Driver clocked at 144mph on road crossed by public footpath

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A driver was clocked travelling at 144mph on a 70mph road crossed by a public footpath, leaving a councillor “horrified” at the potential consequences.

The speed was recorded on the link road at Wrexham Industrial Estate and emerged during a discussion about technology being used to identify road safety hotspots across North Wales.

North Wales Police and Crime Panel member Trevor Coxon said he was “horrified” by the finding, particularly because a public footpath crosses the dual carriageway.

The issue was raised at a meeting of the panel at Conwy County Council’s Coed Pella headquarters on Monday during a briefing on the Compass scheme.

The scheme maps high-risk collision sites using red dots to identify danger hotspots.

It uses live and historical data from connected vehicles, including speeds and G-force measurements, to help police and councils identify potential road safety problems and locations where near misses are occurring.

Panel chairwoman Pat Astbury said the information could allow authorities to take a more intelligence-led approach to road safety.

Mr Coxon said: “I was particularly interested because some work was being done in relation to the industrial estate link road in Wrexham, which is currently a 70 mile an hour unrestricted dual carriageway.

“But I was horrified to learn that one of these red dots, where they had identified a vehicle that was exceeding the speed limit, was clocked at doing 144 mph on a 70 mile an hour on an industrial estate link road, and it’s not a very long link road. It’s not a very long road.”

He added: “And what is even more concerning is that there is a public footpath that crosses that. Now, if somebody is doing 144 mph, they’re not going to see people walking across that road.”

Mr Coxon then asked if there had been any “copycat” incidents after a driver in Anglesey was reported going the wrong way on the A55 last month.

The matter arose after discussions turned to the tragic wrong-way collision that killed seven in Middlesbrough last month, including two police officers.

North Wales Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans then said: “That particular incident wasn’t a copycat. I think there has been some talk nationally around TikTok videos and certain people going the wrong way down roads to film it and get a reaction online, but that wasn’t what we experienced locally.”

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