M4 speeding driver from Swindon banned for just 3 weeks
Daniel Dickinson, 32, of Copse Avenue, pleaded guilty to speeding at Swindon[1] Magistrates' Court on Monday, April 28. Mr Cook, prosecuting, explained that it was 1:40am on July 22 when Dickinson was driving on the busy motorway in a Ford Transit van at 109 mph. Officers, who were conducting speed checks on the M4, pulled the 32-year-old over, told him he would be reported and handed him a traffic offence report, before he was allowed on his way.
In mitigation, Mr Mott, defending, admitted his client's driving history had not been good, but instead had been "rather torturous" after he received a driving ban in Wales on September 13, 2022 and a day later received six penalty points in Cheltenham, which remained valid at the time of this offence. Mr Mott said the speeding offence last year was a "one off" but acknowledged that if the magistrates took his 2022 offences into account, they may think otherwise, but it was important to remember they were some time ago. Recommended reading
Leading up to being stopped by police, Dickinson was travelling westbound on the M4 from London towards junction 15, and had been stuck behind a vehicle and looking for an opportunity to overtake, but didn't have the speed to do so in the van on the uphill section of the motorway. Then, heading downhill, Mr Mott said the 32-year-old "got past the vehicle far too quickly" but argued he had not left London "tearing along at 100mph the whole journey", but accepts he should have been abiding by the speed limit nevertheless. The court also heard that the shop fitter drives roughly around 50,000 to 60,000 miles a year, managing several teams and often driving them, and his "foolishness" would cause others to suffer as they would be forced to find other work if he couldn't drive them.
Dickinson also relies on his licence for the school run and taking his daughter to various dance and sport classes, so a lengthy ban would have a significant impact on his life.
The bench imposed a 21-day disqualification and fined Dickinson GBP620.
He must also pay a surcharge of GBP248 and prosecution costs of GBP90, totalling GBP958.