Thousands fined for speeding on Swindon ‘motorway’ road
Wiltshire Police joined with the community around Queens Drive last month to raise awareness of speeding[1] on the route after enforcement action failed to curb the problem. On average, 79 drivers were caught speeding past Holy Cross Junior School during each of the 65 speed enforcement operations carried out over 12 months. This means 5,149 motorists were recorded exceeding the 30mph speed limit.
Of these drivers, 4,503 attended speed awareness courses, 570 received a fine and points on their licence, and 76 cases have been sent to court. A Freedom of Information request put to the police force shows that some of these speeders were caught driving at more than twice the 30mph speed limit in 2025. In recent months, those who have appeared in court have been slapped with fines, including Ryan Bennett, 29, of High Street, Stonesfield, who was behind the wheel of a Ford Focus on May 29 travelling over the 30mph limit.
After pleading guilty to the offence, he was fined GBP438 and ordered to pay a surcharge of GBP175 and court costs of GBP90, totalling GBP703. He was handed six penalty points for speeding. Meanwhile, on June 2, Benjamin Willison appeared in the dock at Swindon Magistrates Court charged with speeding on the busy road.
Lucy Martin, 53, of Liddington Street, Pinehurst, pleaded guilty to speeding at Swindon Magistrates Court on June 2 - exactly a year after the offence took place. Martin was fined GBP230 and ordered to pay a surcharge of GBP92 and court costs of GBP90. In a separate incident, 46-year-old Mohamed Trabelsi, of Cranmore Avenue, Park South, was seen exceeding the 30mph limit on Queens Drive at the end of November.
Trabelsi was issued six penalty points, along with a fine of GBP120, a surcharge of GBP48 and prosecution costs of GBP120. Andy Hicks, speed enforcement officer for Wiltshire Police, explained that drivers treat Queens Drive like a "mini-motorway." He said: "Queens Drive is an unusual location.
Despite being a 30mph road, it consists of six lanes, three in each direction, effectively creating a mini-motorway directly past a primary school. "Along the same stretch sits an ambulance station and a day hub supporting vulnerable and homeless adults. "This combination of high-speed traffic and vulnerable pedestrians makes strict speed compliance absolutely essential."
He also said officers have witnessed dangerous behaviour from parents, children and young adults that increase the risk of incidents on the busy road. He added: "Officers have witnessed parents with children attempting to cross all six lanes of traffic rather than using the nearby pedestrian crossing, placing themselves and their children at significant risk. "Vulnerable adults have also been seen stepping into the road without awareness of the dangers.
"These behaviours, combined with excessive vehicle speeds, create a serious and entirely avoidable threat to life." Police and Crime[2] Commissioner Philip Wilkinson believes that Queens Drive may have a bigger problem with speeding than anywhere else in the county. He said: "Keeping young people safe has to be a priority for all of us, and speed enforcement has always been a priority in my Police and Crime Plan.
"There are more speeding drivers caught outside this school driving over 50mph in a 30mph zone than probably anywhere else in the county, and that's why we have to make these areas of potential high harm a high priority.
"Everybody needs to play their part, that's from the headteacher and the school staff who are brilliant, to the parents, children, the police, my office and the council, we all need to work together."