Video: Driver caught speeding at 140mph with child on board

A motorist has been banned from driving for three years after being caught speeding at 140mph with a child passenger in the front seat.

Mert Tanay, 26, from Enfield, north London, was pulled over at Junction 9 (Ashford) on the M20 coastbound carriageway in September 2014.

Officers travelling in an unmarked police car had been monitoring the speed of another vehicle when Tanay overtook them in his black BMW 323 at approximately 90mph.

His speed soon increased to 115mph as he weaved in and out of traffic, before slowing to 90mph and then increasingly rapidly to 140mph.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRfu9e7zRPo#t=10

 

When the car was pulled over it was discovered that a six-year-old boy was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Tanay was also sentenced to 50 hours’ unpaid work when he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday 19 March 2015, having previously admitted the charge of dangerous driving. He must also pass an extended driving test to get his licence back and pay £100 in prosecution costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

In mitigation Tanay claimed he had been speeding because he was in a hurry to leave the motorway due to a urological complaint.

After sentencing, Sergeant Chris Wade of Kent’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “The speed and manner of Mert Tanay’s driving in this case showed a complete disregard for the safety of other road users, not to mention that of his young passenger who looked very shaken by his experience.

“Tanay’s actions on what is a busy motorway fell far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.”

Eight other motorists were stopped for travelling at excessive speed on the day Tanay was pulled over.