Driver Fined £36,000 for Speeding During a Single Night

A British driver has managed to amass speeding fines totalling tens of thousands of pounds after caning a rented Lamborghini in the emirates.

We all love the idea of owning an exotic sports car – but for most of us, it’s probably not something that we will ever be able to afford. Instead, you could make like the British tourist holidaying in Dubai who rented a Lamborghini Huracán to see what the highlife looks – and drives – like.

The car normally costs £180,000 and can hit speeds of over 200mph; the latter seems to be a speed that the tourist was determined to verify on Dubai’s eight-lane Sheikh Zayed highway. According to reports, the driver in his 20s managed to trigger every single one of the highway’s speed cameras in the early hours of July 31. He racked up 33 speeding infringements in all with 12 of the recorded offences putting his speed at over 124mph.

Cash crisis The total amount in speeding fines comes in at £15,000 but to make matters worse, the young driver will have to pay a fee to get the car released from the police pound (once the car has been surrendered to the cops), bringing the total to £35,693 (a handy sum for anyone wanting to put a deposit down on a Lamborghini Huracán we would have thought…).

It appears that the tourist can’t plead ignorance to the speeding rules in Dubai either as the firm that rented the car told him that, “there are cameras everywhere in Dubai and he would be liable for all fines”. Currently, the tourist has the Lambo back at his hotel and the rental firm still has his passport as they argue over who should pay the police pound fee.

The Sheikh Zayed highway where the British tourist was clocked speeding 32 times.

Speeding in the UK

You might think that such absurd speeding could only happen overseas where UK drivers appear to lose all inhibition – but nothing could be further from the truth:

• A driver was caught doing 160mph on a motorway in West Yorkshire

• One motorist was snapped doing 106mph in Dundee in a 30mph zone

• Research shows though it’s not young drivers who are the worst offenders; it’s those aged over 65 on 6.5% with, admittedly, young drivers tailgating them close behind (6.2%)

• The worst speeders by car brand? Audi drivers (8.7%) followed by BMW drivers (8.3%). Why are we not surprised?

It’s worth bearing in mind that the minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to your licence – but for drivers who are still within two years of passing their test, their licence will be withdrawn if they manage to build up six or more penalty points. So for those of us who love speed, tell your right foot to behave itself and save it for a track day instead.