Les Owen, Chief Superintendent of London's traffic police and founder of the city's speed camera program, was caught in a police car doing more than double the legal speed. Owen was not on an emergency call, but rather was late for a meeting. The Vauxhall Omega police car was driven by another officer at high-speed, including 82 MPH through a 40 MPH zone, throughout the journey. The London Telegraph learned of the case when Owen's driver appealed a court decision applying six points to his driver's license.

In 2003, Owen said: "The fact is that speeding kills. Having witnessed first hand the suffering of families whose loved ones have been seriously injured or tragically killed, I would strongly urge all motorists not to speed. Imagine if it was your partner, child or friend. You can all help us to reduce the number of accidents on the capital's roads. Keep to the speed limits."

The chief superintendent has not been accused of a criminal offence and he is expected to deny acting improperly if he is accused of misconduct. Mr Owen launched a campaign called London Safety Camera Partnership 18 months ago, which involved new digital speeding cameras for an accident black spot.