Road safety worker drove at 120mph on wet night
GoogleA man whose job was to ensure traffic safety drove at 120mph through a 50mph section of the A1 on a wet night after using cannabis, a court has heard.
Yousef Majid, 23, was undertaking and tailgating cars in his Mercedes through roadworks near Gateshead before police pulled him over in June 2025, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Recorder Richard Herrmann said Majid's work for a road safety firm made his "outrageously dangerous" driving "all the more inexplicable" and "baffling", while it was "good fortune" no-one was killed.
Majid, from Middlesbrough, was given an 18-month community order with 250 hours unpaid work and banned from driving for a year and a half after he admitted dangerous driving.
A police officer travelling up the A1 first saw Majid join the road and speed off near Washington at about 23:00 BST on 21 June, prosecutor Omar Ahmad said.
He drove "aggressively" to pass several vehicles in a section of roadworks, where the road was closed from two lanes to four lanes, then reached 120mph in a 50mph zone before the officer caught up with him, the court heard.
It was also raining at the time, Ahmad said.
'Catastrophic consequences'
Majid's friend was in the passenger seat and the driver was smoking a cigarette when the officer approached, the court heard.
A breathalyser found he had alcohol below the legal limit, while a drugs test revealed he was over the limit for cannabis, the court heard.
In mitigation, Mairi Clancy said Majid, of Wake Street, was "deeply sorry" and "very scared and embarrassed" to be in court.
The court heard Majid would now lose his job working to "ensure safe and efficient traffic management" for a traffic management company, for which he had to drive.
Recorder Herrmann said Majid's job made it "all the more inexplicable" and "baffling" that he would "drive in such an outrageously dangerous way".
The judge said Majid had driven a "considerable distance" and the court had "far too often" seen the "catastrophic" consequences of dangerous driving like his.
He said "innocent people happily going about their lives" had been killed by people like Majid, and it was "a matter of good fortune" rather than through any "skill or design" that that had not happened on 21 June.
The judge said Majid had tried to "justify" his actions to probation officers by claiming it was a luxury car and he had not realised how fast he was going.
Majid was also ordered to pay £500 court costs and must pass an extended test before being allowed to drive again.
