Essex driver banned after overtaking cars at 80mph in 30mph zone in Wickford

• Police released this footage of the driver speeding through a residential area

Road safety chiefs said they were "shocked" after watching a video of a motorist doing 80mph through a residential area.

The Blue Audi was caught on a dashcam in Essex in July 2021.

The incident took place in Radwinter Avenue in Wickford, near Basildon. The speed limit in the area is 30mph.

The footage was given to the Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) and was sent to specialists at Road Safety Support, where an expert witness calculated the Audi’s speed to be 80.7mph.

Nicola Foster, chairman of SERP, said: “I was shocked watching this footage as the outcome could have been very different.

"The driver chose to drive at 80mph in a residential road, passes an island where children would choose to cross as a safe place, while also passing other cars which might hide people waiting to cross or crossing."

The witness was following a learner driver and was approaching the junction with Coppens Green when the Audi overtook both vehicles at extremely high speed.

The Audi was driven on the wrong side of the road and had to brake sharply as another vehicle was waiting at the junction.

The offending driver was disqualified from driving for 15 months, required to take an extended driving test, and was fined £400, plus an additional £145 costs and a victim surcharge of £40.

Ms Foster said: "Hopefully, in a year’s time when the driver can take the extended test to regain their licence, they might possibly reflect on how lucky they were that day that there was no permanently life-changing outcome for themselves or anyone else."

The Extra Eyes scheme encourages drivers to report instances of poor dangerous driving by uploading dashcam footage. The SERP says it helps reduce collisions and casualties on the county's roads.