On the morning of the 19th June, 2020 Connor Bunten, 22 years old (21 at the time of the offence) was recorded on a dashcam driving his high powered BMW M2 at high speed in a southerly direction along the A449 dual carriageway near Usk in Gwent.
The footage was submitted to Operation SNAP by a member of the public who witnessed Mr. Bunten driving dangerously. After reviewing the footage, a decision was made to commence proceedings againt the driver for dangerous driving.
The extreme speed Mr. Bunten was tarvelling at was aggravated by the fact the BMW passed the witness adjacent to a hidden on-slip, meaning that if had he (the witness) had to move to the offside lane due to traffic joining the main carriageway from the layby then it would have been reasonable to suggest he would not be expecting anything to be approaching from behind at that speed.
To determine the speed of the BMW, the video recording of the incident was sent for investigation by Steve Callaghan at Road Safety Support (RSS). Steve Callaghan was able to review the footage and accurately ascertain the speed of the BMW was 140.8mph as it passed the submitter’s vehicle. Mr. Bunten was travelling at over double the legal speed limit of 70mph.
Steve Callaghan, Forensic Engineer at Road Safety Support said:
“Video cameras contain very accurate timing information so drivers who behave like this in the view of those drivers with dashcams should not be surprised when they are prosecuted and convicted driving dangerously and well in excess of the speed limit. Mr Bunten was convicted on the evidence of such a driver who took the time to submit the evidence.”
Connor Bunten initially pleaded not guilty, electing a trial at Crown Court. However, he changed his plea to guilty on the morning the trial was due to start.
On Thursday, 22nd July, 2021 at Cardiff Crown Court, Connor Bunten was given a Community order with a 12 month supervision period, ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was also ordered to pai £420 costs and a surcharge of £95 as well as having to undertake an extended re-test once the 12 month disqualification comes to an end.
Sergeant Simon Austin, Gwent Police GoSafe Coordinator said:
“I think this goes to show how valuable Operation SNAP is in tackling poor driving and I am very grateful that the member of the public submitted the footage to us. The speed that Connor Bunten was driving at is incredibly shocking and it is by sheer luck that no one was seriously hurt or killed. Please rest assured that driving in this manner will always be dealt with and I would also like to extend my thanks to the Operation SNAP team for their efforts in investigating this matter.”