Speeding drivers treating empty roads like a race track, warns chief constable

One motorist was caught speeding at 81mph in a 30mph zone, said Ian Hopkins of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

He said lives are being put in danger with motorists putting their foot down and speeding on relatively traffic-free roads due to the lockdown.

One in 10 drivers normally breaks the speed limit, but that figure is now closer to four in 10, he said.

He added that compliance with the lockdown rules have generally been good, with numbers of private car journeys over the Easter weekend in Greater Manchester similar to traffic levels in the 1950s,

However Mr Hopkins added: "Unfortunately people using our roads are now treating them as a race track."

He cited figures for the first seven days of April in Greater Manchester, showing 1,145 motorists broke the 30mph speed limits, with the highest recorded speed being 81mph in a 30mph zone.

On the region's motorways, 264 people were detected speeding, with a highest speed of 129mph recorded on the M62.

Mr Hopkins added: "We are really stepping up our enforcement, we have put the speed camera vans back out on the road, our road traffic officers are stepping up enforcement, but I wanted to send out a message today.

"It's not acceptable, the public don't think it is acceptable, it's putting people's lives at risk and we will be doing much more enforcement."

The force received more than 1,000 reports of incidents over the Easter weekend, but more officers and staff are back on duty with GMP targeting repeat offenders.

Around 2,000 officers and staff had been off work from the force at one point - up to 21 per cent of the total - but that is down to 9% due to more testing of officers, others coming out of self-isolation and some staff working from home.