File:Day 315 - West Midlands Police - Tackling Street Racers (8169532471).jpg

Efforts to clampdown on illegal, dangerous street racing shifts up a gear this weekend with traffic calming barriers installed on a Birmingham trunk road to deter anti-social driving and protect the public.

Sturdy, temporary barriers will be placed on a section of Nechells’ Heartlands Parkway on Sunday night (Nov 11) to reduce the stretch to a single carriageway and slow traffic speed.

The move by Birmingham’s Road Safety Partnership – which includes West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service and Birmingham City Council – is in response to public outcry after hundreds of street racers were caught on covert CCTV cameras turning the A47 into a drag strip.

The barricades will be in place on Sunday nights, into the early hours of Monday morning, for the foreseeable future.

West Midlands Police has charged more than 200 motorists with driving offences in Heartlands Parkway since May – seeing many disqualified from driving and handed hefty fines – whilst a similar number are still being processed by the courts.

Birmingham Police Inspector Paul Dutton, said: “These traffic calming measures will prevent side-by-side racing and reduce drive speeds along that stretch. They will only be introduced late on Sunday night and into the early hours of Monday so won’t impact on the majority of other road users.

“Offenders have been using this stretch of the A47 in-particular to race each other and reach speeds of up to 120mph. It’s very dangerous, has resulted in numerous accidents – some involving innocent motorists – and has caused considerable noise disturbance and inconvenience for local residents and businesses.

“It’s totally unacceptable and anyone who participates in street racing on Birmingham’s roads needs to understand we will prosecute them and they are likely to lose their licence and face a fine running into hundreds of pounds.”

In addition to driving bans and fines, more than 110 civil injunctions have also been taken out on offenders which prohibits them from taking part in, or even watching, street racing.

And if they breach the terms of the injunction they face a £5,000 fine and can have their car seized and crushed!

Road Safety Partnership Manager Trudi Maybury, added: “Given the sheer volume of spectators and participants, it would only take one vehicle to lose control for us to witness devastating consequences.

“We’ve taken decisive action to curb this type of racing and to reduce the risk to our communities and law-abiding road users.”