Car clocked doing 144mph on Wrexham road

A North Wales Police and Crime Panel heard how a car was “clocked” travelling 144 miles per hour on a 70mph stretch of road.

One member of the panel said he was “horrified” to learn that a public footpath crossed the section of the link road at Wrexham Industrial Estate.

The discussion took place at a North Wales Police and Crime Panel meeting at Conwy County Council’s Coed Pella HQ yesterday (Monday).

Speaking in the chamber, committee member Trevor Coxon raised the issue following a briefing by chairwoman Pat Astbury on the Compass scheme.

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

Ms Astbury said the scheme relies on live and historical telematics data – including vehicle speeds and G-force measurements – from across the UK.

She noted that this information gives authorities the potential for an intelligence-led approach to road safety.

The scheme uses “black box” style telemetry data streamed directly from connected cars, which is then shared anonymously with police and councils to identify safety issues

Authorities can then use the data to see where “near misses” happen.

But speaking on the matter, Trevor Coxon said he was left “horrified” by the findings.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter