A MOTORCYCLIST who was caught riding his bike at more than twice the legal speed limit has been fined £1,005 and banned from the roads for two months.
Nicholas Paul Richardson was distracted at the time because his mother-in-law had just died and he could not hear the order to stop through his motorcycle helmet, Advocate Francesca Pinel, defending, told the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
However, Richardson admitted the charges of speeding and failing to abide by an instruction to stop.
Richardson (46) had been spotted travelling along Rue St Thomas in St Saviour at 42mph on 12 May. The speed limit is 20mph.
St Saviour Centenier Steven Laffoley-Edwards told the court that traffic officers had been carrying out speed checks on the road that morning and at 7.22am noticed Richardson far exceeding the limit.
They signalled to him to stop, but Mr Laffoley-Edwards said: ‘He slowed down, but then sped up as the police officers approached.
‘An officer walked towards the bike but the rider continued on his journey.’
Advocate Pinel said that Richardson travelled along the road every day.
However, she added: ‘On that day Mr Richardson had simply lost track of the speed he was doing.
‘His mother-in-law had just died in another country, and he and his wife were travelling out that day to identify her body.’
She added: ‘He had his helmet on and he simply didn’t hear the officer telling him to stop.
‘He said he thought the officer was telling him to slow down, not stop.’
Advocate Pinel also said that Richardson was a driver by profession, and disqualification would affect his job.
The court also heard that he had a previous conviction for a motoring offence dating back 16 years.
Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu fined Richardson £255 for speeding and imposed a further fine of £750 for failing to stop when instructed to do so, as well as the two-month disqualification.
