Russell Jenkins
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Richard Brunstrom, the controversial police chief, flourished a horrific photograph of a decapitated motorcyclist yesterday in a deliberate ploy to shock his audience at a road safety presentation.
The Chief Constable of North Wales has earned a reputation as a hardline scourge of speeding motorists and even admits to an “obsession” with bringing offenders to book.
He made no apology to his largely local government audience before displaying the photograph of the man’s head with his eyes still open and still encased in a red and white helmet lying on a grass verge.
Another showed the man’s torso embedded in the wreckage of a car.
The dead man was wearing a distinctive T-shirt that carried the legend that was aimed at traffic police: “P** off And catch some REAL criminals.” It was made clear to the meeting at St Asaph Park, Denbighshire, that the man’s family had not been made aware that the images would be used in the presentation.
It emerged last night that the picture was of Mark Gibney, 40, a father of three, who was killed when he crashed at 100 mph (160km/h) while riding one of the world’s fastest motor-bikes.
Chief Superintendent Geraint Anwyl, one of Mr Brunstrom’s colleagues, explained to the audience that the head had been torn off through the force of the impact. “His oxygenated brain went flying down the road for 50 metres before he expired. It was horrific, as I am sure you will agree.”
Meanwhile, he said, a young family remained trapped inside the car for 90 minutes.
The audience was also shown a picture of two males, aged 25 and 16, lying dead by the side of a mangled car.
He said that both accidents had been caused by the excessive speed of the dead men.
Mr Brunstrom said: “We did it to serve a purpose. The images are there to make an impact today.” The chief constable remains defiant that his campaign of effectively enforcing zero tolerance against speeding motorists has saved 53 lives since 2001.
He suggested that now his crackdown on speeding had won the support of 70 per cent of he public, it was time to move on to the next stage. This will be softer-edged and with more education and less punishment.
Motorists caught just over the speed limit will be more likely to be offered a £60 speed awareness course as an alternative to a fine.
He also revealed that his force was looking into the possibility of placing speed cameras inside cat’s eyes. He said: We will always be transparent with the public. We may have a sign up for example, saying ‘there are hidden cameras along this road’, but we won’t have a big arrow saying ‘there’s a camera in this cat’s eye’.”
At an inquest into the death of Mr Gibney, it was stated that he had cut the corner on a right-hand bend on a road near Ruthin, North Wales.
He was travelling with five motorcycle companions at the time. One described how he heard the sound of an explosion and saw his friend flying into the air.
John Hughes, the North Wales Central Coroner, described Mr Gibney’s riding as “reprehensible”.
He heard that the motorcyclist had no licence, no insurance and no specialist training for the powerful machine capable of speeds of up to 190 mph.
Mr Gibney was riding a 1,300cc Suzuki Hayabusa when he failed to spot an oncoming Vauxhall Astra in a dip. He collided head-on in a 60 mph zone on the B5105 near Lanfihangel, North Wales, in September 2003.
Mr Gibney, of West Derby, wore a black T-shirt that read: “Hello officer, Yes my car is emarked, Yes my number plate is legal, Yes my tyres have tread, Now p*** off And catch some REAL criminals.”
In February 2004 Mr Brunttrom said that he was prepared to see drugs such as heroin openly on sale because current drug laws were doing “more harm than good”.
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*** Tell me that last time you saw a biker NOT breaking the speed limit, NOT racing away form the lights, NOT undertaking, NOT tailgating, NOT overtaking on a corner, NOT cutting another driver up, NOT being totally inconsiderate on the roads,and I'll call your bluff. Bikes should all be restricted!
paul, Blackpool,
What about the poor family who were forced to sit and look at this idiots corpse for 90 minutes? That nightmare will never leave them yet none of the reports I have read have offered any sympathy to them.
OK it was insensitive to use photos of this fool to illustrate a point but the distress of the Gibney family was after all brought on by his actions not anyone elses. In my opinion the family's fury should be directed at him rather than anyone else.
Colin Ashdown, Peterborough,
We dont know what speed he was doing and the limit was 60
he was killed when he hit a car head on
the speed would make no difference - hit a car at 60 on a motorbike doing 60 and chances are the motorcyclist will die
another 40 mph or another 140 mph will make little difference - you still die
peter owen, Esher,
My ex takes my 7 year old daughter on the back of his bike against my wishes. I wish i could find some pictures of dead motorcyclists to show him. May be then he would respect my wishes and not use his bike when he has his daughter.
Jacqui, Hampshire,
having a licence or insurance does NOT make you a better rider...
sure i have both, but my son, who is too young to hold a licence, beats me around a race track... so who is the better rider? me who is able to ride because i have a bit of paper that says i can .. or my son, who can beat a lot of long time riders at the tender age of 14?... sure it is not on the open road and there are less things to worry about going around a race track....
AJ, Wellington, NZ
Mr Gibney was riding a 1300cc sportbike with no licence or training on the wrong side of the road around a blind corner and yet Mr Brunstrom blames the accident on excessive speed. Typical!
luke, auckland,
I recently attended the Metropolitan Police Bikesafe programme. We were also shown the pictures of dead motorcycle victims, something which many of us found inappropriate and we were also concerned if the victims family had given consent
Maurice, London,
"enforcing zero tolerance against speeding motorists has saved 53 lives since 2001"
How can he prove that statistic? Its rubbish.
As a rider I wish to make it clear that I do not condone riding without documentation - that is irresponisble at best.
