85mph+ shock of speeding drivers

Speeding Norfolk motorists were branded “lunatics” yesterday after speed camera vans on the A11 caught 26 drivers doing speeds of between 85mph and 126mph in one 45-minute spell.

One motorist travelling at 82mph crashed into the central reservation at Snetterton and ended up on a grass verge after he saw the speed camera vehicle and desperately attempted to brake at about 8.05am.

Astonished officials from the Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership (NCRP) revealed that another driver caught travelling at 117mph was doing that speed as he passed the scene of the accident just 10 minutes later.

In the space of 45 minutes during the morning rush-hour, 26 drivers were caught on camera travelling at 85mph or more along the Snetterton stretch. Of these, seven were exceeding 90mph and two were exceeding 100mph.

Ironically, the revelations came only a day after a report by the AA Motoring Trust identified the stretch of the A11 between Thetford and Norwich as one of Britain’s most improved roads in terms of safety.

Fatal and serious injury collisions on that section of road fell from 51 in 1998/00 to 26 in 2001/03 – a reduction of 49pc.

The cut in serious accidents followed dualling, resurfacing, signing and lining and traffic light installation, but those in charge of speed cameras in the county say that the excessive speeding witnessed on another part of the A11 highlighted the continued need for speed camera vehicles.

John Fairey, partnership manager, said the sheer number of people driving with excessive speed showed that cameras were not there to target people driving just over the legal limit, which is 70mph at Snetterton.

He stressed that no cash would be generated from the motorists caught driving over 100mph as those cases would be handed straight over to the police.

“Every day there are literally thousands of people driving along that road who are law abiding citizens and who need protecting from the lunatics who are driving at these speeds,” said Mr Fairey.

“We understand that people break the speed limits, but here we are not talking about breaking it by a few miles an hour, but by a ridiculous extent.

“This is dangerous driving and it will be dealt with by the police and the courts rather than by us offering people a £60 fine and three penalty points. The vehicle speeding at 126mph was going 56mph over the legal limit and the one travelling at 117mph was going past the scene of an accident and the driver probably did not even realise what had happened and would not have had time to react to anything anyway.”

Sgt Simon Atherton of Central Area Road Policing said such excessive speeds could clearly not be tolerated and those caught would be dealt with by the courts.

But he said that prosecuting people was not the only solution and education was a more powerful weapon in the fight to reduce speeding.

“If people are driving dangerously then yes, we will prosecute,” he said.

“But if someone is speeding but not excessively and has slowed down and adjusted their speed, they will be spoken to because they have shown good observation and adjusted to the conditions accordingly.

“It is about looking for people who react to situations. We find in the snow and ice that the majority of people are carefully and it is only a small minority who spoil it for the rest.”

LOVE IS GIVING SOMEONE THE ABILITY TO DESTROY YOU, THEN TRUSTING THEM NOT TO.

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