272 drivers hit double speed limit

272 drivers hit double speed limit

3 September 2025

STRANGFORD has retained its unenviable position at the top of the district’s speeding league table.

The latest figures collated from electronic speed indicator devices dotted across the district 

have revealed that a staggering 272 drivers were detected travelling in excess of 70mph in a 30mph zone on the Downpatrick Road outside the village between May 19 and July 19.

Just over 60 per cent of drivers were detected travelling in excess of 30mph and 24 per cent in excess of 35mph on the road close to a busy primary school and the main route to the Strangford Lough ferry terminal.

The highest speed recorded by the device – which cannot capture vehicle registration numbers – was at 7am.

The figures are collated by the local Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) which is continuing with its refusal to make public the highest individual speeds of drivers.

When the electronic devices were introduced, these figures were published but are now kept secret, with the decision yet to be formally challenged by local politicians, a number of whom are unhappy the figures are being censored.

In Dundrum, 179 drivers were clocked in excess of 70mph, with over 50 per cent driving in excess of 30mph and just over 20 per cent in excess of 35mph. The highest speed in Dundrum was recorded at 4am.

At the Strangford Road in Downpatrick 179 drivers were detected travelling at over 70mph in a 40mph zone.

Calls have been issued in the past to have the speed indicator device at the busy road, where speeding is a major issue, moved back from its current position at the entrance to Down Hockey Club’s pitch to beyond the Lecale Park junction.

But the device remains in place just yards from the start of a 30mph zone.

And while speeds across the district are reducing, driver behaviour remains alarming in a number of areas in addition to Strangford and Downpatrick, especially during the early morning.

In Kilcoo, 43 drivers were detected in excess of 70mph with the highest speed recorded at 5am. Seventy five per cent of drivers were detected in excess of 30mph and just over 44 percent in excess of 35.

Thirteen drivers drove at over 70mph in the 30mph zone at the Ballynahinch Road in Saintfield with the highest speed recorded at 5am, with the number detected in excess of 30mph and 35mph just over 41 and 18 per cent respectively.

In Clough, 19 drivers drove in excess of 70mph at the 30mph zone at the Dundrum Road with the highest speed recorded at 5am, with 59 per cent of drivers driving over 30mph and 35 per cent over 35mph.

At the Downpatrick Road in Ardglass, seven drivers were detected over 70mph with the highest speed recorded at 4am. Thirty eight per cent were detected in excess of 30mph and 13 per cent in excess of 35mph.

The speed device in Ballynahinch recorded no vehicles in excess of 70mph, with the number detected in excess of 30mph and 35mph 24 and five per cent respectively.

In Castlewellan, no drivers were recorded in excess of 70mph with the figures for driving over 30mph and 35mph almost 43 percent and 11 per cent respectively.

In Darragh Cross, where a speed indicator device was recently installed, 17 per cent of drivers were clocked in excess of 30mph and almost five per cent in excess of 35mph. The highest speed recorded in the village was at 2am.

In Killyleagh, the device located at the Shrigley Road detected three drivers in excess of 70mph in the 30mph zone with the highest speed recorded at 8am. Almost 63 per cent of drivers were detected in excess of 30mph and 27 per cent in excess of 35mph.

In Leitrim, the number detected travelling at over 30mph and 35mph were 35 and seven per cent respectively. Leitrim also witnessed the highest speed reduction of 17.24 per cent compared to the last published statistics.

In Newcastle, one driver was detected in excess of 70mph and 20 per cent in excess of 30mph, with almost seven per cent travelling over 35mph.