Biker trapped at 232km/h
2004-12-19 23:17
Scottburgh - A Gauteng motorcyclist on Sunday pleaded not guilty to travelling 232km/h on a KwaZulu-Natal highway on a motorbike allegedly not fitted with registration plates or a properly displayed licence disc.
KwaZulu-Natal traffic spokesperson Colin Govender said Malcolm John Cochrane, 45, of Kensington in Johannesburg, had a female passenger on his Kawasaki 1000cc when he was caught in a 120km/hour zone on the N2 at Park Rynie.
Cochrane, on holiday in KwaZulu-Natal, was released on bail of R3 000 by the roadside magistrate's court in Park Rynie after indicating that he intended appointing an attorney to defend him.
The case against him was postponed to January 21, when he would have to appear in the Scottburgh magistrate's court, said Govender.
He said Cochrane's motorbike was impounded in Park Rynie and would remain locked up until it was fitted with registration plates and properly displayed a licence disc.
Although penalties for breaking the speed limit were at the discretion of magistrates, motorists recently found guilty of speeds of 200km/h, 206km/h and 207km/h - in different magisterial districts - had faced fines of about R13 000, R18 000 and R22 000, said Govender.
The Sunday Times has reported that few drivers caught this festive season doing speeds of up to 244km/h in 120km/h speed zones expressed regret when interviewed, with one even joking that he would do it again if he had the money to pay the fine.
The drivers it confronted were:
Pierre Botha, 34, of Mossel Bay, caught doing 244km/h in a Volvo T5 on the N2 at Great Brak River, Western Cape, while trying to reach his ailing two-year-old child was fined R3 000;
Shubnum Rambally, of Avoca, trapped going 207km/h in a BMW on the N2 at Park Rynie, was fined R13 000;
Johan Frederick Niemand, 26, a holidaymaker, fined R17 000 for driving 206km/h in his Honda S2000, with his son buckled up and asleep on the front seat;
Jacobus Buys, of Amanzimtoti, clocked at 199km/h on a Yamaha R1 motorbike at Park Rynie, was fined R12 000; and
Neil Dheepraj, fined R18 000 after being nabbed for driving at 194km/h in a Mercedes-Benz Kompressor between Kokstad and Durban.
Driving at speeds of more than 200km/h showed an absolute disregard for the law, Arrive Alice spokesperson Wendy Watson told the newspaper.
"You can drive at 130km/h or 140km/h by mistake, but I'm sorry, you can't drive at more than 200km/h by mistake," she reportedly said.
- SAPA