‘No second chances’ for speeding motorists

Police have repeatedly recorded motorists driving at dangerously high speeds on a road outside Omagh over the last three years.

PSNI statistics show that three of the highest speeds detected in the Fermanagh and Omagh area in the period between December 1, 2019, and November 1, 2022, were recorded on the Clanabogan Road, part of the main route between Omagh and Enniskillen.

The police’s road safety team reported a motorist travelling at 100mph on March 15, 2020, and a further two motorists travelling at 98 mph on October 9, 2020.

Chief Inspector Graham Dodds, the PSNI’s head of road traffic and safety, said, “This year so far there have been 32 deaths on our roads. The Clanabogan Road is much like what we’re seeing across Northern Ireland of roads that will pick up in risk-taking drivers for a while and once we focus on it the number of incidents will drop then.

“Our road policing unit in Omagh is working alongside the community and the road safety partnership to monitor the roads for speeding, poor behaviour, mobile phone usage and drink driving.

“We use a number of tools, including speed guns and our on-board speed detection systems fitted in our patrol cars.

“People seem to believe that collisions won’t happen them because they are invulnerable on the road but that is absolutely not the case.”

He added, “With so many deaths on the road, our units are focused on taking a hard stance with issuing heavy penalties and absolutely no ‘second chances’ are given out.”