back to article Spaniard live streams 195km/h burn-up

Spanish police have traced and cuffed a driver who live streamed a Madrid ring road burn-up during which he hit 195km/h (121mph) and narrowly avoided taking out several other vehicles. The unnamed speed merchant used Periscope to transmit his night-time high-speed exploits, then ill-advisedly shared the footage on his Twitter …

  1. Alister

    Up Periscope!

    Right up!

    We should encourage more idiot drivers to provide the necessary camera footage to convict themselves.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Up Periscope!

      Apparently they don't need much encouragement.

      1. Chris Miller

        Re: Up Periscope!

        Lester, do they still have 'suicidos' betting each other how far/fast they can drive down the wrong side of the autopista (with a pace car following on the correct side)? Usually at some ludicrously early hour when the bars close. This used to be a 'thing' when I was working in Madrid about 25 years ago.

        1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

          Re: Re: Up Periscope!

          Not that I'm aware of. Cops gradually clamping down, I suppose.

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. agurney

          Re: Up Periscope!

          I regularly drive the length of Spain overnight, passing through Madrid around 4am. The roads are great, the traffic's light and there are no holdups. Until now these trips have been very relaxing ... but your comment about 'suicidos' has shattered that.

          1. Triggerfish

            Re: Up Periscope!

            A friend working in Germany has told me apparently a fair few people decide to off themselves on the Autobahn by driving the wrong way. They call them Ghost Drivers, often without headlights as well.

  2. TonyJ

    I found...

    ...that getting a dash cam had the opposite effect on my driving... I started driving like less of a cock myself since I could effectively provide evidence of my own stupidness.

    Am I missing the point? Do I need to drive like a complete dolt and share the evidence??? :)

    1. Lee D Silver badge

      Re: I found...

      Same here.

      Though I've never been on the "dangerous idiot" scale as this one was, I put in a dashcam after seeing lots of "fake accident" smash-for-cash reports online and in the news. Yes, it is quite difficult to prove that some pillock deliberately pulled out in front of you and then slammed on the brakes, and it always "looks" like you just left insufficient braking distance when that's not actually the case. Given that I'm very vocal about not speeding myself, and refuse to answer phone calls in the car, etc. I'm not in that category but other idiots are available separately.

      And I ended up putting another into the rear window after having one of those "Look in the rear-view-mirror after braking heavily at the guy approaching brakelights at warp nine from a million miles behind - are you going to stop mate? Are you? Press your brakes! Don't hit me after I've just avoided the accident in front of me! STOP!" moments which was avoided solely by my leaving room in front and gently rolling into it to avoid actual last-metre contact from the idiot behind.

      And since, I think I drive more serenely. The thought clicks into your head "I could make that gap, but if there is a million-to-one accident, then it's all on camera that I would be required to provide" so you tend to be more cautious than otherwise.

      I'll tell you what, it also seems to make others drive better too. Not all, but some. I have gone from "If only I had a camera, you'd be front-page of YouTube mate" for many years (including one guy who forced his way out onto a motorway in front of me (when behind me was clear), then decided to slam his brakes on to a complete stop, yell and shout and threaten, and then drive off nearly smashing into three other cars in the process), to having almost nothing of interest to show friends on it (which is more than mildly irritating). I think they can see at least the front camera and so don't go for stupendous pull-outs. It probably doesn't help that my car is electric blue in colour and they probably associate it with police given the size of it.

      But I've got a few "I will overtake and undertake seventy cars at high-speed with no distance between us just to get into the same queue as the bloke behind who poodled along at 50mph" on tape. BMW's mostly, and I can statistically prove, now with video evidence, the cause of my bias against that brand of car.

      1. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: I found...

        I had a conversation with a few friends about dash cams (we're all 27/28) and one of the group said "Na man I can't have a dash cam" - yes he is a bit of a chav. We asked him why and he said the way he drives he'd be arrested if they ever saw the film. He's an absolute idiot of a driver.

        But actually I can see his point of view now, if you give the video in as evidence of a crash it's showing the police/insurers how you drive the vehicle. I'm not an unsafe driver, I may go a little above the speed limit sometimes if it's a dual carriage way with no one around me. But even now thinking of buying a dashcam, I'm considering how it'll affect my driving.

        The RAC though have released a dash cam that fits over the rear view mirror, like a replacement mirror. It looks very nice and will definitely be purchased as soon as I save up the £160 for it!

        1. Lee D Silver badge

          Re: I found...

