Former top UK traffic cop banned from driving

If the irony of being a traffic cop caught speeding isn’t enough for you, Meredydd Hughes has the cure. His hypocritical behavior has landed him a 42-day ban from driving and a £350 fine, not to mention the scorn of nearly every pro- and anti-speeding activist in Britain.

The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police and former Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead member on road policing was caught going 90mph in a 60mph zone in May of this year. He was facing a £1000 fine for his actions, so in some ways he got off lightly. According to Reuters Hughes was sentenced at a hearing he did not attend after pleading guilty to the offense.

The real icing on the cake, however, is the level of hypocrisy shown by Hughes. It’s one thing for a police officer to be caught speeding; it’s entirely another for that police officer to have appeared in an anti-speeding DVD advocating the use of speed cameras and tough action against speeders with the following to say: “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.” Good advice, that. Pity he didn’t take it to heart.