The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has released figures demonstrating the criminal recklessness of some drivers who ignore speed limits — including one caught at almost 100mph over the limit on an urban street.
The unnamed driver was clocked by a speed camera piloting a Porsche at 128mph on the A22 London Road in the West Sussex town of East Grinstead. The single carriageway road is in many places lined with houses and shops, and has a cycle lane for some of its length.
The IAM used Freedom of Information requests to ask police forces for the highest recorded incidences of speed caught on safety cameras in 2014, including locations, speed limits and top speed in each case.
The worst offenders were unsurprisingly on motorways: Kent police reported two instances of drivers being recorded at 146mph on the M25.
East Grinstead's Porsche driver wasn't the only instance of someone travelling at over four times the limit in a built-up area. London’s worst speeder was recorded at 123mph on a 30mph road by the Metropolitan Police.
In the Square Mile, City of London Police reported a driver travelling at 86mph on Upper Thames Street, recorded by the speed camera at Stew Lane.
Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “It is disheartening to say the least that some road users are showing such disregard for the safety of all other road users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and other drivers.
“At speeds of 140mph an individual is travelling at nearly two-and-a-half miles a minute. At that speed it is simply impossible to react to anything that might happen in front of you.
“It is also impossible to handle corners, gradients, street furniture and junctions with any effectiveness. In short, all these individuals are playing with their own lives and others – they are all accidents waiting to happen and it requires a major shift in the attitudes of these people to think about safety.”
The IAM supports the use of safety camera systems at collision hot spots, on roads with a speed related crash record and at areas of proven risk, such as motorway road works.
39 thoughts on “Britain’s most terrifying speeding revealed: 128mph in a 30mph zone”
“It is disheartening to say
“It is disheartening to say the least that some road users are showing such disregard for the safety of all other road users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and other drivers.
Wow, “we” got mentioned before motorcyclists and drivers!
Those are disgusting
Those are disgusting figures.
Maybe nitpicking but really, i think it plays to the mind set of these idiots to have headlines like ‘ britains most terrifying’ …it makes it exciting, or ‘piloting a porche’, he was driving just anyone else drives a car….except that drivers mentioned here should be locked up for the more accurate phrase ‘criminal recklessness’.
Actually, I think the IAM
Actually, I think the IAM commentator is wrong. It’s not impossible to react quickly at 140mph – F1 drivers and pilots seem to cope just fine. Travelling at 140mph on a motorway may be foolish, but with dry conditions on a straight, clear road I don’t think an experienced driver in a performance car is really that much of a risk to anyone but themselves.
It’s the sheer number of twats hammering through a suburban street or country village at 50-75mph that’s the problem, their selfish behaviour deters kids from playing in the streets, or cycling to school, etc
dafyddp wrote:Actually, I
What about other road users? they are expecting traffic to be travelling within a certain range of speeds.
So on a motorway they check their mirrors, see a car in the distance – it is very hard to judge speed. If it is coming at twice the speed it should be there is a real risk they could pull in front of the speeding car leaving the speeding car little or no time to react
It is the same with Pedestrians and cyclists etc in towns.
At the end of the day, speeding drivers are not F1 drivers; just sad twats.
RedfishUK wrote:dafyddp
That’s why he said “CLEAR road”. Yes, doing 140 through any sort of junction would be silly since you wouldn’t be able to see it was clear.
I’ve been on roads, in the UK, before where I can see clear tarmac, uninterrupted, including by junctions, for over a mile.
nuclear coffee wrote:
That’s
At 140 mph you are covering a mile in less than 30 seconds.
