Revealed: The staggering speeds logged by drivers on roads in Staffordshire and the Black Country

An investigation has revealed the  “incredibly dangerous actions” by motorists in the region  in the 20 months to the end of August last year.

The highest recorded speed on 30mph roads included in the analysis  in the West Midlands Police area was 100 mph, while the top speed logged by the force for 20mph roads was 65mph. 

The fastest speed detected on any road in the West Midlands was 142mph on a stretch of the M6 southbound between the M54 and J10, for Walsall. 

Meanwhile in Staffordshire, police logged a driver travelling at 87mph in a 30mph zone and 46mph in a 20mph zone. The fastest speed recorded on any road in the county was 149mph on the M6 southbound, between J13 and J10A.

The RAC, which obtained the figures through Freedom of Information requests, has called on the Government to use its forthcoming road safety strategy to tackle “avoidable casualties” in crashes involving speeding drivers. 

RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said there was no place for the vastly excessive speeds that some people are prepared to drive.

He added: “Although this data is a snapshot, it shines a light on the incredibly dangerous actions of a few, that are putting law-abiding road users at serious risk. Thankfully, the police were on hand to catch these drivers.

“Speed is the leading cause of deaths on UK roads. We look forward to the Government’s forthcoming road safety strategy understanding what can be done to reduce such avoidable casualties on the UK’s roads.”

Car cruising has been a huge issue across the Black Country. A High Court injunction banning street racing in the Black Country remains in force, with a review hearing being held on Wednesday, February, 26. 

Sarah Coombes, MP for West Bromwich, said anyone who lives near Kenrick Way in West Bromwich has come to dread Friday and Saturday nights when as many as 50 cars congregate and treat the road like a race-track.

She said one of the main things residents raise with her is speeding and dangerous driving. 

" Eleven-year-old Safa who attends George Betts Primary had written with her classmates to the local council about their fears about speeding on Oldbury Road and a lack of safe places to cross," Ms Coombes said. 

"Tragically, Safa’s own grandmother was then killed by a car on that very stretch of road a year later. I’ve been campaigning alongside Safa’s family to improve the road and ensure no family goes through what they have had to.  

"Another constituent, Diane from Tividale, told me  how her husband was killed by a woman who was on her phone while driving. Unbelievably, the driver did not immediately call 999, but instead called a relative, after hitting Diane’s husband. As the local MP I feel it’s my duty to try and make our streets safer and stop this kind of reckless, selfish driving that leaves families devastated." 

She said she got the Secretary of State for Transport to visit West Bromwich and the Minister committed to the government publishing a new road safety strategy. 

Other high profile deaths on the region's roads in recent years have included that of 16-year-old Liberty Charris and 19-year-old Ben Corfield, both from Dudley.

The teenagers were killed when a blue Nissan Skyline hit several pedestrians who were gathered at an illegal street racing event on the A457 Oldbury Road near the junction with Crystal Drive in Oldbury, on November 20, 2022. 

Two others were also seriously injured in the collision, with Ethan Kilburn suffering a fractured pelvis, foot and right arm while Ebonie Parkes was left with fractured ribs, hips, leg and shoulder and a collapsed lung. 

Dhiya Al Maamoury, of Hobs Moat Road, Solihull, pleaded not guilty last March to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. 

However, at Wolverhampton Crown Court in September, Al Maamoury changed his pleas and admitted causing the death of the two teenage friends and seriously injuring two others.

The 56-year-old was sentenced to 13 and a half years in jail for each charge of death by dangerous driving, to run concurrently.

He was sentenced to 32 months in prison for each count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, also to run concurrently, and disqualified from driving for 14 years. 

In a tribute issued by West Midlands Police at the time of their deaths in 2022, Mr Corfield's family described him as a "larger-than-life character" with a "huge heart that was made of gold". 

In a separate tribute released after her death, Ms Charris' family described her as their "beautiful baby girl and sister", adding that her aim in life was to "make everyone happy". 

Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, said choosing to drive so far above set speed limits was "reckless, selfish and completely unacceptable". 

Separate Department for Transport (DfT) statistics show 331 people died in crashes on Britain’s roads in 2023 in which a driver exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor.

This was at least a 10-year high and represented 21% of all road fatalities.

An RAC survey carried out last year indicated 55% of drivers believe there is a culture among UK road users that it is acceptable to speed, with only 23% disagreeing with this assertion.

A DfT spokesman said: “There’s no excuse for those who risk the lives of others through speeding, and there are already tough penalties in place for drivers who speed.

“While our roads are among the safest in the world, we are committed to improving road safety, and recently relaunched our Think! campaign with a focus on speeding, particularly on rural roads.”

The survey of 2,691 drivers was carried out by research company Online95 between March 23 and April 15 last year.

Here is a breakdown of the highest speeds on 30mph roads:

1. South Yorkshire Police: 122mph

2. Sussex Police: 113mph

3=. Greater Manchester Police: 112mph

3=. West Yorkshire Police: 112mph

5. West Mercia Police: 106mph

6. Lancashire Constabulary: 104mph

7=. Nottinghamshire Police: 103mph

7=. Bedfordshire Police: 103mph

9=. West Midlands Police: 100mph

9=. Police Service of Northern Ireland: 100mph

11. Dorset Police: 97mph

12. Lincolnshire Police: 96mph

13=. Avon and Somerset Police: 93mph

13=. Kent Police: 93mph

13=. Police Scotland: 93mph

16. Leicestershire Police: 92mph

17=. Cambridgeshire Constabulary: 91mph

17=. Durham Constabulary: 91mph

17=. Gwent Police: 91mph

20=. Essex Police: 90mph

20=. Hampshire Constabulary: 90mph

22=. Devon and Cornwall Police: 89mph

22=. Merseyside Police: 89mph

22=. Norfolk Constabulary: 89mph

25. Staffordshire Police: 87mph

26=. Northumbria Police: 85mph

26=. Hertfordshire Constabulary: 85mph

28=. Suffolk Constabulary: 83mph

28=. Warwickshire Police: 83mph

30. Cumbria Police: 78mph

31=. Cheshire Constabulary: 77mph

31=. North Yorkshire Police: 77mph

33. Northamptonshire Police: 76mph

34. Gloucestershire Constabulary: 74mph

35. North Wales Police: 72mph

36. Cleveland Police: 64mph