Driver caught at 139mph - on an A-road

A DRIVER caught travelling at 139mph in a 60mph zone leads new data showing dozens of cases of cars being recorded at well in excess of 100mph, according to data sourced from Police Scotland.

The fastest speed captured was spotted on the A96 Keith to Huntly Road, one mile east of the B9115 Junction in Aberdeenshire, by a mobile speed camera.

The figures, recorded over a 15-month period, were obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

Shockingly, during the period from April 1 2013 to June 30 2013, only one of the top 20 fastest recorded speeds came on a motorway, with the rest captured on A-roads.

The second- and third-fastest speeds were recorded on 70mph limit roads; 129mph on the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen Road at Waterston Road, Angus caught on a fixed speed camera, and 127mph on the A9 Perth to Inverness Road at Moulinearn, Perth and Kinross on a mobile speed camera.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “These speeds show there are still drivers out there displaying a contempt for the law and for the safety of their fellow road users.

“This is made doubly worse by the fact the vast majority of the incidents took place on A roads, therefore putting oncoming motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians at greater risk.”

The highest recorded speed in England and Wales during the same time period was 149mph; 10mph faster than the highest in Scotland, with the second-fastest almost matching it at 146mph. The two drivers were caught on the same section of the M25 motorway, near Swanley in Kent.

Again, dozens of drivers were caught at more than 100mph on the road network.

By Press Association reporter