          I'm one of those horrible people who actually would blanket speed cameras (but only average speed cameras, no point in "point checks" if people know where they are) over the entire damn country. So that, you know, that number on the sign has some meaning rather than being treated as "more of a guideline".*

          But if dashcam driving radically changes the way you drive or makes you think twice, you're already "in the wrong", surely? And just because YOU aren't recording it doesn't mean that I'm not. Consider that. Whether or not you buy one yourself, if I'm the car next to you, behind you, in front of you or the one you hit, then your actions are ALREADY recorded. Like the "weave through traffic like the Dukes of Hazzard" BMW's that I see and then catch up at the next set of lights anyway. You - and everyone visible from my car - are already on camera anyway.

          And, yes, if I saw an accident caused by someone actually being a pillock, I'm quite likely to just send it to the insurers whether you want me to or not, and I can be made to produce that footage on demand, I'm sure.

          A dashcam, though, is your protection when there is nothing else around. Only you can prove that your car was stationary, or that the idiot deliberately trying to hit you just pulled out and slammed his brakes on, or that you saw the guy go under the bridge where he knows the CCTV stops and then try to smash your car. Or even where the irate idiot in front of you got out and started threatening your life, which is why you ran him over.

          *By all means, campaign for faster roads. You were given the opportunity at the last election for 80mph motorways. NOBODY cared. And see my other post re: German autobahns. I love them. But if the limit is 70, either enforce it, or don't bother with it at all. Make the limit 100 and then enforce it zero-tolerance, I'd be just as happy.

        2. Triggerfish

          Re: I found...@wolfetone

          Yes I have a chavvy neighbour like that, luckily he does it on motorbikes, in an area with really narrow country lanes and really solid stone walls, so I am guessing he will be donating his organs at some point.

          Also the amount of people I see taking overtaking risks on these roads, (I'm talking blind brows, big drops in the peak district, some of these roads make snake pass look safe), to gain a car length or maybe two how much time does that really shave off your journey?

          One of the most enjoyable things I find is when someone comes up behind you flashing lights, even though if you were to get out of the way it would be putting you at risk or someone else. I once was next to two lorries overtaking and to be fair it was very late at night and I was doing 80-85 to overtake them, so not like I was dawdling. Some guy pulled up and tailgated me, obviously thinking it perfectly natural I should run under the lorry wheels to clear a path for him. In a purely sublime moment I dropped speed and the lorry drivers all matched speeds and rolling roadblocked him for a few miles.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: I found...@wolfetone @Triggerfish

            How do you know that "guy" wasn't in some sort of emergenycy? It's not our job to police the roads. If someone is being a complete idiot then just let them get on with it as soon as is safely possible. Aggravating the situation won't make it better and you never know, you might just have prevented a life being saved.

      2. Tom 7

        Re: I found... @Serenely

        Many moons ago I had a 1600 VW camper van. You had to drive serenely with that as it didnt accelerate or brake or go round bends without complaining or chucking cutlery and stuff about like a demented poltergeist.

        One thing I discovered was that if you went with a bunch of friends up to the length of the country to the fringe or something like that was you got there an hour slower (10%) than the 911 driver but stepped out of the van ready to party while the 911 driver was still twitching for a couple more hours.

        On the commute to work the same BMW driver used to overtake me between roundabouts, but due to the improved visibility in the van I would overtake him at every roundabout.

        1. Lee D Silver badge

          Re: I found... @Serenely

          Someone doing 80 is getting ten miles ahead of you every hour if you're doing 70.

          At 70mph, it takes 8m30s to cover 10 miles.

          To get an hour in front, they would have to be consistently doing 80 to my 70 for seven hours straight. Even stopping for petrol or a snack on a short journey and you're going to lose out. Hell, a traffic light on a roundabout can delay you that long.

          I've just been on a 400-mile round trip and, to be honest, I put cruise control on and just sit in the left lane and watch people zoom past me. With my daughter, we played a game of "Who didn't get there any faster?" and we won more often than not. And, to be honest, most of the time it was when we had to drop out of cruise control to slow behind, say, two lorries overtaking each other, and then overtake them, and there's pretty much nothing you can do about that and just being in the outside lane doesn't let you just fly past such a thing with everyone slowing and pulling out.

          I find that when people are zipping through traffic like that, they don't look at what's ahead and are so desperate to get in the outside lane that they get stuck on the lanes that are queuing (anything near Heathrow or Bristol is a good test case) while everyone else continues at a slightly reduced pace but not quite stopping.

          But, to be honest, it's not worth worrying about. How many times do you need to travel for 7 hours straight that you can't possibly afford an hour's delay, and don't plan for it? Not very often.

          1. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
            Joke

            Re: I found... @Serenely

            To get an hour in front, they would have to be consistently doing 80 to my 70 for seven hours straight.

