UK (Parliament Politic Magazine) – Driving at a consistent speed of 50mph in his sleek black Volkswagen Tiguan, Roger Bagguley effortlessly navigates the A34 on the outskirts of the affluent Cheshire village of Alderley Edge. With a touch of excitement in his voice, he affectionately refers to this stretch of road as his personal “race track”.
As we leisurely cruise along the road that his wife, Ann, frequently relies on for her shopping excursions to Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, the sprightly 82-year-old eagerly points out the various bridges that serve as landmarks for daredevil drivers engaged in time trials, often surpassing the legal limit of 70mph.
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Bagguley, a former deputy head teacher at a secondary school and co-founder of Residents for Wilmslow, a campaign group located in the village a few miles away from Alderley Edge, draws attention to a specific area of shrubbery. He recalls witnessing a saloon car that had veered off the road and landed on the grass verge, facing the opposite direction.
Although a police car responded to the accident, Bagguley highlights the fact that frequently, those speeding along the A34 manage to avoid detection by law enforcement by quickly organizing meet-ups through social media platforms.
The screeching of tires and thunderous roar of modified exhausts is not confined to just this picturesque area of Cheshire. Boy racers, a growing concern nationwide, are making our roads increasingly dangerous. In May, the Department for Transport (DfT) released preliminary data revealing an alarming 8.7 percent rise in road fatalities compared to the previous year.
The number of deaths climbed from 1,558 in 2021 to a staggering 1,695 in 2022. Although these figures remain slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels, they indicate a troubling upward trajectory, according to activists.
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The northwest region stands out as a significant area of concern. Based on the latest data from the Department for Transport (DfT), Greater Manchester recorded 68 fatal collisions in 2021, making it the second-worst in the country, trailing only behind the Metropolitan Police, who attended 72 crashes. Notably, it was in this very region that a tragic incident occurred in May of this year.
Adil Iqbal, a 22-year-old, took the life of a young mother and her unborn child after recklessly filming himself racing at an alarming speed of 123 mph along a southbound section of the M66 in Bury. Frankie Hough, a former Hollyoaks actress aged 38, was tragically involved in a devastating incident while 17 weeks pregnant.
She was seated on the hard shoulder with her two sons, Thomas (nine years old) and Rocky (two years old), along with her four-year-old nephew, Tobias. They had pulled over due to a punctured tire when Iqbal’s vehicle collided with them. This horrific accident resulted in Frankie Hough sustaining catastrophic brain injuries, ultimately leading to her untimely demise just two days later.
Thomas and Tobias were transported to the hospital via air ambulance, as they had sustained severe injuries to their skulls and spines. On the other hand, Rocky managed to escape with only minor injuries.
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Last week, Judge Maurice Greene sentenced Iqbal to 12 years in prison at Manchester Crown Court. During the sentencing, the judge vividly depicted the unimaginable trauma and devastation that Iqbal had inflicted upon Hough’s family.
The dangerous blend of high-speed vehicles, social media, and young men displaying a reckless disregard for the law is increasingly prevalent on the streets of Greater Manchester and beyond. Within the city center, council members are urgently advocating for stricter measures to curb the disruptive behavior of “boy racers” who excessively rev their supercars. Similarly, in Alderley Edge, a popular destination for motoring enthusiasts, one can witness a regular congregation of young individuals at the Whitehall Bridge roundabout on the A34.
Their primary objective is to capture on film the extravagant supercars owned by the affluent residents of the area, including a notable group of Premier League footballers. While Bagguley and other experts emphasize that these cars are not exceeding speed limits, their mere presence has inadvertently enticed drivers from all over the north-west to treat the roads as a makeshift racing circuit. According to Bagguley, the most egregious culprits are modified black saloon cars and hatchbacks, which have been extensively enhanced for performance.