Police seize BMW speeding at 84mph through accident blackspot
AN uninsured BMW driver had his car seized after he was caught travelling at 84mph at night along one of the worst animal accident blackspot routes in the New Forest.
The motorist was going at more than twice the 40mph speed limit on the B3078 Roger Penny Way near Fordingbridge last night (Thursday). It was described by police as “frightening” behaviour.
On Facebook New Forest officers today warned that local roads should not be treated as "race tracks”.
The post said: “Last night members of our specials team spent time on Roger Penny Way and the results are frightening.
“Not only did they issue tickets to drivers doing 59, 60 and 62mph on a 40mph road but this car was seized from a driver who was clocked at 84 mph! The driver has been reported to court.”
The New Forest Roads Campaign (NFRC), which often teams up with police to carry out SpeedWatch checks on roads across the district, described the incident as “utterly ridiculous”.
Group spokesperson Gilly Jones said there seemed to be a worrying trend among drivers who think accidents will never happen to them if they speed.
“This driver was fortunate to have been stopped by a police officer,” Ms Jones said.
“They may lose their license for a while, which may be difficult for them, but how life changing would it have been if they had hit an animal at 84mph? We would be talking about a very different story today.
“Three other tickets were issued last night with drivers going at 59, 60 and 62. This shows that some people still do not get the messages we put out repeatedly. Large signs are put out on high risk routes, but some still just don't take notice.
“Some just don't care, some live in an 'It will never happen to me' world.”
Ms Jones acknowledged that overall motorists obey the speed limits. But she said the NFRC was at a loss as to how it could put the message across to those still flouting them.
As reported in the A&T, the campaign group carried out one of its SpeedWatch operations alongside Hampshire police officers on the B3054 between Lymington and Hatchet Pond on Tuesday.
Thirty out of 200 vehicles checked during an hour were clocked at speeds over 40mph. The highest speed was 57mph.
The original Hampshire Specials Police tweet about the 84mph incident, with a picture of the offending BMW, has been shared on a number of Facebook pages.
One person commented: “He must have been out of his head crazy. Hit anything at that speed and you kill yourself too.”
Another posted: “It’s not just the visitors to the area but the locals who think they have a right to speed. It’s 40 in the Forest.
“If the council and the police force want to cut deaths from idiots who won’t slow down get more speed cameras and speed traps. These people will never listen to anyone. They should be taken off the roads to save lives.”
