A motorist was clocked driving 84mph through a leafy street in Pannal, the parish council has revealed.
A machine operated by Pannal & Burn Bridge Parish Council records the speed of vehicles on Church Lane and it registered the car racing down the 30mph zone last year.
Since then it has regularly found cars and vans dangerously breaking the speed limit. In May 2022 alone, 277 vehicles were recorded travelling faster than 50mph.
Speeding problem
The parish council has three Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) within the parish.
The machines flash the current speed to the motorist and run 24/7, with the data then relayed back to North Yorkshire Police.
The council’s chair, Cllr Howard West, said they have begun to publish the data because “many people had no idea” of the speeding problem in Pannal.
Mr West said:
“With more housing being built on the western arc, it will only become worse.
“More white vans for home deliveries under time pressure and more irresponsible drivers were some of the reasons we chose to employ Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs).”
Read more:
- New pothole machine could be coming to Harrogate district roads
- Harrogate firefighter brands plans to rely on one fire engine ‘farcical’
In March 2022, the top three speeds were 76mph, 71mph and 69mph.
Mr West wants to make people aware that Church Lane, Yew Tree Lane and Burn Bridge Road are 30mph zones and through Main Street in the village itself it is 20mph.
He added:
Call for police action against Harrogate Asda car park ‘boy racers’“We’ll keep highlighting those ridiculously high speeds, sometimes around school pick-up times, in the hope that common sense will prevail and people will travel at no more than 30mph or in some cases 20mph in our parish. “
A Harrogate resident has called for police action against ‘boy racers’ who regularly descend on the town’s Asda car park.
The resident, who lives on Mayfield Grove within earshot of the car park, told the Stray Ferret he would organise a demonstration if nothing was done.
He said people on streets near the store were tired of the noise and had safety concerns about vehicles speeding.
According to the resident, who asked not to be named, about four to six cars belonging mainly to young men congregate nightly in the car park and rev their engines and pop their exhausts.
The resident said they had raised the matter with Philip Allott, the police commissioner for North Yorkshire, and a police community support officer had agreed to visit the supermarket this week to discuss the matter,
They said they would now wait to see what ensued before deciding whether to mobilise support for a demonstration.
“Every night for years these idiots gather in the rear part of Asda car park where they rev their engines then race out of the car park and round Harrogate.
“I have video and pics that I gave to Philip Allott of a Mercedes that is there most nights and which nearly wiped out a couple of customers.
“If the police don’t do anything about it, we are going to arrange a demo at Asda.”
Read more:
- Ferrari towed away in Harrogate in police supercar clampdown
- Police have ‘public duty’ to tackle noisy cars, says commissioner
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said:
“We are aware of anti-social-behaviour problems around the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate, in particular issues with speeding vehicles.
“We will be actively deploying specialist resource to the area which will include roads policing officers who will be robustly dealing with any offences.
“Officers will also be linking in other local organisations and utilising local CCTV to help us build intelligence.”
The spokesman said these measures were in addition to North Yorkshire Police’s ongoing Operation Crome initiative to tackle anti-social and illegal driving.
An Asda spokesman said:
Police pledge to crack down on fast and noisy cars in Harrogate‘’We thank the vast majority who use our car parks responsibly and we will work with the authorities to ensure that the spaces around our stores remain safe for our customers.’’
Police have pledged to take a zero tolerance approach to fast and noisy drivers in Harrogate town centre this summer.
Harrogate often attracts drivers, sometimes in modified vehicles, racing around the main roads, particularly during summer.
North Yorkshire Police said today it has already handed out three traffic offence reports and one more serious section 59 warning for antisocial driving behaviour, which could lead to the car being seized.
It pledged in a statement to keep up the pressure during the summer months on “the irresponsible behaviour of some drivers which is not only unsafe but also highly disruptive”.
Operation Chrome, which began last summer last year, has restarted and will see increased police patrols in hot spots, more speed cameras across town, vehicle stops and detailed CCTV reviews.
Read more:
- Ripon suffers further violent and anti-social behaviour
- Major incident opened into River Nidd ‘disaster’
Superintendent Steve Thomas said:
“As the weather improves we see a surge in the number of vehicles driving antisocially around the town centre.
“Residents and visitors should not have to fear for their safety or have their days blighted by this excessive noise.
“We are taking a zero tolerance approach to this dangerous behaviour.
“Rest assured if you receive a warning and continue driving irresponsibly, we will be watching and your vehicle will be seized.”
Have you noticed more fast and noisy cars on your street? Tell us your experience contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.