Biker buddies banned from road

David Knox • Published 20 Aug 2010 09:30 6 Comments

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Steven McIntyre and Philip Gower leaving court.

AN MOD chauffeur and his fireman pal have both been banned from the road after hitting breakneck speeds on the notorious Dolphinton Straight.

Philip Gower from Kirknewton is employed to drive foreign dignitaries and top military brass around on official business.

But the 41-year-old dad of six wasn’t so careful on Sunday, October 18 when he hit 125 miles-per-hour on his Yamaha R1000cc.

His bike buddy Steven McIntyre, 30, from Tillicoultry was even faster on his Honda 600cc - being clocked by cops at 135 miles-per-hour on the same stretch of the A702.

Both men’s not guilty plea to driving dangerously by racing their machines was accepted by the crown.

Peebles Sheriff Court was told that Gower and McIntyre had gone for a Sunday afternoon run on their bikes before meeting their partners for lunch.

But as they headed towards Edinburgh they opened up their throttles near West Linton.

Fiscal Tessa Braddley said: “This is a stretch of road that crops up regularly in this court. Police were sitting in a farm access road carrying out speed checks.

"The first vehicle, driven by Mr McIntyre, activated the police pilot device and he was quickly followed by Mr Gower.”

McIntyre’s bike was clocked at 135mph with Gower accepting an estimated speed of only 10mph less.

The court was told that Gower, who chauffeured the King of Tonga around Scotland last year, would likely lose his job as an MOD driver because of the offence.

Defence lawyer Mark Harrower said: “He is a first-class driver and is well thought off. He has never blotted his copybook during his working hours.”

McIntyre, who is a serving firefighter, would keep his job. Defence agent Kenneth Dalling said: “He has notified his employers and he will be allowed to keep his employment with the fire brigade.

“He accepts he accelerated far too fast on this stretch of road.”

The offences come less than a year after Berwickshire hairdresser Neil Purves was jailed for nine months and disqualified from driving for five years after reaching 166mph - a Scottish record - on the same stretch of road.

McIntyre was banned from driving for 12 months while Gower was banned for nine months by Sheriff John Horsburgh. Both men were also fined £450.

This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 20 Aug 10

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

yamaha
Unregistered User
Aug 20, 16:21
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Possibly destroy two peoples lives and careers for a victimless crime, easy conviction for the police instead of catching criminals.

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JAIL THEM
Unregistered User
Aug 20, 19:12
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a 12 month and 9 month ban l think they got off lightly victimless crime or not there idiots not only put there lives at risk but the lives of other road users a lifetime ban should be imposed for over 100

NOT SO SMUG NOW ARE THEY

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honda
Unregistered User
Aug 20, 22:48
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"JAIL THEM" you really are a **** and have obviously never been on a bike in your life. nobody buys a bike to sit like a ***** at 60mph. There is nobody that rides a bike or drives a car that has never broken the highway code in one form or another, including the police officers that sit on the dolphinton straight all day instead of catching real criminals. As far as I'm concerened it's them who should be loosing their jobs for wasting tax payers money. They are two little men on a power trip, its cops like these that give the good ones a bad name. As far as i'm aware there have been NO accidents on that stretch of road, so these officers are just cooking the books to look good for their bosses. Two blokes out on a bike ride on a sunday afternoon, MAJOR CRIMEWAVE, bet the cops ARE smug.

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MacR1
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Aug 20, 23:22
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'one person seriously injured in 2001 was the last notable incident at this locus, as per lothian and borders' own figures

one of the safest roads in scotland - fact.

Guilty of speeding - fact.

But the cops need to get real, an easy £900 in the coffers in my opinion, go and sit outside a school, and catch the more life threatening speeder if you want to play with your speed gun...

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TheMac
Unregistered User
Aug 20, 23:23
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'one person seriously injured in 2001 was the last notable incident at this locus, as per lothian and borders' own figures

one of the safest roads in scotland - fact.

Guilty of speeding - fact.

But the cops need to get real, an easy £900 in the coffers in my opinion, go and sit outside a school, and catch the more life threatening speeder if you want to play with your speed gun...

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******
Aug 23, 00:50
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taxpayer
Unregistered User
Sep 12, 17:10
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I think that the police should concentrate on the villages instead of the roads connecting them. Drivers frequently overtake near junctions and access to housing on the 40 limit in Dolphinton. If someone were to join the carriageway they would be hit by vehicles on the wrong side of the road. The village of West Linton has many speeding cars and HGVs passing through it, despite a school 20 restriction. There are also many horse riders in the area for which there are no warning signs, including horse-drawn vehicles (for whom motorists rarely show due care and attention).

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