By Man “nearly killed” by driver in Waltham as speed limits are ignored during lockdown
A man has said he was “nearly killed” by a speeding driver in Waltham, as people across Grimsby and surrounding areas report that speed limits are being ignored during the UK lockdown.
The pedestrian said he was taking his daily exercise, crossing at the junction of High Street and New Road in Waltham, when a motorist “doing more than 40mph” swung into the road, only missing him by inches. The man, who did not wish to be named, said:
“I’d just walked up Kirk Gate and was crossing onto the other side where the churchyard is when a driver turned onto New Road from the High Street without slowing down at all. They must have been doing at least 40mph.
“I was half way across the road when the car made the turn so there’s no excuse. It was maybe a foot away when it zoomed past. It’s strange to think that if I’d started walking across a second earlier, I’d have either been killed or seriously injured.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen awful driving during the lockdown.”
Speed enforcement vehicles have been seen operating across Grimsby during the lockdown, in attempts to tackle the issue.
Some questioned whether this qualified as essential work, but most felt it was, due to the amount of people taking advantage of the situation, and putting public safety at risk:
“Police work is essential! Keeping people safe on the roads is essential! Other police tasks don’t and shouldn’t just become abandoned because there is an increased focus on enforcing the new legislation. If that happened every time a new law came out god knows what state we’d be in!”
“Seeing how some people have been driving, probably thinking they won’t get caught, then yes it is essential. It could be the deterrent needed for some and prevent an accident. The reminder needed that speed limits still apply, regardless of the situation.”
Speaking to BBC Look North, Safer Roads Humber spokeswoman Ruth Gore said:
“The fastest speed has been 130mph on the motorway, but what’s more frightening is that in Hull, we’ve had people doing 70mph in the 30mph, and in Killingholme, we’ve had people do 70mph in the 40mph.
“This is where people are walking taking their daily exercise. This is where people are really vulnerable and we’ve had some really high speeds there.”
Contact Gi Grimsby
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
Follows us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest local stories, breaking news and to join the conversation
