Moment reckless driver films himself speeding at 120mph
Fast-track to prison: Moment reckless driver films himself speeding at 120mph in his Vauxhall Astra before posting videos online as he is jailed for two years with a five-year driving ban
- Justin Dean Jones, 30, uploaded videos of him driving at high speeds last year
- Facebook user saw clips and reported them to Dyfed-Powys’ road safety team
- Jones, of Llanelli, Wales, was charged with three counts of dangerous driving
- He was jailed for 25 months and also disqualified from driving for five years
This is the moment a reckless driver films himself speeding at 120mph in his Vauxhall Astra before posting videos online as he is jailed for two years with a five-year driving ban.
Justin Dean Jones, 30, uploaded multiple clips of himself driving at breakneck speeds and racing other cars in July last year.
But a horrified member of the public saw the videos on Facebook and reported them to a Dyfed-Powys’ road safety team.
A court heard Jones posted four videos online of himself driving dangerously in a Vauxhall Astra and a BMW X5 on three separate days.
Justin Dean Jones (pictured right), 30, uploaded multiple clips to Facebook of himself driving at breakneck speeds (left) and racing other cars in July last year
Prosecutor David Singh said Jones used one stretch of road as a ‘racetrack’, hitting speeds of more than 120mph in his Astra.
Jones was charged with three counts of dangerous driving and was jailed for 25 months. He was also disqualified from driving for five years.
Dyfed-Powys’ PC Roger Jones investigated three videos filmed between July 2 and July 14, which show Jones using his mobile phone to film himself at the wheel.
The clips show Jones speeding in a Vauxhall Astra and BMW X5 in a 30mph zone in his hometown.
He also hit speeds of 120mph on the A484 Loughor link road, while overtaking other drivers.
In one clip, Jones, who was clutching the phone in one hand while driving, can be seen overtaking other vehicles on pedestrian crossings in broad daylight.
The footage played in court also shows Jones pointing the camera at the speedometer to show how fast the car is going as the tyres screech and the engine roars in the background.
It also captures him taking narrow country bends on the wrong side of the road as he drives around Llanelli, West Wales.
The clips show Jones, of Llanelli in Dyfed, Wales, speeding in a Vauxhall Astra and BMX X5 in a 30mph zone. Police said they also sought the help of road safety scheme Go Safe’s forensic video analyst Steve Callaghan, who was able to ‘calculate the exact speeds’
Jones of Felinfoel, Llanelli, admitted three counts of dangerous driving and breaching a suspended sentence.
Ashanti-Jade Walton, mitigating, said Jones was ’emotionally unstable’ and had been in a ‘very dark place’ at the time but had now moved on.
Judge Huw Rees told Jones he was ‘showing off’ and his driving was ‘selfish stupidity of the highest order.’
Judge Rees said that by uploading the footage to Facebook Jones had showed a sense of ‘warped pride’.
Police said they sought the help of road safety scheme Go Safe’s forensic video analyst Steve Callaghan, who was able to ‘calculate the exact speeds that were driven in the incidents’.
A still from one of the clips filmed by Jones. A horrified member of the public saw the videos on Facebook and reported them to a Dyfed-Powys’ road safety team
In a statement, the force said: ‘Jones was charged with three counts of dangerous driving, and was sentenced to 25 months in prison. He was also disqualified from driving for 62 months.
‘An anti-social behaviour destruction order has also been granted for the Astra and the BMW and is pending.’
Go Safe’s Sergeant Ian Price commented: ‘The sentence of just over two years in prison and a five year ban from driving shows the high risk he poses to other road users.
‘It is a clear message that this type of behaviour is unacceptable and ensures the removal of a dangerous driver from society and we hope that it gives him enough time to reflect on his actions in prison.
‘We would like to thank Road Safety Support for helping us in this matter and ensuring this individual is no longer a danger to society over the next two years.’
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