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LONDON - A top British policeman who was the country's chief officer in charge of traffic was banned from driving on Wednesday after pleading guilty to speeding.
Meredydd Hughes, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police and until recently the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) lead on road policing, was banned from driving for 42 days and fined 350 pounds ($955) after he pleaded guilty to exceeding the speed limit while on a family holiday.
There was no immediate comment from Hughes or his force after the judgement against him at Wrexham magistrates court in north Wales. Hughes did not attend the proceedings.
"Mr Hughes' hypocrisy is absolutely breathtaking," said Paul Smith, founder of safespeed.co.uk a group that campaigns for speed enforcement cameras to be scrapped.
"He has been promoting speed enforcement as a means of improving road safety, but clearly did not believe that his safety was compromised by speeding." Hughes appeared in a DVD titled "How to avoid speeding fines and points legally" in which he backed the use of cameras and firm action against speeding motorists.
In a clip made available by the DVD's producers, Hughes says: "Speed limits in a democracy are set for a purpose and we are expected to abide by the law. You can't pick and choose which laws you want to abide by."
- REUTERS
