representing Williamson handed in to the court a letter from his client apologising and setting out the background.

He explained that the defendant had three men working for him and District Judge Eamonn King said he was going to have to get a fourth.

The barrister told the court that this was a high-powered vehicle and his client had experience of track racing.

He added that it was a straight part of the road and that the defendant “opened up”.

The barrister informed the district judge that the vehicle was no longer on the road and was being used as a track car.

Judge King said a speed of 135mph in a 70mph zone was just too fast and meant an immediate disqualification.

He pointed out that Williamson’s record showed that back in 2014 the defendant had been convicted of a charge of dangerous driving and had received a suspended sentence.

Related topics: