A WARNING has gone out to anyone tempted to speed on York streets during the lockdown.

Since lockdown, car travel is reported to have plummeted by up to 75 per cent, to levels not seen since 1955.

Labour’s group leader on the city council, Cllr Danny Myers,said this has left roads open, which has been exploited by some drivers. Cllr Myers is urging drivers from York not to follow the example of others across the country who’ve been picked up by the Police for speeding and breaching the coronavirus lockdown.

He said: “Some of the cases elsewhere in the country have involved frighteningly high speeds being driven on roads, including in urban areas. Some individuals seem to think an empty road is one to take advantage of, which is incredibly irresponsible and a major risk to public health.

“With residents, including many children, out doing their daily exercise, it’s essential that our roads and footpaths are safe places for cyclists, runners, wheelchair users and for pedestrians. It is an incredibly challenging time and we must ensure that everyone is as safe as they possibly can be.

“In York, we absolutely need to adopt the principle of Vision Zero, where we aim to eliminate all deaths and serious injury from all forms of transport. Further options to achieve this could be for more roads to be lowered to an emergency 20mph speed limit; as many doctors have requested of Government, this would be protecting our NHS in dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Cllr Myers said North Yorkshire Police have clocked vehicles at reckless speeds in recent weeks, including a vehicle clocked at 132mph between Northallerton and Wetherby.

In some areas of the country, a higher percentage of vehicles on the road have been breaking the speed limit, reaching as high as 40 per cent in Greater Manchester recently, up from 25%.

Anna Semlyen, of 20’s Plenty for York, says: “Doctors are demanding the Government immediately announce 20mph as the urban speed limit. This protects our hard-pressed NHS from treating preventable road casualties, key workers and those exercising. Plus, there would be better air quality, which is so needed when Covid-19 attacks lungs.

“Speeding is never acceptable. It is even more grossly antisocial when the NHS is so overburdened, and each crash victim means another sick person might not get the best treatment if health care resources are scarce”.