However, the open prejudice towards riders displayed by Brunstrom and Wolfendale sickens me.
Not content with suggesting that motorbikes should be banned from National Parks in a publc blog (maybe they should try banning an ethnic minority from their roads and see how that is recieved.) - the latest use of graphic images without consent warrants more than a mere apology to the family.
Their insensitivity is incredible...but it has got us talking about him again hasn't it?
Paul, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire
Commended? Why has this guy even got a job? Showing such images is sick and wrong, so is wanting to see them.
If the rider was part of YOUR family you would all be the first to complain.
Riding with complete disregard for the law is no doubt wrong, but being used as a propaganda tool for this speed camera obsessed nutcase must be more painful than the impact with the car!
So I definately second the motion
"Yes my car is emarked, Yes my number plate is legal, Yes my tyres have tread, Now p*** off And catch some REAL criminals.
And on top of that get your necro habits out of public office!
Chris, Halifax, UK
Brunstrom has no place being in that job. He demonstrates, frequently, disregard for people, families, common sense and decency. As mentioned above, he advocates drug use.
And imho, he crossed a line by using a family's loss, to bolster his own paranoic quest........to raise revenue through fines.
So who, in their right mind would acribe any credti to anything he says?
Only one place for him - the dole, and not with a fat pension, either.
John Moylan, Bristol,
PT, if a speed camera catches you, you are almost certainly not law abiding.........
While it is irresponsible to drive without tax and insurance, it is not directly contributory to road deaths..Who is more likely to kill someone, an uninsured, untaxed driver doing 30 or a fully documented-up driver doing 90???
jp, uk, uk
I'm just trying to work out what exactly is it that Mr Brundstrom is trying to prove. All I can see is the fact the littering the UK with Speed cameras WILL NOT stop accidents like this happening, he was riding a bike with false plates, no licence and no insurance, none of which would have been picked up by the plethora of fixed and mobile cameras. The only way to properly enforce speeding is by properly trained traffic police actually out on patrol, something that has been cut back on year on year.
All speed cameras are doing is vilifying the majority of law abiding motorists whilst sumarliy avoiding catching the real problem drivers/riders who carry on outside the law
P T, Bristol, UK
Well for once I am with Brunstrom, idiots that drive fast are reckless drivers. The family may claim to be upset. but would they have been upset if they had to be cut out of their car because of some idiot and then his body was used to raise awareness, I don't think so.
His wife would have ironed that T.Shirt, would have been aware of his reckless driving as he came home and bragged about "hitting the ton".
I have watched idotic bike riders swerve in front of cars, sat on their tails, doing "V" signs, idiots in cars speeding between cameras, sitting on my tail flashing lights because I dare do the speed limit, cutting drivers up because they want to get 2 seconds in front of you. The most frightening thing is when they virtually sit in your boot when you are overtaking on dual carriageways.
Brunstrom shuld be commended not reprimanded, if it helps save innocent lives.
Debbie Brogan, South Derbyshire, UK
It is always possible to find some extreme imagery or example of excessive speed to hang the taxation of motorists upon. But the reality is that, the fixed cameras, and people lurking in vehicles, camera pointed, are there to catch the normally law abiding citizens. It is the most cost effective part of the legal system. No courts, no excuses. Just a photo and now give me the money you are guilty. If you have a Job, tax insurance and are predominately legal, you groan and then pay up, what a business. And yes it is easier than catching criminals, as not only do you have to fully prove it you actually have to catch them. They dont meekly comply. If it is such a good thing, why do they all have to justify it. At least be honest.
Kevin Scarrry, Dinnington, South Yorkshire
Yes, as devastating and distasteful as they are, unfortunately they are a reality of the impact of speed and dangerous driving/motorcycling. If they make a positive impression which prevents another wasted life, another grieving family and another emotionally scarred witness then I commend the police officer responsible. Let us hope and pray they never need to be repeated.
Ann, North Staffordshire, UK
While I have little sympathy for the unlicensed and uninsured rider, I'm very bored of Brunstrom's unhinged crusade against speeding and especially the ever-present undercurrent of hatred he has of motorcycles in general. One only has to read his public blog to hear him ranting with froth-specked glee regularly.
The bike was going 100mph and cut a corner, hitting a car head-on. So it's nothing to do with speed as it rarely is but bad driving. Hitting a car head-on at 60 would have had the same ultimate effect, even if it hadn't been so gruesome. To Brunstrom's disappointment no doubt.
If he's so keen on studying traffic I'm sure he'd be much better used directring it. To everyone's relief I'm sure.
Don James, Brighton, UK
Would like to see the photo images that were shown to the Media. Might someone post them on the net?
Carla, Shawnee, USA
It's about time that they started reminding people of what can happen in a high speed crash. There is a clear and distinctive reason why people are told not not exceed highway speed limits, and to wear their seat belts. Of course this cannot and will not prevent every single fatal accident from happening, but it will certainly save many lives. Maybe its about time that they looked into having built in GPS systems in cars that monitored the position of the vehicle, the speed limit of that road and put a limit, via the cars computer, on the speed limit of the car.
Curtis Anderson, Gloucester, UK
"He heard that the motorcyclist had no licence, no insurance and no specialist training for the powerful machine capable of speeds of up to 190 mph. "
And therefore his death will be used to justify catching the rest of us for doing 35 in a 30 limit.
Jonathan Robson, Dorset,