A217 road

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Please improve this article if you can. (November 2007)
A217 road
Direction North - South
Start Gatwick
Primary
destinations1		 Sutton
End Wandsworth
Roads joined M25 motorway
A23 road
A24 road
A25 road
A232 road
A236 road
A240 road
A297 road
A2022 road
A3 road
Notes
  1. Primary destinations as specified by the Department for Transport.

The A217 is a road in the United Kingdom. It runs south from Kings Road in Fulham, London, crossing the Thames at Wandsworth Bridge, then passing through Wandsworth, Tooting, Mitcham, Cheam, Banstead, crossing the M25 motorway at Junction 8, then passing through Reigate and terminating at Gatwick Airport.

Contents

[edit] Landmarks on the route

[edit] Major roads intersected by the route

[edit] Illegal racing

The stretch of the A217 called 'The Mad Mile' which is popular for illegal street racing. It is a straight piece of dual carriageway that runs downhill from the traffic lights cross roads on the A2022 and the roundabout which joins the brighton road.[1] This length of road has been known locally for generations, then became popular in early 2000 with the modified car scene where frequent races would take place usually on Thursday nights. This information spread quite quickly with the use of the internet, as far north as Birmingham and as a result people from all over came to participate and watch these races. Police presence gradually diffused this illegal activity but not completely.[2] Evidence of these races trying to be stopped are crash barriers erected onto the centre grass verge which runs the length of this stretch. People used to park here while the races were in progress.

This stretch of road has also made news appearances in the early 2000's as well as documentaries on the modified car scene/cruising.[citation needed]

[edit] Fatal Incidents

In August 2006 two men who raced along the road and caused an accident that killed three people were sentenced to prison. It was said that the two men were driving recklessly at a speed much faster than the 40mph limit on the road.[3]



[edit] References

  1. ^ New powers over Mad Mile drivers. BBC News. BBC (2006-04-21).
  2. ^ ‘Cruisers’ cars confiscated on Mad Mile. surrey.police.uk. Surrey Police (2003-06-13).
  3. ^ Court reporter (2007-08-31). Racing pair jailed after pensioners' deaths (html). thisislocallondon.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.

[edit] External links

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