You have no way of knowing what is round the next bend. On most Motorways you would probably only have about 1/2 mile visibility, so around 15 seconds to slow the car down
– it takes 300 feet to stop at 70mph – do you have any idea how long it would take you to stop at 140mph? (I can’t find a quick answer on Google but I guess it would be much greater than 600 feet)
The risk seems too big, just to give some twat a cheap thrill
nuclear coffee wrote:That’s
No road is guaranteed to remain clear.
hoski wrote:nuclear coffee
No road is guaranteed to remain clear.— nuclear coffee
Every road is guaranteed not to remain clear. But for a clearly delimited period of time you can realistically say that a certain section will be. Then you need to know if you can stop before you get out of that section…
dafyddp wrote:Actually, I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK9nzHermeA
PS, I agree with the 2nd paragraph.
dafyddp wrote:Actually, I
This is wrong I’m afraid. F1 and other motorsport drivers are on a circuit designed for speeds like that, there are no pedestrians, cyclists, horses, zebra crossings, all the other drivers are experts, travelling in the same direction, and in a predictable pattern. The surface has FIA homologation so you wont have any potholes, surface grip is standard across the circuit so you can have the perfect compound tyres for the whole circuit at the perfect heat. Corners are designed for certain speeds all known to the driver and the car set-up, chassis settings, suspension, damping is specific to them. Drivers know the circuit the entry and exit speeds of corners so do their technicians.
I mentioned that they were not reacting. They’re not. Studies via telemetry and eye tracking show that they are not reacting but predicting. This has also been studied in tennis, cricket and baseball, where players are unable to react to a fast serve, bowl or pitch but still return, or hit it. If they waited until the ball was actually played they couldn’t react in time. It’s a function of seeing hundreds of thousands of serves, bowls, pitches over your career and your brain predicting from body shape and other subtle indicators the likely trajectory within quite a small set of possibilities. That’s the same with motorsport. The driver has already shaped the car or bike for a corner not yet seen. The circuit is also designed to mitigate the consequences of a crash. Large empty run off areas. Barriers designed to absorb massive force by deforming in a precise way. Those are not just any old barriers. Specially built marshalling areas to protect track marshalls, catch and debris fences designed to stop penetration by both large and small flying objects to protect spectators.
A motor racing circuit is a hygienic safety designed area. Not at all like a road
What you wrote is silly.
And yet even with all of the
And yet even with all of the precautions and safety systems and medics on hand – drivers still get killed and injured.
On a motorway – just round the next bend you might have people working in the road, an OAP dawdling at 40 mph, road debris, loose animals, god knows what.
What happens if you blow a tyre – what then – and what about people just over the barriers – are they safe from a car doing 140 ? Its a stupid speed and selfish with no regard for others. People doing this shouldnt be allowed the privilege of a licence.
Crazy. That road must have
Crazy. That road must have felt very narrow at 128mph. One mistake and it’s curtains for anyone and everyone involved.
I live in East Grinstead..the
I live in East Grinstead..the driver must have been travelling downhill and heading north, as that’s the way the camera points..the camera is smack in the middle of a residential area, and in normal circumstances you can barely reach 20 mph as there’s so much traffic…..in fact most times I ride down there I’m travelling faster than the cars… but what a fool to be travelling at that speed!? :O here’s what our local rag has to say-
http://www.eastgrinsteadcourier.co.uk/Britain-8217-s-worst-speeder-caught-doing-128mph/story-26016416-detail/story.html
these idiots doing 100+ in a
these idiots doing 100+ in a residential area… presumably they will now be cycling for the next 10 years or so? (if they are not also serving a term inside)
nail. hit. head
Formula 1 drivers have
Formula 1 drivers have significantly above average reaction times though. As for flying, pilots generally don’t have a need for exceptional reaction times.
Motorways are the safest roads in the country. The problem with speeding is primarily on all the other roads.
Oh, and when you’re
Oh, and when you’re travelling at high speed, it’s not just your own reaction and judgement that become an issue, but that of other people. A vehicle travelling at high speed may be a speck in the mirror of the motorist wanting to change lane, but by the time they change lane another second later, they could cause the high-speed vehicle big issues. And so on.
