Three companies who failed to provide information about the identity of who was driving when their vehicle was caught speeding in Warwickshire have received hefty fines after being found guilty in their absence at Leamington Magistrates Court on 6 February 2024.

A DI MARIA & SONS LTD of Auto Pavillion Ltd, The Stampings Blue Ribbon Park, Coventry was fined £1000 and ordered to pay £110 costs and £400 Victim Surcharge for failing to give information relating to the identity of the driver of a Volkswagen Passat when required by Warwickshire Police.

Although they responded to Warwickshire Police’s requests, they were unable to identify the driver who was alleged to have been speeding on 10 August 2023 in Rugby. Instead no plea was entered and as the driver could not be identified the company was found guilty at court.

Similarly CLAIMS SOLUTION GROUP LIMITED of Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy, Perth & Kinross was also sentenced in the driver's absence at court to a £1000 fine and ordered to pay £400 Victim Surcharge and £110 costs.

The company did not respond and so failed to give Warwickshire Police information relating to the identity of the driver of their BMW X6 car who was caught allegedly speeding on 5 July 2023 in Rugby. As they did not respond, no plea was entered and the company was found guilty in their absence.

Although STONEGATE HOMES LIMITED of Cathedral Square, Cathedral Hill, Guildford did respond to Warwickshire Police they were unable to identify the driver of a Volkswagen Golf who had been caught allegedly speeding in Rugby on 10 August 2023. No plea was entered and the company was found guilty in the driver’s absence and sentenced to a £1000 fine and ordered to pay £110 costs and £400 Victim Surcharge.

Alison Treharne of Warwickshire Road Safety Unit said “Companies have a responsibility to know who is driving their vehicles at any given time, if they are unable to provide details of a driver at the time of an alleged speeding offence when requested, the company is liable instead. Not responding to our requests or being unable to name a driver can lead to higher fines and costs as has happened in these cases.

“This could have been avoided if the driver was named because Warwickshire Police prefers to educate drivers first and if the driver is eligible they will most likely be offered a speed awareness course. You can only attend one course every three years and those not eligible will face a £100 fine and three points. Speeding is illegal and dangerous and high speed offences will go straight to court.“

https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/news/warwickshire/news/2024/february/companies-sentenced-after-failing-to-identify-their-speeding-drivers/

On 15/02/2024 05:57, Simon Mason wrote:
>
>
> Three companies who failed to provide information about the identity of who was driving when their vehicle was caught speeding in Warwickshire have received hefty fines after being found guilty in their absence at Leamington Magistrates Court on 6 February 2024.
>
> A DI MARIA & SONS LTD of Auto Pavillion Ltd, The Stampings Blue Ribbon Park, Coventry was fined £1000 and ordered to pay £110 costs and £400 Victim Surcharge for failing to give information relating to the identity of the driver of a Volkswagen Passat when required by Warwickshire Police.
>
> Although they responded to Warwickshire Police’s requests, they were unable to identify the driver who was alleged to have been speeding on 10 August 2023 in Rugby. Instead no plea was entered and as the driver could not be identified the company was found guilty at court.
>
> Similarly CLAIMS SOLUTION GROUP LIMITED of Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy, Perth & Kinross was also sentenced in the driver's absence at court to a £1000 fine and ordered to pay £400 Victim Surcharge and £110 costs.
>
> The company did not respond and so failed to give Warwickshire Police information relating to the identity of the driver of their BMW X6 car who was caught allegedly speeding on 5 July 2023 in Rugby. As they did not respond, no plea was entered and the company was found guilty in their absence.
>
> Although STONEGATE HOMES LIMITED of Cathedral Square, Cathedral Hill, Guildford did respond to Warwickshire Police they were unable to identify the driver of a Volkswagen Golf who had been caught allegedly speeding in Rugby on 10 August 2023. No plea was entered and the company was found guilty in the driver’s absence and sentenced to a £1000 fine and ordered to pay £110 costs and £400 Victim Surcharge.
>
> Alison Treharne of Warwickshire Road Safety Unit said “Companies have a responsibility to know who is driving their vehicles at any given time, if they are unable to provide details of a driver at the time of an alleged speeding offence when requested, the company is liable instead. Not responding to our requests or being unable to name a driver can lead to higher fines and costs as has happened in these cases.
>
> “This could have been avoided if the driver was named because Warwickshire Police prefers to educate drivers first and if the driver is eligible they will most likely be offered a speed awareness course. You can only attend one course every three years and those not eligible will face a £100 fine and three points. Speeding is illegal and dangerous and high speed offences will go straight to court.“
>
> https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/news/warwickshire/news/2024/february/companies-sentenced-after-failing-to-identify-their-speeding-drivers/

The price - not all that high by corporate standards - may well be seen
as acceptably reasonable if it keeps valued employees (a concept that
fully-qualified night shift floor-swabbers may not recognise) on the
road and working productively for the company.

