Bike journo caught at 160mph was ‘euphoric’ after proposing to girlfriend

A motorcycle journalist caught speeding at 160mph has been banned for three months after telling a court his girlfriend had just agreed to marry him. 

Andrew Stevens, 30, who writes for a website, was filmed pulling wheelies at up to 80mph on his Yamaha R1 test bike.

He was followed by an unmarked police bike along Seven Mile Lane, near Tonbridge, Kent, reaching 128mph in a 50mph zone and 160mph on a dual carriageway.

Stevens fought back tears at Sevenoaks Magistrates Court and claimed he had been “euphoric” at the time because his girlfriend had just accepted his proposal.

The court heard that after being pulled over, on June 27, he told the police officer: “I am such an idiot. I am a journalist.

“I was doing a test drive. I can’t believe I did that.”

Stevens, from Tonbridge, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

On top of the driving ban, he was fined £500 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.