I think I remember the simple
I think I remember the simple experiment of catching a ruler and Michael Schumacher being no better than anyone else. All their reactions are practiced not supernatural. Top Gear have been showing new cars, albeit sporty models, can brake very quickly nowadays. Thinking time will remain the same though, and assuming a reaction time of 2 seconds, a car will have traveled more than 100 meters at 128 mph before they go to put the brakes on. That is a lot of street in a built up area.
Wardy74 wrote:Top Gear have
Do cars brake before they hit people these days? That’s new. I’ll take a car not braking at 20 over one not braking at 30 or 130.
Wardy74 wrote:I think I
The old ruler game…I used to be so good at that…in fact, I’d sometimes catch it even before you thought about letting it go B-)
Speeding is all about not getting caught. Many people do it without getting caught, so continue until they get caught, or have an accident.
They could easily require manufactures to restrict cars to a certain speed. Some cars I drove in the middle east have this, others have an annoying chime that keeps on until you slow down.
Late at night on a motorway is very different than built up areas. Removing someones license if they do those speeds in built up areas in the best option.
@Wardy74: That sounds like an
@Wardy74: That sounds like an unscientific test. More rigorous studies of racing car drivers do suggest they have significantly faster reactions than random controls:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/11/906.short
I think the comparisons with
I think the comparisons with racing drivers are pointless. Apart from the drivers being accustomed to those speeds, they know the tracks, they know no-one is going to step into the road, they know all the other drivers meet a certain level of competency etc etc.
for me anyone who does in
for me anyone who does in excess of 50% of the speed limit should get a 5 year ban. in excess of 100% it should be 10 years, in excess of 150% a lifetime ban.
ianrobo wrote:for me anyone
I’m with you! Anyone doing in excess of 15mph in a 30 zone, or in excess of 35 on a motorway. Ah what a wonderful vision!
Sorry ianrobo, not taking the p*ss, I think you mean not doing more than 50% over the limit, 45 in a 30 etc.
I did 120 on the autobahn in
I did 120 on the autobahn in september last year, quite legally. I didn’t have any problems reacting to the other traffic around me, nor did other drivers reacting to my speed, and the speed of the car’s I had to pull in for that overtook me going faster.
There is a major problem in this country with the “speed kills” message. Yes, it does, but only in the hands of the dicks who do it innapropreaitly (sp) 143 on the motorway in a modern sports car is no big deal in my book, deserted, late at night, no problem.
35 at 3pm in the afternoon past a school is more dangerous imho.
cw42 wrote:I did 120 on the
You’ve missed some important points and your analysis is flawed. The thing is, because high speeds are allowed on the unlimited stretches of autobahn, drivers are aware of this and behave accordingly. I’ve driven at high speeds in Germany too and was travelling at about 120mph when I was overtaken by a Ferrari going at around 160. It is worth noting that those stretches of autobahn with no speed restrictions do have significantly higher crash rates than the restricted sections, while crashes at high speeds will tend to be catastrophic rather than potentially survivable.
Speed limits are, by and large, there for a reason. Any speeding is inappropriate use of speed, though there are degrees and 128mph in a 30 zone should result in a very long term (or possibly permanent ban) while 78mph on the motorway should result in a rather milder slap on the wrist.
If you want to drive fast, do some track days.
He must have been in a hurry
He must have been in a hurry to get out of East Grinstead ……
The risk of killing other
The risk of killing other people on a residential road at 128mph must be orders of magnitude higher than doing the same speed on a motorway (even in imperfect conditions), where you rarely find cyclists, pedestrians, etc. I hope the sentence reflected that. It should be a lifetime ban.
That driver should have his
That driver should have his license revoked and never allowed to drive again, but of course in our driving country he could have killed people and have his license suspended slightly longer than the prison sentence he’d receive.
“it requires a major shift in
“it requires a major shift in the attitudes of these people to think about safety.”
Actually it just needs these people removing from the roads permanently
it needs proper enforcement,
it needs proper enforcement, the easiest way to change attitudes is if people think they will get caught.
