Pair landed with huge fines after driving at high speed along notorious Shropshire road
Two drivers who sped along one of Shropshire's most notorious roads at more than 80mph have been fined a combined total of more than £1,000.
Jeremy Stone and Ahmed Khalili both appeared at Worcester Magistrates' Court last Friday where they admitted driving through a 50mph zone at 82mph along the A41 at Prees in unconnected incidents.
Stone, 57, of Gambrell Avenue, Whitchurch, was fined £484 after being clocked in a Toyota on June 26 last year. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £193 and costs of £90.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Khalili, of Thompson Avenue, Wolverhampton, was fined £660. He was caught doing 82mph on the same day as Stone while at the wheel of a BMW. He was also ordered to pay a £264 victim surcharge and £90 costs.
Both men have also had their driving licences endorsed with six points.
Their punishments come amid renewed calls for funding and safety measures along the road, regarded as one of the most dangerous in the county.
Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council both want speed cameras installed in the wake of two crashes in just over 24 hours.
Since the start of 2017 there have been more than 190 crashes where people were killed or injured on the route between Cosford and Whitchurch, prompting numerous calls for action to improve safety.
In August last year, West Mercia Police’s Road Safety Partnership said that analysis of the crash records for the county show that eight people have died on the road, 56 have been seriously injured, and 127 have received slight injuries in the last five years.
One month earlier a group of Shropshire councillors passed a motion calling for a number of measures to improve safety along the road – including average speed cameras, a review of dangerous junctions, and improved signage. Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has also been campaigning for improvements.
Reacting to the sentences, a spokeswoman from the West Mercia Police Road Safety Team said: “Speed enforcement continues to take place on the A41. In addition to enforcement activity carried out by the Road Safety Team along the route, officers from the Roads Policing Unit and Police Motorcycle Traffic Support Team proactively seek to make our roads safer and reduce offending on our roads by carrying out regular targeted enforcement.
“Speeding can have a devastating impact on the safety of road users, increasing the risk of a collision and the severity of the consequences. Speed limits are in place for a reason; to protect all road users and it is our job to enforce these.
"Motorists who do not comply with speed limits will have to face the consequences of their actions. If prosecuted for speeding, the minimum penalty is a £100 fine and 3 penalty points.”
The day after Stone and Khalili were caught speeding, another motorist was found to be driving without insurance along the same road at Tong.
Hannah Spear, 29, from Egerton in Malpas, Cheshire, was stopped while driving a Hyundai on the A41, near the junction with the M54, on June 27 last year.
Appearing at Worcester Magistrates' Court on Friday she was fined £304, ordered to pay costs of £90 and a victim surcharge of £121. Her licence was also endorsed with six points.
