ROAD safety watchdogs have slammed motorists who police have clocked touching speeds as high as 135 miles per hour along routes that run through St Helens.

Representatives from road safety charity Brake were appalled to learn speeds of 135 and 133 miles per hour had been recorded by police monitoring traffic on the M62 westbound carriageway and speeds of 117 and 112 mph on the A580 East Lancashire Road.

They were among the five highest speeds clocked in Merseyside between April 2013 and May 2014, a Freedom of Information Request revealed.

 

 

Five highest speeds clocked in Merseyside between April 2013 and May 2014

  • M62 (Westbound) 135mph on 70mph (speed limit) 
  • M62 (Westbound) 133mph on 70mph (speed limit)
  • A580 East Lancashire Road 117mph on 50/60mph (speed limit)
  • A580 East Lancashire Road 112mph 
  • A57 Prescot Road (Westbound) 111mph on 40/50 (speed limit)

 

 

Brake are calling for stiffer penalties for those who have scant regard for their and other’s safety by travelling at speeds almost twice the legal limit.

Brake’s Sarah-Jane Martin said: “These are shocking figures. By driving at such high, illegal speeds, drivers are leaving themselves far too little time to react in an emergency, risking devastating crashes.

"It’s vital that drivers stay well within the speed limit. We urge all drivers to always keep at least a two-second gap between themselves and the vehicle in front, extending this to four seconds or more in adverse weather conditions.

“We’re calling on the police to crackdown on such irresponsible behaviour and for the courts to impose more severe penalties on drivers who risk killing themselves and others.”

The figures came to light when the Institute of Advanced Motorists asked for speeding figures under the FOI Act. Police confirmed the speed were recorded on Merseyside but did not disclose precise locations.

The IAM received an 85 per cent response from the 39 police authorities it contacted in England and Wales. A motorist on the M25 at Swanley in Kent had the highest figure clocked by a speed camera in England and Wales between April 2013 and May 2014 at 149 mph.

The highest speed recorded on 30mph road was 96mph at Gateshead, the highest speed recorded on a 50mph road was on the A414 in Hertfordshire (119 mph) and on a 60mph road it was 127mph on the A413 at Wendover.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “149 miles per hour equates to nearly two and a half miles in a minute. If anything goes wrong at that speed, you’re unlikely to walk away and you are a grave danger to the innocent road users around you. Speed limits are a limit. They are not a target to beat.

“We all share the roads with these speeding drivers and the government must crack down on them with more consistent penalties and tougher measures to break their addiction for speed.”