A DRIVER was recorded travelling more than three times the speed limit on a main town centre road by police.

Following a Lancashire Telegraph investigation, it has been revealed the vehicle was caught driving 98mph on Barbara Castle Way in Blackburn on September 28.

The vehicle was captured by the speed camera near the junction with Victoria Street on the 30mph limit stretch.

In the past 12 months, 30 separate speeds have been recorded at 93mph or more in East Lancashire.

Other reckless speeds were logged on the A59 near Clitheroe, where 98mph was recorded on November 4, 96mph on September 1 and 95mph on September 8. Speeds of 99mph and 97 mph were recorded on the A59 near Sawley.

A car was found to be doing 101mph on the Rawtenstall bypass on November 5.

Cllr Phil Riley, highways boss for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said the actions of the driver speeding on Barbara Castle Way were ‘completely irresponsible’.

He said: “It’s completely extraordinary someone has managed to drive at that speed in an urban area.

“That level of appalling driving is bound to produce accidents because at those speeds they will never be able to stop quickly.

“If a pedestrian walked out into the road or there was a blockage there is no way they could see it in time to stop.”

Several of the highest speeds were recorded on the M65, which included 95mph near Accrington, 94mph in Darwen and 95mph near Nelson.

On the A59 near Gisburn and Bracewell, speeds of 105mph were recorded in June and September.

The Highway Code states the average braking distance of a car travelling 30mph on a dry road is around 75 feet.

A car travelling 70mph would need around 315 feet, the equivalent of 24 car lengths.

Out of the 30 speeds captured, 22 drivers were given a fixed penalty and points, three were pending acceptance of a conditional offer of a fixed penalty, four were pending response after requesting the driver’s details, three were preparing for court, one was awaiting prosecution hearing and one was fined £330 and was given six penalty points.

The full list of speeds and locations can be found here 

County Cllr Keith Iddon, highways boss for Lancashire County Council, said: “Unfortunately drivers today don’t want to take any notice of the warnings we place on our roads.

“There are always a small minority of drivers that want to take risks.

“We do have a problem in the county of people stealing cars, seeing what speeds they can get them to, crashing them and then running away. It’s something we are aware of and we are doing our best to combat it.”

A police spokesman said: “Speeding is one of the ‘fatal four’ causes of death and serious injury on the roads, along with drink-driving, not wearing a seatbelt and mobile phone use.

“We would remind motorists that the limit is there to ensure the safety of all road users."