            Which is why I drive at 120.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: I found... @Serenely

              Nothing wrong with doing 80 and getting there faster, so long as you aren't driving in a dangerous manner (swerving in and out of traffic etc.) I typically drive faster than most of the traffic around me (probably get passed twice for every hundred cars that pass me) but I realize when traffic is more dense you don't have much control over your speed of travel and constantly switching lanes trying to find an 'advantage' isn't worth the stress.

              I think one of the biggest problems isn't so much speed differential but lack of. That is, having some people doing 70, some 71, some 72, and so forth. If you have a line of cars in the slow lane doing 70 getting passed by a car doing 71, a bunch of cars doing 71-80 will get piled up behind him. When he finally gets past all the cars going 70, and shifts over to the right lane (you hope) it takes several minutes to untangle that mess of cars wanting to travel at different speeds. If there was less variation possible, for instance if you could only go 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5 and 80 that mess of passing cars would take less time to untangle.

              But anyway, it isn't worth worrying about, the first use of self driving cars will be on expressways - probably in less than a decade - where the oncoming traffic is separated via a median and entrances/exits are controlled. You would lose control over the speed of travel, but even if you're forced to go the speed limit the ability to work, surf the web or sleep during long trips will more than make up for the extra hour of travel time.

            2. dmacleo

              Re: I found... @Serenely

              LOL

              I am bad at that, at 18 was overseas on autobahn and that sort of stuck with me.

              drive a land yacht (2010 marquis ultimate edition) and on interstate here set cruise for 90 mph on normal day.

              due to hills in area and high gear actually get best fuel mileage on interstate at approx 85 mph. 65mph is 21mpg and 85 is 23-24mpg....go fast go green....

          2. Cynic_999

            Re: I found... @Serenely

            I could argue the same if I were to drive at 60MPH while you are zooming along at 70MPH. And the chap driving at 50MPH could say the same to me - etc.

            For every type of road situation I have a speed range within which I am perfectly comfortable driving. Any faster and I'm getting stressed or fatigued, any slower and I'm getting bored and losing concentration, with both situations increasing my risk. The times I have come closest to hitting another vehicle has been when stuck in a traffic jam for 30 minutes or longer and almost running into the back of the car in front at <10MPH because I wasn't paying attention.

      3. Kobus Botes
        Devil

        Re: I found...

        @Lee D.

        BMW's mostly...

        It used to be the case here in sunny South Africa as well (same aversion on my side), but a recent trip up-country made me reconsider, as it seems that those idiots have traded their B-M's in for Ford Rangers - mostly double cabs.

        I vividly remember one incident near Kimberley, when we were caught up in a slowish train (doing about 100 in a 120 zone) and this idiot decided to overtake all of us sightless (he came from at least four vehicles behind me, with five in front, stuck behind two articulated trucks).

        He saw his chance when the truck at the back started overtaking the one in front of him, so he probably thought that he would be protected. When he caught up with the truck doing the overtaking (which was still in the on-coming lane) he went onto the shoulder of the road to overtake said truck, only to have to sharply take an escape route on to the dirt shoulder in order to narrowly miss oncoming traffic that had already taken avoidance measures by going on to the hard shoulder to miss the truck.

        How they all missed each other I do not know, as he blithely continued on his merry way, hardly lifting his foot off the accellerator.

        It is quite scary seeing four vehicles abreast on a two-lane road, with the idiot overtaking four cars coming towards him, on their left sides! By that time we were already on the left shoulder, hoping to avoid the incumbent pile-up, which mercifully never materialised.

        1. Darryl

          Re: I found...

          You claim to be in South Africa, but that sounds a lot like western Canada to me. The only distinction is the Rangers are too small for these guys - they like a big diesel F150/F250 (or a Dodge Ram or a GMC Sierra/Chev Silverado). They still drive the same, though, and I've seen exactly the same scenario on a two lane highway here more than once.

          1. Alistair

            Re: I found...

            Darryl:

            That isn't restricted to those west of the lakes. Full time issue here in ON. Two lanes here means 4 lanes to them (Its an offroad vehicle innit?, shoulder means nothin). Put em on the 400 series and they're still dunces. They seem to think they can stop on a dime, jump over small cars, barriers and bullnoses.

      4. Martin an gof Silver badge

        Re: I found...

        are you going to stop mate? Are you? Press your brakes! Don't hit me after I've just avoided the accident in front of me!

        Doesn't even have to be that. I was stopped at traffic lights on a 40mph road. Handbrake on, about a car length gap to the car in front - maybe a bit more. Bog standard safe. Two kids in the back.

        Car behind was stopped.

