Coronavirus: NHS being put under pressure by "selfish" drivers

Emergency services are being put under pressure because of "selfish" drivers who are using the coronavirus lockdown as an excuse to break speed limits. 

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) for London and the South East recently captured footage of a driver being tracked at 150mph on the A11 through Cambridgeshire. In Greater Manchester, a motorist was clocked at 115mph on a 40mph road.  

A driver was stopped for doing 112mph on the A41 Bypass by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit. He said he was 17 miles from home looking for somewhere to go for a walk. Another driver was recorded at 134mph in a 40mph limit in London.

These instances follow news HonestJohn.co.uk reported on 15 April of an accident which required the use of five fire appliances, three ambulances and four police cars to attend the scene. The vehicle crashed into a tree on an unlit country road after three people, all from different households, went for a drive 30 miles from home.

The Government has insisted that people should only be driving for essential reasons, which includes key workers and people who need to leave their house for food and medical supplies. 

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It comes as Department for Transport data shows vehicle use in the UK has plunged by two thirds over the past month after the country went into lockdown on 23 March.

"Please don’t be selfish, and stick to the limit. There are currently more children, pedestrians and cyclists out and about for their daily exercise, all throughout the day," said Nick Lloyd, head of road safety at RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).

"If you cause a crash, you will be putting frontline resources and health professionals under needless strain at a time when they should be dealing with getting the pandemic under control." 

Other road incidents include a driver recorded doing 122mph on the M5, while Greater Manchester Police caught a driver doing 115mph on a 40mph road and one reaching speeds of 129mph on the M62. A driver was also stopped in Sudbury, Suffolk, travelling at 80mph in a 30mph limit with no insurance or driving licence.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, said: "Our NHS colleagues are already under extreme pressure – it is important, more than ever, that drivers do not add to this."

Have you seen drivers speeding more than usual where you live? Let us know in the comments below.