PC who drove at 122mph is cleared
A POLICE driving instructor who jumped red lights and drove at 101mph in a 30mph zone on the way to a meeting at his son’s college was cleared of any driving offences yesterday.
PC Paul Brown reached speeds of 122mph on a dual carriageway in an unmarked BMW X . Dashcam footage also showed the 48-year-old approaching roundabouts on the wrong side of the road with the vehicle’s blue lights on.
But he was cleared of 16 motoring offences after he said he was carrying out a self-assessment of his skills, known as continuing professional development. He argued this exempted him from traffic laws – despite experts saying it was not standard practice.
PC Brown, a Norfolk Police driving instructor since 2016 who now serves with Police Scotland, was given permission to use the car on April 30 last year to attend City College Norwich.
Cars and lorries pulled over to let him pass, but in court he dismissed claims he was rushing to the appointment as ‘utter nonsense’. Onboard
telemetry showed PC Brown had driven at 122mph on the A11 dual carriageway and 101mph in a temporary 30mph zone.
He told Ipswich magistrates: ‘I wanted to keep my driving skills up to scratch.’ He could have disengaged the car’s recording equipment, but left it running to analyse his performance.
Presiding magistrate Anne Walker called on Norfolk and Suffolk Police to draw up clear procedures for driving instructor training.
PC Brown has been suspended from driving duties since the incident.