Speeder too rich to dodge car ban (From Malvern Gazette)

Speeder too rich to dodge car ban

10:15am Thursday 24th December 2009

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A MAN who earned more than half a million pounds last year argued he should not be disqualified from driving because it would cause his family hardship.

Peter Mullins, aged 56, told magistrates his former wife, grown-up children, fiancée and her grown-up children all depended on him financially, and would be the innocent victims of a ban for speeding.

He claimed his inability to drive would badly affect his financial services business, already hit by recession, and said, despite his earnings, he could not afford a chauffeur.

Worcester Magistrates Court heard that Mullins, of Priestfields, Hanley Castle, near Upton-on-Severn, admitted doing 49mph in a 30mph limit while driving his Jaguar on the B4208 at Welland, near Malvern, in October 2008.

Due to previous speeding convictions, he was in danger of an automatic driving ban that he asked to be waived through a legal process known as exceptional hardship.

Mullins said he paid £24,000 a year to his former wife and supported his children, one of whom was on a gap year, as well as his fiancée, who was trying to become a professional singer, and her children.

He said he did not want his children to get into debt at university or as they started their careers.

However, when asked by district judge Bruce Morgan whether his income for 2009 was £614,000 and £825,000 for the year before, Mullins said that was correct before tax.

He said: “My business was very successful but is affected greatly by the recession. I’m having to work hard to slow down the effects of the recession and put more miles in.”

Disqualifying him for six months, Mr Morgan said: “I accept he’s a caring parent and partner but I can’t by a long chalk find it’s exceptional hardship. He’s a man earning half a million pounds a year. Most people who come before the court aren’t in his position.

“His family may be put out and he may not want his children to get into debt at university but that’s a land most people don’t inhabit at all. The answer is simple. Don’t drive at these speeds.”

Mr Morgan also gave him five penalty points, fined him £450 and ordered him to pay £150 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

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