Cricket legend Shane Warne has been banned in the UK from driving after he crossed a speed limit in the country. Warne has pleaded guilty at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court to driving at a higher speed than the speed limit. He has been handed a ban and has to pay massive fine amount too.
The former Australian spin bowler was not present at the court for the hearing. Warne already had 15 penalty points to his license for five speeding offences from April 2016. With the latest offence, the court awarded him a 12-month ban. He was also ordered to pay a total fine of Rs £1,845, which converts to around Rs 1.6 lakh in INR. He was handed £775 in costs, £900 in fine and an additional surcharge of £170.
Shane Warne was caught speed and he was doing 47 mph in a 40 mph zone, which is 10 km/h more than the speed limit set by the authorities. He was in the UK for some personal work and had hired a Jaguar car to drive around in the country. Effective immediately, he is will not be allowed to drive in the UK for the next 12 months. He was reportedly driving around in a Jaguar XK
The judge Adrian Turner, who was hearing the case said that the purpose of disqualification is to punish and to protect the public and to deter. He further added,
“There are 15 points to take into account together with the three I must impose today. Between April 2016 and August last year, Warne committed six speeding offences. It may well be that none on its own were particularly serious but for points disqualification purposes the triviality of the offences is not to be taken into account. A period of 12 months is necessary for the purposes I have mentioned,”
Speeding offences or for that matter any other traffic violation offence is taken quite seriously in the developed countries like the UK and the USA. Committing any illegal activity on the roads adds demerit points to the violaters license. Over time the demerit points are added and the license can be seized or a ban can be handed over to the violator.
The stricter laws help such countries to maintain the traffic movement and keep a tab on the number of accidents. Such hefty fines also ensure that the motorists do not violate the rules. Interestingly, from 1st September 2019, heavy traffic violations have been introduced in India too. However, the fines remain lower than most of the fines applicable in the developed countries. Yet, the fines were met with heavy opposition from a few state governments and motorists. A few state governments have even decided not to impose the higher fines as is. India has a long way to go when it comes to maintaining the traffic decorum and with a high rate of accidents, only strict imposing of the rules can bring the situation under control.
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