Owner fears he won’t Dodge speed ticket after garage test drive

Mar 16 2008 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

DRIVER David Stainton was shocked to get a tracking alert to tell him his car was apparently speeding . . . because it was in a garage undergoing repairs at the time.

Mr Stainton’s rare imported £35,000 Dodge has spent most of the last year going nowhere after a series of problems.

After a new part was fitted, it finally got back on the road, hitting 80.2mph on the A66 in County Durham, according to a report from a tracking system he bought for the vehicle.

Mr Stainton, 52, a full-time carer who looks after his disabled wife Mary, fears the 17-minute test by the garage could land him with a speeding rap.

He said: “The garage rang to say the Dodge might be fixed now.

“But the tracking system also noted that they had apparently been off down the A66 speeding.

“According to the tracker, they managed to complete a 5.5 to six-mile section in less than four minutes.

“And the total return journey time was 17 minutes and 20 seconds for the 14.3-mile total, so it appeared they had been shifting at times.

“I just hope they slowed down for the speed camera they have on that section of road or I fear I will be getting the speeding fine.”

His Dodge Ram SRT-10 Quad cab, imported from America, has spent a lot of time in the garage since it was bought in May.

The list of complaints include a battery which kept going flat and a problem with the control unit.

Mr Stainton, of Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, Teesside — who wants his money back after driving just 700 miles in nine months — subscribes to a tracking service which cost £1000 and was a requirement of his insurance for the vehicle.

It was set to trigger a speeding alert at 80mph which, he says, is what happened last Thursday.

Dealership Kings Chrysler Jeep (Stockton) Ltd, of Yarm Road, Stockton did not respond to three separate messages and an email.

On a previous occasion, when we looked into Mr Stainton’s complaint about the need for repairs, spokesman David Pengilley said they were following manufacturer’s procedures.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: “Most of the A66 has a 70mph speed limit.

“It continues to be 70mph until, between Elton and Low Newton, there is a 50 mph temporary speed restriction owing to road works.

“Generally, were these road works not there, it would normally be 70 mph.”