Police ask speeding drivers to obey speed limits and help reduce death and injury on our roads

Warwickshire Police is supporting the national NPCC anti speeding campaign between 10-30 October 2022 that aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Warwickshire’s roads.

In Warwickshire in 2021, despite lockdown, 56,136 people were caught speeding in the county.  Two thirds of speeding drivers were male and 98% were in cars and vehicles under 3.5tonne.  Worryingly despite needing greater breaking distances 2% of drivers caught speeding were in vehicles over 3.5tonne.

Whilst most people don’t speed, the campaign aims to change the behaviour of the few that do and also enforce against those who continue to put their own lives and the lives of other innocent road users at risk by speeding.

Speeding motorists may try to convince themselves that speeding is normal but enforcing speed limits has been proven to reduce collisions, deaths and injuries and Warwickshire Police will be conducting proactive operations on our main arterial routes.

Throughout the campaign police officers, PCSO’s, special constables and Community Speed Watch volunteers across Warwickshire will also be out and about in local communities taking part in a mixture of enforcement and educational initiatives.

This includes National Safe Speeds Day on 19 October that has the aim that no one dies in a road collision during the 24-hour period starting at 0700 on Wednesday 19 October.

During the campaign officers will be reminding drivers they stop of their responsibility to drive legally, within the speed limit and at an appropriate speed for the road conditions to protect themselves and other road users from road collisions resulting in death and injury. 

This is because speeding especially in residential areas puts lives at risk as pedestrians are four times more likely to die if hit by a vehicle travelling at 40mph than at 30mph.

Speeding uses more fuel and also affects air quality on our roads as research has found that slowing down just 10mph on our motorways for example can have a positive impact on the environment as emissions are reduced.

Chief Inspector Faz Chishty said “Road safety is a joint responsibility and we are asking drivers who speed to think about why they speed, the potential effects on themselves and other people and to commit to making all their road journeys at speeds that are both safe and legal for the conditions at the time. 

“Speed limits are there to protect the public and to assist traffic flow as well as improving the quality of life for local residents. As well as being illegal, driving too fast or at an inappropriate speed for the road environment or conditions means that drivers have less time to react and near misses can easily turn into collisions.  That is why our officers will actively target those who speed on our county’s roads as well as on our motorway network.”

We need speeding drivers to change their behaviour because speed kills and in Warwickshire despite COVID, between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020, 40 people were killed and 317 seriously injured in collisions where speed and/or loss of control was recorded as a contributory factor.

During the campaign we will also be using social media to raise awareness of the facts around speeding. Please help share our road safety messages on social media from @WarwickshireRoadSafety (Facebook) and @WarksRoadSafety (Twitter)

Sanctions

Speeding drivers who are eligible for and accept a conditional offer of a fixed penalty receive 3 penalty points and £100 fine.

Excessive high speed offences will not get a conditional offer and will be prosecuted via the courts.

You could be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of 3 years. New drivers who receive 6 or more penalty points within the first two years of driving will have their license revoked.

Those drivers who admit the offence of speeding and are eligible may be offered the opportunity to attend the National Speed Awareness Course on the effects and dangers of speeding as an alternative to a speeding 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.