Lotus CEO busted going 102mph on public-road test drive

Jean-Marc Gales\' lawyer succeeded in having the punishment reduced to a 30-day license suspension and no additional points on his license.

Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales was reportedly busted recently for allegedly speeding while test driving one of his products on a highway near the company's UK headquarters.

The executive was tagged goin 102 mph in a 70-mph zone on the A11, according to The Telegraph, with eight points alerady on his license for previous speeding offenses.

"Of course he was driving very carefully, but was not driving in accordance with the speed limit," his attorney, Simon Nicholls, told the judge.

The defense argued that Lotus has engineers to test-drive vehicles but Gales likes to personally take them out for a spin.

"There are people out there doing far worse - someone driving at 35mph on their mobile phone is far more dangerous," the lawyer added.

The judge apparently agreed, reducing the potential six-month driving ban down to a 30-day suspension and adding no points to his existing tally.