Speeding drivers targeted
POLICE have launched a crackdown on speeding drivers in Warwickshire - as they release shocking figures on the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads.
In the three years from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 91 people were killed and 659 injured in crashes caused by speed or a loss of control.
Officers will be targeting speeding drivers on high risk routes throughout the county in the coming weeks in a bid to cut the number of people killed or injured.
Throughout the campaign police officers, PCSOs, special constables and community speed watch volunteers across Warwickshire will be out and about in local communities taking part in a mixture of enforcement and educational initiatives.
Warwickshire Police carried out a speed a enforcement campaign in August. During that action: Officers caught 183 people speeding.
Roadside speed cameras and speed enforcement camera vans detected 3,672 people speeding.
114 people received verbal warnings.
1,263 people received fixed penalty notices or traffic offence reports.
Around two-thirds of crashes in which people are killed or injured occur on roads with a speed limit of 30mph or less.
At 30mph, vehicles are travelling at 44 feet (about three car lengths) each second. Even in good conditions, the difference in stopping distance between 30mph and 35mph is an extra 21 feet or 6.4 metres, more than two car lengths.
If you weren’t caught doing excessively high speeds, you should be eligible for a fixed penalty, meaning you’ll get three points on your licence and a fine of £100.
If you were driving at excessively high speeds you’ll be prosecuted through the courts.
If you get 12 or more penalty points within three years you could be disqualified. If you’re a new driver, you only need to get six penalty points within the first two years to face having your licence revoked.
If you admit speeding, you might be offered a speed awareness course as an alternative to a fine and penalty points.
The course aims to influence the attitudes and behaviour of drivers by directly challenging attitudes towards speeding, offering motorists insight, awareness and understanding about their speed choices, and helps equip participants to change their behaviour.
The course is not a way to avoid fines however, you can only attend one speed awareness course every three years.
Warwickshire Police also offer a National Motorway Awareness Course and if this is offered only one can be attended every three years.
Inspector Kirsty Clough said: “Speed limits are there to protect the public. The speed limit is a maximum not a target and driving too fast or at a speed inappropriate for the road environment or conditions means that drivers have less time to identify and react to what is happening around them.
“The driver’s safety margin is removed and near misses can easily turn into collisions because vehicles driven at speed take longer to stop.”
Warwickshire Police is working closely with partners including Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service, West Midlands Ambulance Service, Warwickshire County Council, Highways England, and national campaigners including BRAKE to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads.