Clocked Doing 480 mph.... - 14th Nov 2003 12:26am
A driver was clocked speeding in her ageing Austin Maestro at an amazing 480 miles an hour.
Joanna James, 28, was sent a fixed penalty ticket after a drive on a 30mph road in Bridgend, south Wales, in her 14-year-old G-registration runabout, bought for just £100.
Ms James, from Port Talbot, was amazed because she knew her car could not barely manage 48 mph - let alone 480mph.
The speed is faster quicker than supercars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and twice the take-off speed of a Boeing 737 jet.
The mother-of-three, from Sandfields, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the ticket said I was doing 480mph. I can barely reach 48 miles an hour in my old car - never mind that sort of speed.
I have no faith in speed cameras at all
Driver Joanna James
"The ticket even said they had photographic evidence of me on a speed camera - but I would have been just a blur like a bullet flying past."
Ms, James, who bought the silver Maestro four months ago, added : "It's ridiculous. My battered old car starts to shake and shudder if I even try to put my foot down.
"A lot of our friends think it is funny - but I have got no points on my licence and I want to keep it that way.
The South Wales Safety Camera Partnership - run by three police forces in Wales - blamed the ticket on a clerical error.
A spokeswoman said: "We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. We will be sending her an amended ticket for 48mph."
Ms James is planning to appeal against the ticket with its £60 fine and three penalty points.
"I was doing 32 to 35mph because I was concentrating on the signs to find my way home," she said.
"And if they think they're going to send me a ticket for 48mph, they can think again," she added.
"If they can get it wrong once they can get it wrong again. I have no faith in speed cameras at all."
Joanna James, 28, was sent a fixed penalty ticket after a drive on a 30mph road in Bridgend, south Wales, in her 14-year-old G-registration runabout, bought for just £100.
Ms James, from Port Talbot, was amazed because she knew her car could not barely manage 48 mph - let alone 480mph.
The speed is faster quicker than supercars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and twice the take-off speed of a Boeing 737 jet.
The mother-of-three, from Sandfields, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the ticket said I was doing 480mph. I can barely reach 48 miles an hour in my old car - never mind that sort of speed.
I have no faith in speed cameras at all
Driver Joanna James
"The ticket even said they had photographic evidence of me on a speed camera - but I would have been just a blur like a bullet flying past."
Ms, James, who bought the silver Maestro four months ago, added : "It's ridiculous. My battered old car starts to shake and shudder if I even try to put my foot down.
"A lot of our friends think it is funny - but I have got no points on my licence and I want to keep it that way.
The South Wales Safety Camera Partnership - run by three police forces in Wales - blamed the ticket on a clerical error.
A spokeswoman said: "We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. We will be sending her an amended ticket for 48mph."
Ms James is planning to appeal against the ticket with its £60 fine and three penalty points.
"I was doing 32 to 35mph because I was concentrating on the signs to find my way home," she said.
"And if they think they're going to send me a ticket for 48mph, they can think again," she added.
"If they can get it wrong once they can get it wrong again. I have no faith in speed cameras at all."
