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.
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hissingsid on 23 April 2020
As I have said before elsewhere on this site, let the punishment fit the crime.Confiscate the offenders toys and put them in the crusher.
Silas Marner on 23 April 2020
And their toys.
Pug RCZ on 27 April 2020
LOL
Lloydyboy on 27 April 2020
Crush the car preferably with the driver in it. If they have caused a crash, send them the bill for all the emergency services in attendance to be paid immediately, if not sell their property to foot the billconman on 27 April 2020
£1000 fine that goes to support the NHS and car crushed. If it,s on lease too bad you are responsible for the payments. Change in the law could also enable to allow the police to fine you on the spot . As they do in France and Spain and other sensible countries.Bev Webb on 27 April 2020
One thing that has not been commented on is the lack of noise, from jet aircraft, lorries, cars and motorbikes.We hear a lot about saving and protecting the environment from all sorts of pollution, but we hear little about noise pollution, and yet at one time noise pollution was a big problem in our hospitals.
Round our way, we have a few very noisy motorcycles which rip around the 30mph roads including ours, and yet despite complaints to the police, no action is taken.
We need a campaign to enforce noisy motorists to quieten their vehicles, whatever they are!
Pug RCZ on 27 April 2020
I totally agree.
In addition, the teenage Corsa drivers with ridiculous illegal exhausts.
George Wells on 27 April 2020
Confiscate these vehicles and put them in the crusher, then ban the driver for 10 years, make sure insurance companies know who they are too.Speed limits are limits not targets.
Peter Hopley on 27 April 2020
Totally agree about the noise. A group of about 3 'Chopper' style motorbikes went through our village in Derbysjhire last Sunday. They took off from the traffic lights and I thought WW3 had started - the noise was ridiculous and ear splitting. How the hell do they get away with it? We also get the Japanese sport type bikes going through, and when they get out of the 30 limit they wind them up so you can still hear them at least a mile away. And plenty of cars make a racket too. I fail to understand how these bikes and cars get away with this, surely they are manufactured with silencers to stop such noise levels? Surely noise should be measured at an MOT and if excessive the vehicle can be taken off the road.gavsmit on 28 April 2020
Despite how terrible this Coronavirus is, hopefully it will unite decent people to no longer tolerate the selfish idiots on our roads anymore.That includes dangerous and nuisance drivers / riders (e.g. blaring out rubbish noise from car stereos or riding something that sounds like someone setting off fireworks in a metal bucket).
I see the same clowns riding / driving up and down all day despite the lockdown. I initially gave them the benefit of the doubt that they might be key workers (despite their antisocial method of travelling in/on their vehicles) but I've since found out that's not the case, they are just bad people flouting the lockdown rules.
I'd love to find out what annoys those kinds of inconsiderate people to return the favour in some way - but crushing their cars/bikes and forcing them to pay a hefty contribution to the NHS will be a good start (or revoking their access to NHS treatment, taxing them at a higher rate / reducing their benefits to cover the extra cost of their selfish behaviour).
Petegeoff on 28 April 2020
I agree but all the leftie/anachist types will come out and say these people have their rights and we shouldn't be able to stop them.
Petegeoff on 28 April 2020
Is that put the drivers in the crusher or their car? Of course, if the car is on finance it can't be crushed anyway as the driver doesn't own it. Much stricter punishments needed.
hissingsid on 28 April 2020
There is a more recent thread here which states that "Lockdown speeders face hefty insurance increase", but these selfish individuals are unlikely to tell their insurers of their speeding convictions, if indeed they are insured at all.Andy Lane on 1 May 2020
The "lefty"people came up with the NHS. You might want to reflect on that in these difficult times.Add a comment