Police report 71% rise in speeding during lockdown

QUOTE:
The most shocking figures obtained by PA news agency come from the Metropolitan Police - the UK's largest police force - who recorded 3,282 Traffic Offence Reports in April compared to 1,922 during April 2019. Amongst these some frighteningly high speeds were recorded across London, including one driver caught doing 163mph on a 70mph road, and another at 110mph on a 30mph road.

Derbyshire and Kent police forces also recorded 41% and 53% rises respectively, although the majority of forces did see an overall decrease, thought to be due to the considerable drop in driver numbers.

A number of drivers trying to take advantage of the quieter roads were caught out, with Dept Supt Andy Cox telling the BBC: "Early on, for some people driving at extreme speeds, they would be really surprised to see us there.

"They would actually come out and say 'we thought you'd be busy dealing with Covid'. Maybe some people (tried to take) advantage because congestion was less and thought they'd get away with it."

Back in April, we reported that cyclist fatalities since the UK lockdown began on 23 March were running at more than double the average for the time of year, with Cycling UK's Duncan Dollimore noting that they had received regular reports of "people driving way too fast"; we speculated that speeding drivers could be a factor in the spike, although there are numerous other potential factors at play, such as the increased number of cyclists on the roads as cycling's popularity grew during the lockdown.

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling...ne-2020-274983