Trust me I know, my job says I lose it if I lose my licence. I got speeding points 50 in a 40MPH roadworks on the M6. However I went on one of those speeding courses and never again. Thing is it has made me more aware as a cyclist as well to the dangers around us.
ianrobo wrote:it needs proper
There is no class element to passing your driving test, perhaps these safety courses should be mandatory for everyone taking their test.
ianrobo wrote:it needs proper
Me too as it happens – the speed awareness course was good. The attitudes of some of the others taking the course were of concern.
One big thing I’ve noticed since taking the course too is how much I save in fuel costs. Stay within the speed limits and your fuel bills will be more manageable, as will the expense of maintaining and servicing your vehicle as suspension bushes, tyres and brakepads will also last longer.
Brainwashed Britain rears
Brainwashed Britain rears it’s ugly head once again…..
I think getting wrapped up on
I think getting wrapped up on the safety aspects of driving at ridiculous speeds is kind of missing the point in my opinion.
It goes without saying that at times, it is relatively safe to drive at 140mph, where on other occasions, 20mph is taking the piss.
My thought is that wherever some one feels it acceptable or appropriate to hit those types of speed is irrelevant, but the act of thinking its acceptable (never mind safe) to do so, demonstrates that the driver is unable to make considered judgments and is not worthy of a licence.
I don’t know anyone that doesn’t speed at times (although my missus drives slow with the kids on board), however the vast majority do so to a percentage that does not jeopardise safety… i.e. 75-80 on a motorway. Moving wildly away from this is demonstrative of a basic lack of care/competence.
The argument about F1 drivers is completely mute… none of the convicted in these examples are listed as having any professional racing experience, therefore there is nothing to suggest they have any advanced skill or reaction times to anyone else on the road.
I am a German ex motorbike
I am a German ex motorbike racer, thus familiar with speeding and in a way also quite sympathetic to it. Sorry.
123 mph is difficult to achieve in a suburban area, also in a Porsche. It says nowhere at what time of the day the speeding was done. I assume it was in the middle of the night. If so, I would not rate it as severe as many do in here.
Maybe reaction times are not quicker for racers, but they are more efficient in reacting and they can handle their cars/ bikes so much better. You do not always need to brake to a standstill to avoid an accident, avoiding the obstacle is more often key.
People tend to change perspectives entirely when changing their means of transportation. Having a bit of understanding for the others just makes driving together more pleasant. I opt for more tolerance, freedom and not blindly obeying rules (and I am the f****** German in here). It is needless to say tolerance ends where threats start.
Any opportunity for making
Any opportunity for making fun of your German background has been undermined by your reasonableness. Damn the EU, taking away our rights! 😉
Maybe this is a German thing,
Maybe this is a German thing, apologies.
Even if the Speed Limit is 30 and you are sticking to it, you might be speeding in my opinion in case a bunch of restless school Kids (or cows, whatever) is swarming the pavement next to your driveway. I prefer someone going 123 mph in the middle of the Night and going 15 in the Above Example.
My Point is that speed is not a Risk factor itself, it depends On the circumstances. And while acknowledging the point of Speed limits and fines, I just think an extensive and automatic 5 year ban On going 45 in a 30 is silly.
Fried wrote:…..Even if the
Precisely. Speed limits are not an indication of the speed you ‘must’ maintain, they are the maximum speed at which you are legally allowed to travel at on any section of road in the best road conditions. In all cases your actual speed of travel will be mitigated by the prevailing conditions; wet/dry, night/day, sunny/bright/cloudy, visibility, etc.
Having read and re-read the
Having read and re-read the heading to this, it doesn’t specify what penalties; if any, were incurred by these lunatics, or even if those other than the un-named Porsche driver were identified, or even apprehended.
After tripping a speed camera doing 86 mph in a city street, it begs the question how long must this dickhead have been exceeding the speed limit to attain this extraordinary reckless speed.
Drivers such as this should not only PERMANENTLY lose their license, they should lose their liberty for a lengthy spell.