Speeding in Wigan: Huge rise in motorists driving too fast

Freedom of Information (FOI)requests show a dramatic leap in drivers being penalised for putting their foot down in the past two years compared to previously.

A massive 3,647 people were going too fast in Wigan in 2017-18 and the 2016-17 total of 3,815 was even higher, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have revealed.

This is a huge increase on the 1,654 drivers spotted exceeding the limit by police in 2015-16.

The borough’s blackspot for speeding has also been revealed with the camera on the A58 Liverpool Road currently catching out more people behind the wheel than any other monitoring device.

The number of people speeding there has also jumped up dramatically in the previous financial year compared to previous totals.

What makes the GMP figures for Wigan all the more remarkable is that in the same time period Lancashire colleagues monitoring the western part of Wigan borough and its surrounding communities.

The annual Greater Manchester Police Christmas drink-driving campaign has been brought forward by more than a fortnight after an appalling weekend of road accident tragedies in the region.

Three people were killed in separate traffic incidents - a girl aged eight in Monton, Salford, a 17-year-old boy in Oldham and a 21-year-old woman in Middleton.

Four more were seriously injured - including two schoolgirls in separate crashes in Heywood.

And there were more fatalities in neighbouring counties: four died in a collision in Sheffield and a man and a women were also killed in a pile-up on the M6 north of Preston.

Police made a series of arrests - some on suspicion of drink-driving - and a number of suspects have now been released pending further investigations.

GMP said its annual None for the Road campaign - which usually launches on December 1 - was starting early as a result.

Meanwhile, new statistics released by the force reveal an alarming rise in serious road traffic collisions across the force area.

Chief Insp Gareth Parkin said 728 people were killed or left seriously injured between July 2016 and June 2017. Between July 2017 and June this year, the figure was 824 - a rise of 96, or 13 per cent.

The senior officer said targeted police patrols would be stepped up as part of the campaign.

No fewer than 149 people were arrested in the first two weeks of the annual festive crackdown last December - more than seven a day. GMP said the first half of the operation saw 463 breath tests carried out.

Mr Parkin said: “Christmas seems to be getting earlier and earlier and the Christmas markets have now opened in Manchester. Please do not drink and drive. It’s that simple. This was not an average weekend. It was hugely demanding.

“It is very difficult to say why it was so busy, but we are appealing to members of the public. If you are planning a journey, give yourselves plenty of time. People rush. It is not an offence to be late.

“We know what a significant impact drink-driving has on impairing a person’s ability to drive. Do not take that chance. If you think you are over the limit, you are over the limit.”