MORE than four out of every five motorists are speeding on some of Huddersfield’s busiest roads.
Figures just released by the Department of Transport show that on some roads the vast majority of Huddersfield drivers are ignoring fixed speed cameras and driving over the limit.
The worst road in Kirklees is the A629 Wakefield Road between Huddersfield town centre and Waterloo, which is a 30mph zone.
Here some 84% of cars speed past the three cameras. The average speed is 35mph, although much of the traffic is travelling at speeds of up to 41mph.
The statistics have been collected from Kirklees’ 40 fixed speed cameras and published by the Department of Transport.
The two main roads in and out of Huddersfield’s Colne and Holme Valleys are high in the list of roads with the most speeders.
Almost two out of three drivers speed in and out of the valleys, according to the survey.
There are five cameras along the A616 Woodhead Road between Lockwood Scar and Holmfirth. Between 59% and 63% of all drivers drive above the limit along here.
It’s a similar picture in the Colne Valley. The five cameras along Manchester Road between Milnsbridge and Marsden recorded between 59% and 62% of all traffic as speeding.
The contentious camera in Huddersfield town centre on Manchester Road, near Outcote Bank, has been the subject of many Examiner readers’ letters and complaints.
Some 59% of all drivers speed past this, although the average speed is only 32mph.
Another main road with consistent speeders is Bradford Road in Huddersfield between Willow Lane and Allison Drive.
Some 65% of traffic speeds along here.
Others include Bradford Road, Batley, between Huddersfield Road and St Thomas Road, with 55% of all drivers breaking the law.
In Batley, 55% of all drivers speed on the A652 Bradford Road between Huddersfield Road and Thomas Street.
In the Spen Valley, 54% of motorists break the 30mph speed limit on the A643 Spen Lane, Cleckheaton, between Gomersal Lane and Shirley Road.
Huddersfield-based road safety charity Brake has welcomed the publication of the speeding charts, but has called for more detailed analysis to be carried out on the statistics.
