10mph motorway driver given 7 day ban

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A 7 day ban for this is a joke..

10mph motorway driver given ban

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A woman has been banned from driving for seven days after she drove along a motorway at speeds lower than 10mph.
Stephanie Cole, 58, of Fishponds, Bristol, repeatedly jammed on the brakes as she straddled the hard shoulder and inside lane of the M32.

When police caught her there was a sign on the back of her car which read: "I do not drive fast, please overtake."

Mrs Cole, who admitted driving without reasonable consideration, was also ordered to take another driving test.

Magistrates said they took into consideration the fact that Mrs Cole has multiple sclerosis.

When officers stopped Mrs Cole, she told them she had "no confidence" on the motorway.


Mrs Cole has been undergoing treatment for "fear of driving"

She had been travelling from her home to a Staples stationery store when she was arrested by police on 30 August.

"I really didn't want to go on the motorway, but I desperately had to go to Staples for an ink cartridge," she said.

"I don't know any other way to get to it so I went that way," she added.

"I think it was one of those things you do by mistake and that's exactly it was, I was on there by mistake.

"It just felt awful. I didn't know what to do. I panicked and turned to jelly inside and I didn't know what to do."

North Avon Magistrates' Court had previously heard that Mrs Cole's GP had been treating her for "fear of driving" for the past three-and-a-half years.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7171154.stm

The history:

Woman with 'fear of driving' facing a ban for crawling along motorway at 10mph

A woman who suffers a driving phobia is facing a ban after police caught her crawling along a motorway at 10mph.

Stephanie Cole, 57, was spotted in her Malaysian-made Perodua Kenari with a sign in the back which read "I do not drive fast, please overtake", a court heard yesterday.

She was straddling the hard shoulder and the inside lane of the M32 in Bristol and, despite driving at walking pace, repeatedly jammed on her brakes.

Officers pulled Mrs Cole over, and she told them: "I'm scared. I've no confidence on the motorway. Last time this happened a policeman drove me there."

Mrs Cole, of Fishponds, Bristol, pleaded guilty by letter to driving without reasonable consideration.

In the letter read to North Avon Magistrates' Court Mrs Cole said her GP had been treating her for a "fear of driving" for the last three-and-a-half years.

She said: "I have suffered from a driving anxiety for some time and I have been receiving counselling for the problem. I apologise for my behaviour. I think a driver improvement course would help."

Magistrates adjourned sentence until January 4 for her to appear in court, saying that she was likely to be banned.

Sue Thomas, prosecuting, said Mrs Cole was en route to a Staples stationery store on August 30 when she was seen by PC Duncan Verel.

He followed her as she drove down the hard shoulder and back on to the motorway at less than 10mph. She then lurched across the inside lane at crawling pace as speeding traffic swerved around her and then, in confusion, put her hazard lights on.

In a statement read to the court Constable Verel said: "As I entered the motorway traffic was slowing and swerving to the right to avoid a Perodua Kenari.

"I got four metres behind the car and signalled for it to pull over. It had a yellow sign on the back saying 'I do not drive fast, please overtake'.

"I spoke to the driver and told her the way she was driving was dangerous and she told me she had no confidence, and the last time this had happened a policeman drove her there.

"I began escorting her back on to the motorway and it was quite clear how slowly she was driving. I was still in first gear and the engine was only ticking over. She was continually braking and still maintained a speed under 10mph."

PC Verel then pulled Mrs Cole over again and cautioned her for careless driving before guiding her off the motorway.

Magistrates' chairman Malcolm Richardson said: "We have no doubt that the bench should seriously consider banning Mrs Cole from driving for this offence.

"We have heard from police officers that road users were put in danger by Mrs Cole.

"The fact that it is caused by a medical condition does not remove the need for her to be a capable driver on the road.

"We shall adjourn the case till January 4 when she can appear. I hope she doesn't drive here."

Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...r crawling along motorway at 10mph/article.do
 
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Agreed. And a retest.

In the OP she was ordered to take a retest.

If she was doing 10mph on a road with a limit of 70, then the cars would be approaching her at 60mph at least.

Equivilent to someone driving at you in a 30mph zone from the wrong direction! :eek: scary.

She probably won't pass her test if she drives like that lol
 
How on earth did she pass her test in the first place? This woman should have her licence revoked until she can prove her confidence has improved!
 
How on earth did she pass her test in the first place? This woman should have her licence revoked until she can prove her confidence has improved!
This was my first question.. unless she formed this driving anxiety after the test?!
 
She pretty much has a long term ban; being ordered to retake her test when there is no way she will pass.
 
What's the point in driving when you do that speed?

Might as well walk.

She has multiple sclerosis so I assume has difficulty walking.


There's no way she'll pass a second test if she drives everywhere at 10mph. She shouldn't be allowed to drive, and I think she's completely irresponsible for putting other people at risk for sake of an ink cartridge from Staples.
 
I think this is the right call. Means she can get back to driving only when and if she can get her driving up to scratch.

If we had a program of monitoring and retesting a lot of people like this would sort their driving out before it got this bad.
 
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Ridiculous verdict imo (although that's a slight on the CPS not the Police).

If she had been doing 90 she would've been looking at points or maybe a ban, but she does 10mph with other drivers doing ~70 and expecting everyone else to be doing the same and she gets a token 7 day ban? I'd wager that doing 10mph on a motorway is significantly more dangerous to other road users than doing 90+

If we're talking about the same terminal velocities then people doing 70mph with her doing 10mph, they'd have an impact speed of 60mph. If you were stopped doing 130mph on the motorway (the equivalent terminal crash velocity of 60mph with cars travelling in the same direction at 70) you'd get a damn sight longer than 7 days ban.
 
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