Motorist clocked on M6 in Staffordshire at ‘chilling’ 161mph by police - joint-highest in the country
The motorist was recorded on the M6 in Staffordshire
A motorist seen speeding on the M6 near Stafford has the dubious honour of having had the highest speed recorded by police in the UK last year, having been clocked at an incredible 161mph.
The speed, faster than most cars are able to travel at, was recorded on the southbound motorway between Stafford and Stoke last year.
One driver was also caught doing 155mph on the A38 Sutton Coldfield bypass.
The A3400 (Stratford Road) in Hockley Heath, Birmingham, is a 30mph road and yet 111mph was recorded there by police.
The details emerged in figures released on Wednesday (July 8).
The figures obtained by the RAC from Freedom of Information requests to UK police forces show another driver was also clocked on the A5 at Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury, at the same speed as the M6 speeder, 161mph.
The RAC said the “chilling speeds” some people drive at shows they “remain oblivious to the incredibly severe risk”.
Figures from 28 police forces with comparable data show 32,548 motorists were caught at 30mph or higher on 20mph roads last year, which means they were driving at least 50 per cent faster than the legal limit.
Across 33 forces, some 271,341 motorists were caught driving at 40mph or more on 30mph roads.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Our analysis shows some of the frankly chilling speeds some people are prepared to drive at – and these are just the cases the police are aware of.
“The fact that some were recorded in residential areas, even near schools, in daytime hours when others might well have been using the roads underlines just how dangerous this kind of behaviour is.
“Such roads will almost certainly be well-used by pedestrians and cyclists, so it doesn’t bear thinking about what travelling at such high speeds could have led to.
“New casualty reduction targets and an update to councils on setting local speeds are welcome, but a greater focus tackling the problem of excessive speeding and repeat offending is also desperately needed.”
Mr Dennis also called for the Government to give courts the power to order the most dangerous speeding drivers to have technology fitted to their vehicle that prevents them from breaking the limit again.
This would involve mandating the use of intervening intelligent speed assistance devices, which actively stop a vehicle from exceeding the limit.
A DfT spokesperson said: “There’s no excuse for those who choose to speed and put lives at risk.
“While we have no plans to mandate speed control technology, our road safety strategy includes proposals to fit all new cars with systems that warn drivers when they exceed the speed limit.”
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