Perhaps responses would be more forthcoming if punishments for minor
"offences" were less disproportionate. A disqualification for purely
technical breaches of administrative rules can have devastating effects
on a worker and his family.

QUOTE:
“Companies have a responsibility to know who is driving their vehicles at any given time, if they are unable to provide details of a driver at the time of an alleged speeding offence when requested, the company is liable instead. Not responding to our requests or being unable to name a driver can lead to higher fines and costs as has happened in these cases. ENDS

In other words, "fessing up early doors" is always the best and least costly option.
You know it makes sense, drivers.

On 15/02/2024 13:18, Simon Mason wrote:

> QUOTE:
> “Companies have a responsibility to know who is driving their vehicles at any given time, if they are unable to provide details of a driver at the time of an alleged speeding offence when requested, the company is liable instead. Not responding to our requests or being unable to name a driver can lead to higher fines and costs as has happened in these cases. ENDS
>
> In other words, "fessing up early doors" is always the best and least costly option.

That is a LIE (yet another one from you).

A company cannot be banned from driving because one of its vehicles is
alleged to have done 43mph in a 40 limit.

> You know it makes sense, drivers.

Most people do know what makes sense for them. When they want your
advice on the subject, you can be absolutely certain that they will turn
up to your door and seek it, M'Lud.

QUOTE: Similarly CLAIMS SOLUTION GROUP LIMITED of Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy, Perth & Kinross was also sentenced in the driver's absence at court to a £1000 fine and ordered to pay £400 Victim Surcharge and £110 costs. The company did not respond and so failed to give Warwickshire Police information relating to the identity of the driver of their BMW X6 car who was caught allegedly speeding on 5 July 2023 in Rugby. As they did not respond, no plea was entered and the company was found guilty in their absence. ENDS

£1500 for playing silly buggers?
More money than sense with these morons.

On 15/02/2024 14:35, Simon Mason wrote:

> QUOTE: Similarly CLAIMS SOLUTION GROUP LIMITED of Dunkeld Street, Aberfeldy, Perth & Kinross was also sentenced in the driver's absence at court to a £1000 fine and ordered to pay £400 Victim Surcharge and £110 costs. The company did not respond and so failed to give Warwickshire Police information relating to the identity of the driver of their BMW X6 car who was caught allegedly speeding on 5 July 2023 in Rugby. As they did not respond, no plea was entered and the company was found guilty in their absence. ENDS
>
> £1500 for playing silly buggers?
> More money than sense with these morons.

£1500?

Cheap at the price if it means no licence endorsement and no increased
risk of a totting-up disqualification for a partner or a valued employee
(valued a bit more then the charlady, as worthy as she may be, and
certainly more than the night shift floor swabber).

Tell you what: if "offenders" admitting breaches of purely
adminsitrative offences were given a choice of a £1500 cash penalty or a
disqualification, many - if not the vast majority - would certainly
choose the former rather than the latter.

The line length on your posts is becoming ridiculous. Suits you, really.

QUOTE: “This could have been avoided if the driver was named because Warwickshire Police prefers to educate drivers first and if the driver is eligible they will most likely be offered a speed awareness course. You can only attend one course every three years and those not eligible will face a £100 fine and three points. Speeding is illegal and dangerous and high speed offences will go straight to court.“ ENDS

I thought that the rabid gammons insist that speeding is a "victimless crime"?
IT IS NOT!

JNugent <jennings&co@mail.com> wrote:
> On 15/02/2024 13:18, Simon Mason wrote:

>> QUOTE:
>> “Companies have a responsibility to know who is driving their vehicles
>> at any given time, if they are unable to provide details of a driver at
>> the time of an alleged speeding offence when requested, the company is
>> liable instead. Not responding to our requests or being unable to name a
>> driver can lead to higher fines and costs as has happened in these cases. ENDS

>> In other words, "fessing up early doors" is always the best and least costly option.

I remember one post by Mason in which he blamed in some way a person found
guilty for ‘fessing up early doors’ and getting a reduced sentence because
of that.

Consistency trumped by expediency…

> That is a LIE (yet another one from you).

> A company cannot be banned from driving because one of its vehicles is
> alleged to have done 43mph in a 40 limit.

>> You know it makes sense, drivers.

> Most people do know what makes sense for them. When they want your
> advice on the subject, you can be absolutely certain that they will turn
> up to your door and seek it, M'Lud.

--
Spike

On Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 9:59:52 PM UTC, Simon Mason wrote:
> QUOTE: “This could have been avoided if the driver was named because Warwickshire Police prefers to educate drivers first and if the driver is eligible they will most likely be offered a speed awareness course. You can only attend one course every three years and those not eligible will face a £100 fine and three points. Speeding is illegal and dangerous and high speed offences will go straight to court.“ ENDS
>
> I thought that the rabid gammons insist that speeding is a "victimless crime"?
> IT IS NOT!

