THIS is the shocking moment an idiotic driver was caught hurtling down a busy main road at 140mph.
The man was recorded by a speed van as he hit double the limit – but tried to talk his way out of it when cops arrived.
The heart-stopping clip, released on YouTube by Durham Constabulary, shows Louis Hayes’ car steaming down the A1(M) at frightening speed.
In the footage, he can be seen easily passing all the surrounding vehicles even though they appear to be doing the 70mph limit.
Fortunately, there were no cars in the outside lane so a potentially deadly crash was avoided.
However, when police caught up with Hayes, 30, his reaction to their questioning left them baffled.
The yob initially tried to claim that he had not been on the route at all that day.
When pressed further, he said changed tac to suggest that he had not been aware he had been travelling at a dangerous speed.
As officers seemed unconvinced by this story, he added: “I’m under arrest aren’t I?”
Hayes was arrested at a nearby service station on suspicion of dangerous driving.
As he was searched he let out an expletive before saying: “I just cannot catch a break.”
Police also released an audio recording of his custody interview as part of the social media post, in which Hayes again denied driving dangerously.
He argued: “The road wasn’t busy at all really.
“I’d say there were no cars at all in front of me for as far as I could see.
“I didn’t think I was going that fast.
“I wasn’t being careless because I was paying attention, but when you say I was going that fast I’m more scared.
“I wouldn’t really say it’s dangerous, I’d say it’s more careless.”
He did admit that he knew he was breaking the speed limit, but claimed he thought he was going around 80-90mph.
Just slow down
Durham Constabulary
Hayes has since pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and been slapped with a 12-month driving ban.
In that time he must also complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
Additionally, he was ordered to pay £199 in costs and will be subject to an extended driving test before he can reclaim his licence.
A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said: “Louis Hayes was clocked driving at 140MPH on the A1(M) by a speed camera van in January.
“We don’t need to remind you of the destruction that can be caused by a collision at that speed.
“We know that some people don’t seem to approve of us enforcing traffic laws, but for as long as there are drivers putting other people’s lives in danger, we’re going to keep doing it.
“Just slow down.”
It comes after a homeowner was mocked after installing ‘pointless’ bollards to protect their motor from thieves.
