More than 3,000 drivers were fined in one year at a speeding hotspot, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
FOI data obtained by the ECHO from Cheshire Police showed the force issued 3,101 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to motorists on the A533 southbound at Halton Lodge in Runcorn over 12 months from 2021-22. This equates to about 60 a week or 8.5 a day.
The location is the same spot where a mobile speed trap detected Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Lamborghini at 1.08pm on August 18 last year when the luxury sports car was travelling at 58mph in a 50mph limit. The ECHO previously reported how the footballer, now 25, had initially pleaded not guilty to speeding and one count of failing to provide information but changed his plea to guilty via his lawyer Barry Warburton at Chester Magistrates’ Court on March 15.
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Prosecutor Michael O’Kane offered no evidence over the latter charge of not providing information and it was dropped.
Cheshire Police’s FOI team told the ECHO there were no FPNs issued at the Halton Lodge speed trap bay in 2020-21.
The fastest velocities recorded over the entire two years at that location were 89mph, 85mph, 82mph, 80mph and 79mph.
No data was available for the number of appeals and how many were upheld or thrown out, but the FOI unit said HM Courts and Tribunals Service might hold the figures due to it being handling appeals.
The ECHO is aware that the Halton Lodge speed trap spot regularly features in appeals in the magistrates’ court.
The exact spot is on the A533 southbound where the Central Expressway forks left onto the Southern Expressway towards Northwich and Warrington, and right onto the Weston Link towards the M56 junction 12 and Chester.
It is classed as “Halton Lodge” due to its proximity to the housing estate of the same name.
Drivers familiar with the area will be used to the occasional sight of a mobile speed trap van parked up in a bay on the Southern Expressway bend.
Much of the southbound traffic on the route enters Runcorn from Widnes and Liverpool via the Mersey Gateway to the north.
According to crashmap.co.uk, there was a serious collision involving two vehicles and one casualty on the left-hand fork as it straightens out onto the Southern Expressway in September 2019, and slight collision with one vehicle and one casualty in October 2018.
There was a fatal one-car collision further down the Southern Expressway in October 2018, but there was no suggestion speeding was a factor at an inquest into the tragedy.
On the left-hand fork onto the Weston Link, there was a slight collision in February 2019 with two vehicles and one casualty, which happened close to the on-slip from the Southern Expressway northbound.
The spot appears to be less prone to crashes than the next nearest junction to the north for Halton Lea and the Spur Road, which is cluttered with collision tags on the crash map.
The route is classed as part of the Mersey Gateway network and passes through north-south Runcorn new town, with several junctions connected to the local road network along the way.
Most of the southbound Central Expressway is a dual carriageway with two lanes each way.
It widens to six lanes shortly before it splits left and right.
The speed limit coming off the bridge is 60mph and switches to 50mph shortly after the turnoff for Halton Lea.
Asked why this particular spot was picked to carry out speed enforcement and at such intensity, a Cheshire Police spokesman said: “The location was chosen following a speeding complaint of excess speed from the local community – this could have been a local resident, an officer, a councillor or the local authority directly.”
He said figures for other mobile speed trap locations were not available and would require a separate FOI request.
Asked if the number of FPNs might suggest the speed limit isn’t adequately marked or is mismatched to the feel of the road, he said: “This would be a question for the local authority.
“However, I can say all local authorities are required to follow the signage guidelines set by the Department for Transport.”
The minimum penalty for speeding is £100, meaning drivers could have shelled out around £310,100 on fines for the Halton Lodge speed trap in 2021-22.
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