Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Police forces record worst speeding offences during lockdown
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Police forces record worst speeding offences during lockdown

Date: 02 June 2020   |   Author: Illya Verpraet

20 police forces across the UK have caught speeders at over 100mph during lockdown, the RAC found as part of a FOI request

The motoring organisation asked all UK police forces for the highest speed recorded between 23 March and 13 April, as well as how many drivers were caught exceeding a 30mph.

As roads were noticeably emptier than normal, 'lockdown speeding' became a problem, including with fleet drivers.

In West Yorkshire, one driver was caught at 151mph on the M62, while in Suffolk, police recorded a car at 140mph on the A14. Drivers also showed a disregard for lower speed limits, as the Metropolitan Police caught a driver going 134mph in a 40mph zone on the A10 in North London.

Across the 30 force areas that responded, the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown still produced 17,363 speeding offences in 30mph limits compared to 40,497 in the same period in 2019.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: "Some of the speeds police forces have caught drivers doing are truly shocking. At such high speeds there is virtually no time to react should anything unexpected happen in front such as a car changing lanes at the last second or a vehicle having to brake suddenly.

"While the most of highest speeds were recorded were on motorways, some occurred on roads with much lower speed limits, which is an even greater concern. The figures for speeding offences on 30mph roads are particularly worrying as far more people have been walking and cycling due to the lockdown.

"As some schools and nurseries in England begin to open their doors from this week there will be even more pedestrians on the roads so we urge every driver to obey the speed limit and keep all road users safe."



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