Excessive speeding recorded across locked-down UK roads
● 40% of drivers speeding in Manchester ● 134mphp in 40 zone
WERE it not for the coronavirus lockdown, the prospect of empty roads and low fuel prices would be a petrolhead’s dream. But some drivers are breaching rules designed to slow the spread of the disease, taking advantage of traffic levels that have fallen to fifties’ rates. A number of police forces across the country have caught motorists at “extreme” speeds, while officers are reporting proportional increases in speeding at almost every level.
Surrey’s Roads Policing Unit caught one driver at 130mph on the M25, who told officers: “I thought the faster I went, the less chance I could catch coronavirus.” London’s Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, apprehended a number of drivers at “outrageous” speeds, including one who reached 134mph in a 40mph zone.
It’s not just these headline-grabbing speeds that are a problem, though. Detective Superintendent Andy Cox from the Met Police told Auto Express: “All enforcement zones have seen a rise in driving speeds; this includes 20mph zones where many key workers are a pedestrian or cyclist commuting to work.” Cox branded such behaviour “totally unacceptable” and said the Met’s road policing team would be “robustly enforcing” traffic rules across London.
Greater Manchester Police’s chief constable, Ian Hopkins, said 40 per cent of drivers are breaking speed limits in his constabulary, up from 10 per cent in normal times. Manchester officers also caught one driver at 128mph, who is being sent to court both for his traffic offence, and for breaching coronavirus legislation.
A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman told us “excessive speeding on emptier roads is a concern”, and reminded motorists that speeding rules “are limits, not targets”.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said quieter roads are “no excuse for drivers to use them as a racetrack”, adding: “Some forces have captured frightening speeds in residential areas, and those drivers should be punished appropriately. At a time when hospital beds are needed to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, we need to do our bit to make sure doctors and nurses can treat those in need, not those who hankered for speed.”
“If you’re involved in a high-speed collision, you’re going to end up in hospital, and potentially deprive COVID-19 patients of NHS care”