        Car behind that was stopped.

        Car behind that, didn't.

        Last car hit the next car, hit the next car, hit me. My car went forward by about a foot, no more. The two cars in the middle had been stopped, too close together and with handbrake off. I don't think the lady at the back had been speeding, but she certainly wasn't concentrating, and as for the two dolts in the middle...

        M.

  3. Ralph B

    Another Crime Against Humanity

    Never mind the speeding, drunk driving & drug taking: There's something much worse going on here. (And if you thought Periscope only supported portrait format, then think again. That's been fixed.)

    1. wolfetone Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Another Crime Against Humanity

      Promptly shared on my social networks. With the comment "Scum bags of the Internet. You know who you are".

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meanwhile in Germany...

    195 kmh is about where they shift out of 3rd.

    1. Lee D Silver badge

      Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

      In perfectly straight and well-maintained roads, where everyone keeps to the right and rarely do you have anyone pull out in front of you, especially not into the third lane. Driving in Germany was an entirely different (and pleasant) experience for me.

      I once made a car full of Germans scream in horror because I did a slow and careful 3-point U-turn in an empty two-way road after making a navigation mistake.

      1. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

        I did 195km/h in a Peugeot 107 on the Autobahn.

        Sorry, I NEARLY did 195km/h in a Peugeot 107 on the Autobahn when it went down hill.

        1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

          Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

          Sorry, I NEARLY did 195km/h

          It did not take off? I am surprised.

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

          1. asdf

            Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

            >I did 195km/h in a Peugeot 107 on the Autobahn.

            >Sorry, I NEARLY did 195km/h in a Peugeot 107 on the Autobahn when it went down hill.

            Goddamn Golf Diesel I once rented was worse (only car they had, cough bullshit but hey lets fsck over the American). I thought for sure I was going to get rear ended in that god awful (and now even more polluting it turns out) slow POS. Only good thing I will say is yes being able to drive nearly anywhere in Europe on a single tank of fuel was nice until you actually had to do it that is. Also rented a four door sedan Peugeot (forget model) at one point and though I wouldn't buy one it was way better than that crappy Golf.

            1. wolfetone Silver badge

              Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

              "Goddamn Golf Diesel I once rented was worse (only car they had, cough bullshit but hey lets fsck over the American). I thought for sure I was going to get rear ended in that god awful (and now even more polluting it turns out) slow POS. Only good thing I will say is yes being able to drive nearly anywhere in Europe on a single tank of fuel was nice until you actually had to do it that is. Also rented a four door sedan Peugeot (forget model) at one point and though I wouldn't buy one it was way better than that crappy Golf."

              Yeah the Golf's have gone from being the stars of German engineering and efficiency to German PR bullshit and lies.

      2. Geronimo!

        Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

        I wonder where this "Germany" is... It's not the Germany I am living in at the moment...

        Yes, we are allowed to drive as fast as the car allows you to (No, I am not saying "as fast as you can" ... there is a huge difference there!).

        Nitwits, ignoring their mirrors and pulling out of the far right lane with ~ 130km/h to overtake the car in front, driving 129km/h, just meters in front of me, while driving 200km/h.

        The actual parts of Autobahn where you can drive full-speed are actually getting smaller and smaller, due to a lack of maintenance ... or too much of it.

        Apart from that: During the day you can forget it most of the time, since our roads tend to get more stuffed too.

        So the best time to drive fast would be in the middle of the night, 4 AM approx.

      3. Joseph Eoff

        Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

        I don't know what part of Germany you were in, but that description doesn't match anywhere around here.

        I HATE driving on the autobahn here. Full of dipshits who think 200KPH is slow.

        I much prefer the french toll roads. Limited to 130kph, and people drive like civilized human beings.

        The contrast when returning home from a trip to France was shocking. The last hour home through Germany was more tiring than the entire trip up through France from Frejus (between St. Tropez and Cannes.)

        1. asdf

          Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

          Yeah you spend some time on the autobahn and you will come across a wreck and they don't do fender benders, they usually go full Paul Walker when they go ass over teacups. Scary stuff.

      4. Cynic_999

        Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

        Germany? Third lane?

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

      You missed the point.

      The perp did it in a city. Germans actually have some serious speed restrictions in residential areas. They are:

      1. Quite vicious - actually lower speed limits then the same type of road inside city limits elsewhere in Europe. F.e. - places where for example Czechs ask you to drop to 70km/h, in Germany you get 50. Where Czechs or Hungarians ask you for 50, you get 40 and so on.

