?200k supercar driver doing 137mph on M5 has smiled wiped from …

The driver of a McLaren supercar reached speeds of almost 140mph on a motorway in the West Midlands. But the driver's fun was soon spoiled when he was spotted by police and prosecuted.

The reckless driver of the £200,000 McLaren 720S was on the M5 near West Bromwich[1] when he was clocked doing 137mph - nearly twice the motorway speed limit. He was later prosecuted for excessive speeding.

It was the fastest speed recorded on West Midlands roads this year, data obtained by BirminghamLive revealed. There were other occasions when vehicles reached dangerous and frightening speeds on our roads.

POLL:Should Birmingham follow Wales and impose a 20mph speed limit on restricted roads?[3]

An Audi A1 was clocked doing 133mph on the M5 near Frankley. However, the case was later cancelled and the driver wasn't prosecuted. Elsewhere, a VW Golf was caught at 130mph on the M54 near Wolverhampton[4] and was prosecuted.

In total, 16 motorists have been clocked doing 110mph or over on our roads so far in 2023, their egregious speeding either captured by speed cameras or witnessed by police officers.

They included a BMW doing 125mph on the M6, between the M54 exit for Wolverhampton and Junction 10 for Walsall. The driver was snapped by a speed camera.

An Audi S7 was caught at 115mph at Jimmy Hill Way, Coventry, while another VW Golf also reached 115mph on the M6 near Perry Barr[5]. Unsurprisingly, the fastest speeds were reached on motorways where reckless drivers felt more confident putting their foot down.

The fastest non-motorway speed was recorded on the Black Country New Road between the Moxley Junction and Patent Shaft Roundabout, Wednesbury, where the driver of an Audi was caught by a speed camera doing 113mph. The case ended up being cancelled, however.

Details of incidents were passed to us by West Midlands Police[6] following a freedom of information request. It comes after a man who had been doing more than 110mph before a horror crash which killed a groom-to-be[7] was jailed this week.

Tragic Richard Allen died after the Ford Fiesta he was driving was hit on the Wall Island roundabout in Lichfield[8] just two days before Christmas[9] last year. Marius Mihai, from Walsall[10], had been at the wheel of the speeding VW Passat which ploughed into him and was jailed for nine years.

References

  1. ^ West Bromwich (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  2. ^ Midlands train station named as second worst in country for delays and cancellations (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  3. ^ Should Birmingham follow Wales and impose a 20mph speed limit on restricted roads? (xd.wayin.com)
  4. ^ Wolverhampton (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  5. ^ Perry Barr (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  6. ^ West Midlands Police (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  7. ^ horror crash which killed a groom-to-be (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  8. ^ Lichfield (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  9. ^ Christmas (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  10. ^ Walsall (www.birminghammail.co.uk)