A DRIVER who sped at 90mph when he was undertaking another car on the A12 behaved “like a petulant child” in his trial, a judge said.

Ryan Polkinghorne, 42, was accused of flashing his lights at the driver in front of him and performing the manoeuvre in November 2021 when he was driving a Volkswagen Golf past Marks Tey towards London.

Colchester Magistrates Court heard Polkinghorne was filmed by officers who recorded the defendant’s speed at 90mph for 0.4 miles.

Trial – Ryan Polkinghorne attended a summary trial on WednesdayTrial – Ryan Polkinghorne attended a summary trial on Wednesday (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest) He was stopped and given a speeding ticket, but Polkinghorne, of Lexden Road, Colchester, has always denied speeding and driving a car without due care and attention.

He stood trial before district judge Christopher Williams on Wednesday.

The defendant, who works in security for the NHS, was self-represented and argued it was “against the laws of physics” that police could have recorded him travelling at 90mph.

He said: “For what they are saying to marry up, I have got a video one minute and one second long.

“If the police are driving at 90mph at all times, it would have taken them 111 seconds to catch up with me, but the video they have [of me] is one minute and one second long.

“The evidence they are trying to use to tell me I was travelling at 90mph is evidence I was travelling at 70mph.”

District judge Williams ruled the police’s equipment was “correct and accurate” and took a dim view of Polkinghorne’s defence.

He said: “A lot of what you say is simply conjecture and you suggesting what happened was not the case."

He continued: “[The offence] is quite indicative of the type of driver you are, Mr Polkinghorne.

“To travel at that speed and commit a manoeuvre of that nature and flash your lights on a busy workday evening on the A12 is dangerous.

“I am not concerned about your mathematics you have worked out on a piece of paper whilst you awaited your trial.”

Polkinghorne was found guilty on both charges and was banned from driving for three months.

He was also ordered to pay £980 in costs.

Calculated - district judge Christopher Williams was unimpressed by Polkinghorne saying that the police's conclusions would have gone against the laws of physicsCalculated - district judge Christopher Williams was unimpressed by Polkinghorne saying that the police's conclusions would have gone against the laws of physics (Image: Pexels) Polkinghorne, who had parked his car in a nearby car park, told the judge he would lose his job if he was banned from driving.

The judge replied: “You not being on the roads for the next three months is better than you being out there driving.”

When Polkinghorne said, “My evidence is absolute”, the judge replied: “You are continuing to behave like a petulant child – I am not going to argue about it anymore.”