Lewis Hamilton stopped by Australian cops for 'reckless driving'

Lewis Hamilton, the former British Formula 1 world champion, was stopped by police on Friday for reckless driving just yards from the Australian grand prix racing track.


Lewis Hamilton being booked by Australian police.

March 27, 2010

The 25 year-old's silver Mercedes C63 sports car was impounded by police for 48 hours after he was caught deliberately swerving his vehicle across the streets of southeast Melbourne. The McLaren driver issued a statement apologizing for the "silly" incident and the "over-exuberant manner" which he drove through the suburbs of St Kilda.

Police said officers witnessed him "accelerating heavily" through the streets just on the outskirts of the Albert Park racing track just after 9pm local time. He was not arrested or taken to a police station.

Reports suggested that the driver was generating clouds of smoke by spinning the wheels of his high-powered car and slewing the back wheels across the tarmac, manoeuvres known as a "burnout" and "fishtailing".

Hamilton and his unnamed male passenger were then interviewed inside his car by police for more than 30 minutes as he tried to hide his face from the gathering crowd. He was then taken into an unmarked police car.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

 

That is daft.

 

Why did his car have to be impounded for such a minor incident?

 

because we don't feel people, no matter who they are, being reckless on the roads and endangering lives is a minor incident. see below:

Cars impounded in drag racing crackdown


Posted March 9, 2010 14:22:00

A massive police operation broke up an illegal drag racing event in Campbellfield, in Melbourne's north last night.
Officers from seven police units, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), the sheriff's office and the Hume City Council were involved in the operation.
Police knew where the event was being held and had it under surveillance.
Then they cordoned off the area with road blocks and escorted every vehicle through a checkpoint.
Twenty-two cars were impounded and police are following up another five cars.
Eighty roadworthy notices were also handed out.
There were 33 offences relating to noise pollution and the sheriff's office recovered about $115,000 in outstanding fines.
All up, 200 vehicles were checked and 300 pedestrians were walked through a checkpoint and issued with bylaw penalty notices.
Senior Sergeant yvonne Upton said hooning has been a problem in the area for some time.
"Let this be a warning. We take hooning seriously," she said.
"Until everyone understands the danger involved in this type of behaviour, we'll keep coming up with new ways to catch those doing the wrong thing."

 

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has apologised after being caught by police doing a burnout in his car in Melbourne on Friday night.
Former F1 champion Hamilton had his Mercedes impounded by police under Victorian anti-hoon laws for an incident as he was leaving the Australian Grand Prix circuit in Albert Park.
In a statement released by his racing team McLaren on Saturday, Hamilton said: "I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police.
"What I did was silly and I want to apologise for it."
Police said Hamilton's Mercedes skidded as it was being driven out of Lakeside Drive, Albert Park - near the entrance to the circuit.
The 25-year-old had his late model silver Mercedes seized by police to be impounded, and he was charged on summons with improper use of a vehicle.
The car will be eligible for release from 9am (AEDT) on Monday.
Leading Senior Constable Scott Woodford said Hamilton's rear wheels were losing traction as he accelerated out of an intersection.
"He was disappointed with the incident but extremely cooperative with police," Snr Const Woodford told AAP.
"Given that Melbourne's on the world stage with a lot of interstate and international visitors, we would expect drivers to observe road rules."
It came just hours after Hamilton recorded the fastest lap time in Friday practice for Sunday's Grand Prix.
Hamilton will return to the track on Saturday for qualifying ahead of Sunday's race.
It is not the first time Hamilton has fallen foul of the law over a driving incident.
Three years ago, French police impounded a car he was driving after he was caught speeding at 196km/h on a motorway - more than 60km/h over the speed limit.
He had his driving licence suspended for a month.

 

what he did was daft in my opinion soul. he was no longer on the race course and had no right to act like that on the streets. he was treated like anyone else would have been treated for such offence. we do have laws about such things.

i think my two posts will answer your question. it is against our law to do what he did, plain and simple. it's also not his first time for reckless driving.

 

How do you put up with his blackass? Once a year F1 racing series is in Melbourne for a month. I watch some of the race last night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zV3uPyyDbQ&feature=related

 

Huh?

 

At every F1 racing event Lewis Hamilton in, he brings his souped-up stationwagon and does crazy burn-outs. The is the first time in a long time, his car was taken away from Hamilton. You don't hear this kind of behavior from other F1 drivers, just Lewis H. burn-outs.

 

I blamethe manufactures, these cars are very fast and if you are behind the wheel the temptations is too hard to resist.

 

Personally I don't see how a professional racecar driver could tolerate driving UNDER 100 mph. It just wouldn't feel right considering you spend most of your days driving 150 to 200 mph.

Think of this true story. I have a friend and her father is a pilot. He happens to drive like a maniac, his entire life. When she was a kid, he got pulled over doing 110 with his family in the car. The cop asks for his license and registration. Instead of handing him his driving license, he gives him his pilots license. The cop goes and checks to make sure everything is legit, unaware of which license he had. When he comes back to the window, he says, "ok, i'm gonna let you go with a warning. Just make sure to keep it on the ground in the future. Lol. I love pilots. Coolest men on the planet. I do mean that too, very few women in that profession.

 

Stop everything.
You are actually DEFENDING a British person?? I didn't know that pigs learnt to fly.

 

Haha, you're hilarious. No consistency there from DunceBenz.