JUDGE SPARED DRIVING BAN
KEEPS LICENCE DESPITE REACHING 12 POINTS WITH LATEST SPEEDING OFFENCE
A JUDGE who has repeatedly been caught speeding has escaped a driving ban.
Duncan Bould, 59, has racked up 12 points for four driving offences – including for using his mobile at the wheel – in less than three years.
Normally, that would mean an automatic ban under the ‘totting up’ system. But at his most recent sentencing hearing – for speeding 55mph down Princess Parkway – magistrates allowed the judge to keep his licence.
Bould has worked as a recorder – a part-time judge – for 15 years. He regularly sits in north Wales passing sentence on criminals, and also works as a defence barrister at courts including Manchester.
But, since 2015, Bould’s flouting of motoring laws has put him on the wrong side of the law on a number of occasions.
In March 2015, Bould was caught chatting on his mobile phone at the wheel. Six months later, he was caught speeding in Wrexham. In April 2017 he was caught speeding in a Volkswagen on Princess Parkway, near to the junction with the M60 at Northenden.
Even though Bould went on to commit yet another speeding offence three months after he was caught on the Parkway, magistrates sitting at Manchester let him keep his licence on the grounds of ‘exceptional hardship.’
In a prepared statement handed to magistrates, Bould said he needed to retain his licence because of his 13-year-old daughter’s medical condition.
Magistrates agreed to his request and said they were doing so for the benefit of his daughter, not because of his job.
Chair of the bench Mark Aspden said: “It’s disappointing to see a man of such standing in the legal community here today.”
Bould was fined £500, ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £50 victim surcharge. He told magistrates was sorry for committing the offence, saying he believed the Parkway was subject to the national speed limit.
The national speed limit, signified by a white circular sign with a black stripe diagonally across it, is 60mph on single carriageways, and 70mph on dual carriageways.
A member of the Chester-based Lilenhall Chambers, Bould, from Wrexham, was appointed as a recorder in 2003. He declined to comment after the hearing.
Campaigns director at driving safety charity Brake, Joshua Harris, said: “It is vital public figures set a positive example of safe driving behaviour and that the law is enforced clearly and consistently.
“The penalty points system exists to protect the public by taking dangerous repeat offenders off the road, while giving drivers who have made a mistake a chance to change their driving behaviour.
“If drivers who rack up 12 points aren’t banned, it makes a mockery of the system and is an insult to those who have suffered tragedy on our roads.
“Given his background, this individual ought to know that fact better than most. We must see stricter enforcement of the 12 point rule to ensure our roads are safe from dangerous repeat offenders.”