callippo Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 A woman is jailed after driving the wrong way along a motorway for 23 miles while twice over the drink-drive limit. Deborah Hunt drove at 60 miles an hour late at night along the M5 in Somerset, carrying out a U-turn, dodging oncoming traffic and "causing terror in members of the public". CCTV cameras showed her travelling part of the way in the fast lane. The mother-of-three, from Langport, Somerset, was jailed for nine months at Bristol Crown Court after admitting dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and driving without insurance. Alcoholism and stress The court heard that Hunt, an unemployed former financial adviser, suffered from alcoholism and stress and was involved in a child custody battle with her ex-husband. Judge Mark Horton was told that she briefly headed south after joining the motorway before stunning other drivers by performing a U-turn and driving north. She was found by police on the hard shoulder struggling to restart the engine of her partner's Peugeot 806. Hunt cried as Judge Horton told her: "You drove for something in excess of 20 miles on the wrong side of the road, causing terror in members of the public lawfully using the motorway to travel in the right direction. "You risked causing massive loss of life and huge destruction of property. You suffer from a severe illness. Alcoholism is a severe illness. It is tragic in one sense that society has forgotten, in its obsession with the damage caused by drugs, how much more damage is caused by alcohol. "It is clear that the combination of the stress and alcoholism you have suffered created an extremely dangerous position, culminating in this offence. I would be failing in my duty if I did not reflect the seriousness of what you did by imposing an immediate custodial sentence." At least 10 motorists called 999 to report her dangerous driving, but her defence barrister Nigel Askham said her recollection of events was "hazy". He added: "She cannot say why it is that she was driving up the wrong side of the motorway. It was a ridiculous piece of driving which, in the cold light of day, she has to acknowledge." 'Outrageously perilous act' Superintendent Ian Smith, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Deborah Hunt was lucky not to have killed someone or herself. Drink-driving is in itself an inherently dangerous act, but to drive on a motorway contrary to the flow of traffic is an outrageously perilous act that could have resulted in the most catastrophic of consequences. "What makes this more appalling is the lack of regard she has shown in terms of the consequences of her criminal actions that may have resulted in her own death or serious injury." http://www.channel4.com/news/woman-jailed-for-driving-wrong-way-along-motorway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callippo Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 this is pretty bad but is it the worst? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMaquis Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 No one was killed for a start off. What about Derrick Bird a year ago who went on a shooting spree in his taxi, killing 12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincero dOro Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 No one was killed for a start off. What about Derrick Bird a year ago who went on a shooting spree in his taxi, killing 12? That plane landing on the M1 looked pretty dangerous to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John X Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 That plane landing on the M1 looked pretty dangerous to me. I suppose you could call 47 dead, 'pretty dangerous'. John X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 No one was killed for a start off. That's down to tremendous luck, more than anything. If two people commit "dangerous" acts, one of which has a 1% chance of causing a death and the other has a 99% chance of causing a death - which is the more dangerous? If the 1% chance comes up and the 99% chance somehow does not ... that doesn't alter which was the more dangerous act. That's just luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 That's down to tremendous luck, more than anything. If two people commit "dangerous" acts, one of which has a 1% chance of causing a death and the other has a 99% chance of causing a death - which is the more dangerous? I see your point, but she made it "in excess of 20 miles", if it truly was the 'most dangerous driving ever' then her not having an accident would be so incomprehensibly unlikely that I'd be pretty comfortable dismissing the possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eater Sundae Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 They said on the news that she got a ban until she sorted out her alcohol problem. I think that's a good idea. It always seems wrong that someone with a continuing problem can get their licence back after a fixed period of time regardless of their fitness to drive. In effect she's got an indeterminate ban. Only if she sorts herself out will she be allowed to drive again. I don't know how they will verify she is OK, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT Ralge Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Worst, most dangerous, simply reckless ... I don't know and my early morning experiences are no different from anyone else on here, I guess. I travel extensively for work and frequently cross over to Manchester. I am increasingly wary in this trip of those chancers who have a plan to overtake at the drop of a hat. Dealing with such drivers is a daily event so why write today? Well, driving over the Snake was uneventful, nobody overtook me. Coming out of Hathersage, NSL was achieved but as I approached the junction off to Bamford I slowed behind a loo-emptying truck and was aware of a couple of BMW's making a move up the queue. The first dived in behind me. The second dived in ahead of me behind the truck, crossing the hatching that protects a right-turner at the crossroads. Without prior knowledge of the second BMW I could easily have moved into his path. This would have been a case of violator meeting a lapse. Still, this had been a bit of a buzz and he probably got to Castleton on time. I turned right along with the first BMW, moseyed on through Bamford at 40 then at 30. Exiting Bamford we move back up to 50. I fully expected the BMW to overtake which he duly did however prior to the change in the limit with apparently no thought given to the residential road on the right just before the change in limit. By good fortune (and best practice) the driver of the car that emerged from this side road at this precise moment looked left before exiting and didn't cross the GW line prior to looking. This could have been a case of violator meeting error. The driver of the BMW raced ahead, no doubt pleased by the progress he was making. Shame I caught him up at the Snake Pass Inn and then followed him and a bunch of others all the way into Glossop. Not a lot of evidence of "what if's" in the actions of these two drivers. Anyway, glad I got that off my chest - it is a little scary how many drivers rely on the good sense and best practice of other drivers to stay clear of bent metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Spyda Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Dangerous? She'd have to be a pretty decent driver to be able to get that far without having an accident, all after being over twice the limit too. She must have excellent driving skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.