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No slack on speeding
Page 14
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Police deny agreeing an unofficial 40mph amnesty on the Al. David Harris reports.
NORTHUMBRIA police this week dismissed truck drivers' claims that there was an "unwritten agreement" allowing them to break the speed limit on one of the main roads to Scotland.
Truckers say the Ohnph limit on the single-carriageway section of the Al between Morpeth and the Scottish border is unsafe because it causes frustration for motorists stuck behind HGVs-, they claim 50mph is a much safer speed.
Alnwick-based driver Alan Dodd insists that local traffic police previously told them that they could drive above the limit without prosecution.
"For a long time the traffic officers have advised us that they won't bother us at 50, and we used to go past the cameras at just under 50 and never had a problem:' he explains. "On one occasion I had a conversation with three traffic officers and they agreed that driving at 40 on this road was quite dangerous.
And Jim Phillips of Belford firm Phillips of Seahouses adds: "The police always said to us, 'If you're doing no more than 50 and not driving like an idiot then we'll turn a blind eye.' But now they seem to have clamped down.
"I've already lost one driver through a ban and another one is about to lose his licence.The worst thing is that the last ticket to come through was for 44mph at five in the morning. It's just ridiculous," But a police spokeswoman denies the force has told drivers that the limit could be broken. "I think some of the drivers are just upset because they have got a lot of tickets,"she adds.
The Alnwick firm run by Richard Aynsley saw drivers receive five speeding tickets in one day from the same camera at Beal.