      2. Policed the way German police polices things.

      3. Cameras all over the place. I have been flashed by one of these once. The flashing itself is a penalty - it is bright red, it is right in your face and it blinds you for a split second even in broad daylight. Like someone shooting at you. If you are not shaken after that, you surely will be once you get the "congratulations, you have been framed, now pay". These are also entered into their equivalent of an ANPR database, so even if you are driving a foreign vehicle, you can get pulled over a few months later and on-the-spot fined.

      1. Geronimo!

        Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

        Try doing all those things in the Netherlands...

        1) 120 or 130 on all free ways, as opposed to no speed limit in Germany

        2) Rural areas max 80km/h as opposed to 100km/h in Germany

        3) Pictures are taken from behind ... so you'll find out that you were gotten if the "congratulations" letter drops in your mailbox.

        4) trajectory control: You get photographed at the beginning and at the end of a trajectory. If your average speed is above the limit, you'll get fined. This kind of control is not (yet) allowed in Germany

        5) Prices are way higher in NL than in DE

    3. Tom 7

      Re: Meanwhile in Germany...

      You do have to be careful there - it took me a few clouds of smoke to realise that when coming up to a village or something with a 20kph sign the locals actually slowed to 20kph by the time they passed the sign.

  5. chivo243 Silver badge

    Calling Sammy Hagar!

    Write me up for 125(mph)!

    1. chivo243 Silver badge

      Re: Calling Sammy Hagar!

      Joe Walsh called me, he's pissed I didn't mention his Maserati doing 185...(it's a lie)

  6. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Policia lengua?

    > *"Periscope" not a verb, you cry? It is according to Spanish cops,

    So they're the language police as well?

    1. Mephistro
      Happy

      Re: Policia lengua?

      In Spanish, it's usual to turn some nouns into verbs by adding the "-ar" or "-ear" endings to the noun, just as they do in English with the "-ing" suffix. It's quite common with tech related nouns borrowed from English.

      Regarding its use by the police, I guess they're doing the right thing, following the general use. On the other hand, the RAE* guys probably would like to flog the police mouthpiece and then pour salt in his wounds. :-)

      RAE= Real Academia Española.

  7. phuzz Silver badge
    Facepalm

    So he made a a video which carefully showed:

    A) his face

    B) the speedometer

    C) his lax standard of driving

    Why not cut out the middleman and just invite a copper along for the ride?

    1. Vic

      Why not cut out the middleman and just invite a copper along for the ride?

      I've done >100mph with a copper in the car.

      It was one of the most tiring days of my life. And you can bet that every little slip in driving standards was noticed and discussed in the debrief...

      Vic.

  8. John Sanders
    WTF?

    WTF is periscope?

    Another pile of nonsense like Twatter, Farcebook, Linkedpin, mysplace, yarhoo I guess.

  9. BurnT'offering

    There will surely be an interim

    between driven and driverless cars that involves remotely limiting cars to the posted speed limits. Personally, that wouldn't bother me at all

    1. GrumpenKraut

      Re: There will surely be an interim

      > ...wouldn't bother me at all

      Won't happen: think emergency situations.

      Here in GrumpenLand you can pass red lights if you are, for example, rushing a (seriously!) injured person to hospital. I'd hope this is true in other places as well.

      Similarly for getting out of danger. For example, you are standing at a red light and realize that some big effing truck is about to eradicate your car.

      1. BurnT'offering

        Re: There will surely be an interim

        If you're standing at a red light and want to get out of the way of a truck, how far do you have to drive to hit the speed limit?

      2. DiViDeD

        Re: There will surely be an interim

        Well, if the speed capping is remote, there's likely to be some sort of emergency code you or your car can send that says 'I'm rushing a seriously ill person to hospital' although, be honest, how many times in, say the last ten years, have you found yourself in that position.

        As for being creamed by an approaching truck - well, you know, greater good and all that.

  10. Frumious Bandersnatch

    C'était un Rendezvous by Claude Lelouch - YouTube

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvDXlDxMnb4

    At least Lelouch had a spotter with a 2-way radio to guide him through the worst part, but still a pretty crazy and irresponsible thing to do.

    1. Danny 14

      Re: C'était un Rendezvous by Claude Lelouch - YouTube

      I remember watching "the black prince", enough to scare most people.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AgzZd8Lr64

  11. Florida1920
    Trollface

    195 km/h - 121 mph

    Doesn't sound that fast. He should have shifted into fifth gear and kept going.

    1. asdf

      Re: 195 km/h - 121 mph

      It isn't that fast but remember in Germany cars will travel at that speed often for hours (less due to construction and village slow down spots all over place now).

  12. lawndart

    Periscopear: The sudden stinging sensation on the side of the head that indicates a nosy submarine may have inadvertently approached too close to its target.

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