Watch the moment driver crashes through A47 roadworks barrier near Wisbech
Dramatic video footage has captured the moment a driver crashed through a roadworks barrier on a section of the A47 near Wisbech. The incident was reported to have taken place earlier this year. Workers were spotted quickly moving out of the way of the silver BMW as they were carrying out overnight resurfacing works on the road on May 24.
The road was closed at the time to all traffic except construction vehicles and machinery. A 29-year-old man from March was later banned from driving for four months. This followed after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident.
Reports of the incident come as National Highways revealed the latest figures for roadwork incursions across the East of England. To date, there have been 220 cases so far this year, compared to 122 the year before. Heather Openshaw, National Highways Head of Service Delivery in the East, described the footage as shocking and highly dangerous.
She added: “There can be no excuse for this type of incident, and we are lucky no one was seriously injured or killed. “As we know from the latest figures, we are seeing a disturbing and sharp rise with this form of reckless and ignorant driving, and we will continue to do all we can to raise awareness of the issue. We, alongside the relevant authorities, will continue to pursue enforcement action against those whose behaviour behind the wheel endangers the lives of those working to improve our roads.”
Chief Inspector Stephen O’Keeffe, who oversees roads policing in Cambridgeshire[1], added: “I welcome the decision of the court to take this driver off the road.
Hopefully this will allow them time to reflect on their highly dangerous actions which could have resulted in a fatality.”
References
- ^ Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)