Drivers have been warned to be vigilant of an A55 speed trap catching out hundreds of holidaymakers.
A temporary 40mph speed restriction is in place on the North Wales road between Abergwyngregyn and Talybont, Gwynedd while a £30m scheme to improve safety is underway. The A55 access roads are being removed and eight gaps in the central reservation are being plugged as part of the roadworks, while a new parallel road, with underpasses, is being built for farm vehicles.
ECHO reader Anthony Martindale was incensed when he was penalised after he was caught speeding on both directions between junctions 12 and 13 on February 6. The motorist fired off a letter to the ECHO as he was fined £100, awarded three points on his licence and ordered to take a driver's awareness course costing £90 - as North Wales Live reports.
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Mr Martindale said all lanes were open and no construction work was being carried out. He urged people to not travel along this stretch of the A55 unless they are fully aware of its temporary speed restrictions.
He wrote: “The construction workers had made sure everything was safe when they stopped work on the Friday evening, so health and safety was not an issue.
“All four lanes were open so there was no disruption to traffic. Yet the North Wales Police still saw fit to continue letting the traffic continue at 40mph when it was safe to resume the statutory speed of 70mph.
“On the westbound, I was caught doing 50mph and on the eastbound I was doing 46mph. It seems I was not alone thinking that it was actually safer to travel faster on that stretch of road because on that particular Sunday, 69 people were caught, myself included.”
What do you think of the temporary speed limits? Have your say in the comments below.
Mr Martindale's trip along the A55 prompted him to make a Freedom of Information request to North Wales Police, which showed that on six weekends between January 8-9 and February 12-13, a total of 815 speeding fines were handed out between junctions 12-13. The driver issued a warning to Merseyside drivers warning them to be careful if they are making the same journey.
He said: “If any ECHO readers are planning to go to North Wales over the summer months, they need to be made aware that at the roadworks on the A55 at junction 12 and 13, anyone going faster than 40mph will be photographed and fined.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Narrow lanes and a 40mph speed restriction were implemented on the eastbound carriageway during March 2021 and on the westbound carriageway during October 2021. These restrictions were introduced to protect both the travelling public and the workforce.”
The Abergwyngregyn to Tai’r Meibion works are due to be completed in this summer. Any remaining offline works are scheduled to finish during the autumn.
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