Biker busted by forward facing GATSO

Wishing he was on a blue R6? Busted biker, Coffey

IT SEEMS these days we're not immune to forward facing GATSOs, that is, if Philip Coffey's experience is anything to go by.

The bus driving biker loathed speed cameras and would ride through a forward facing camera, sometimes over 100mph, and raise two fingers at the camera as it flashed.

Coffey got away with this for a while as police had no numberplate to go on, and could not see his face as it was obscured by his lid.

However, police were clearly determined to bust Coffey. They searched the national registration database and liaised with BMW to reveal that only 3 of these BMWs were registered in Bedfordshire. The search was then narrowed down to Coffey when his leathers were found to match those on the pictures but also, his additional headlights gave police extra clues to go on.

The prosecutor, Natalie Carter, said the combination of high speed and riding with only one hand on the controls on five of the occasions elevated the offences from speeding to dangerous driving.

The offences took place between February and June last year when he was caught by the same three cameras in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, when he was driving to or from his bus depot in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Coffey told the jury: "A lot of the time I was just accelerating for the cameras. I don't like them, I don't like the existence of them in this country."

He admitted he thought he would not get caught. The jury cleared him of dangerous driving but convicted him of nine counts of careless driving. He then pleaded guilty to a further nine charges of speeding. He was banned from driving for a year, fined £900 with £600 costs.

This teaches us all a lesson; if you're going to speed through cameras and give them the V sign, do it on a blue R6..