In fact, it is one of the "fatal five".
More than twice the number of people died on Cheshire’s roads in 2018 in comparison to the previous year – and the majority of those deaths could have been avoided.
46 people lost their lives in road traffic collisions in 2018 and already, in 2019, there have been 23 fatalities on our roads – that’s more than one per week.
Investigations into these collisions show that some of the fatalities could have been prevented and that there are five main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions. These are known as the 'Fatal Five'..
The Fatal Five

Careless driving
Drink and drug driving
Not wearing a seatbelt
Using a mobile phone
Speeding

Road users who commit one of the Fatal Five offences are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than those who do not.
People are dying on our roads as a result of motorists’ poor driving, reckless decisions and momentary lapses in concentration. Fatal collisions are heart-breaking – for the family, for the community, and for the responding emergency services staff who have to witness the tragedy and subsequent aftermath. Stopping any more deaths from occurring as a result of something unnecessary and totally avoidable is a top priority for us.

On 16/02/2024 01:58, Simon Mason wrote (talking to himself):

> On Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 9:59:52 PM UTC, Simon Mason wrote:

>> QUOTE: “This could have been avoided if the driver was named because Warwickshire Police prefers to educate drivers first and if the driver is eligible they will most likely be offered a speed awareness course. You can only attend one course every three years and those not eligible will face a £100 fine and three points. Speeding is illegal and dangerous and high speed offences will go straight to court.“ ENDS
>>
>> I thought that the rabid gammons insist that speeding is a "victimless crime"?
>> IT IS NOT!
>
> In fact, it is one of the "fatal five".
> More than twice the number of people died on Cheshire’s roads in 2018 in comparison to the previous year – and the majority of those deaths could have been avoided.
>
> 46 people lost their lives in road traffic collisions in 2018 and already, in 2019, there have been 23 fatalities on our roads – that’s more than one per week.
>
> Investigations into these collisions show that some of the fatalities could have been prevented and that there are five main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions. These are known as the 'Fatal Five'.
> The Fatal Five
>
> Careless driving
> Drink and drug driving
> Not wearing a seatbelt
> Using a mobile phone
> Speeding
>
> Road users who commit one of the Fatal Five offences are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than those who do not.
>
> People are dying on our roads as a result of motorists’ poor driving, reckless decisions and momentary lapses in concentration. Fatal collisions are heart-breaking – for the family, for the community, and for the responding emergency services staff who have to witness the tragedy and subsequent aftermath. Stopping any more deaths from occurring as a result of something unnecessary and totally avoidable is a top priority for us.

Nowadays when driving there are multiple distractions we are faced with during our journey. Passengers in the vehicle, changing the radio, checking the sat nav, looking elsewhere other than the road ahead. However, the biggest distraction is our mobile phones.

The length of time it takes for you to check your phone could result in you being involved in a collision.

If detected driving while using your mobile phone you will now receive 6 penalty points and a fine of £200.

If you are a newly qualified driver, this could result in an immediate ban from driving as you are allowed to obtain no more than 6 penalty points in your first two years of driving.

Don’t risk it. Put your phone away when driving or set it to silent to stop you getting distracted.

It is the law that everyone must wear their seatbelt. By wearing one it decreases your risk of injury if involved in a collision.

If you are stopped and found not to be wearing your seatbelt you will receive three penalty points and a fine of £60.

If you speed, it gives you less time to react to the conditions and obstacles you face while driving.

Speed limits are in place to keep you and others around you safe. If caught speeding there are multiple ways it can be dealt with.

Speed awareness.
Fixed penalty notice – incurring three penalty points and a fine of £60.
In court – here you can face a substantial fine, penalty points or a driving ban depending on the speed.

Careless driving is one of the most significant causes of road traffic collisions. Just a moment of inattention can cause cost lives.

If you drive with without due care and attention, you could receive a fixed penalty notice, incurring three penalty points and a fine of £100.

Some of the side effects of alcohol or drugs on your body include:

Making you drowsy
Changes in your hearing, vision and perception
Affects your co-ordination

Impaired driving increases your chances of being involved in a collision. If you are detected drink driving at court there is a possibility you could be handed a ban from driving for at least 12 months.

On 16/02/2024 13:17, Simon Mason wrote:
>
> Nowadays when driving there are multiple distractions we are faced with during our journey. Passengers in the vehicle, changing the radio, checking the sat nav, looking elsewhere other than the road ahead. However, the biggest distraction is our mobile phones.
>
> The length of time it takes for you to check your phone could result in you being involved in a collision.
>
> If detected driving while using your mobile phone you will now receive 6 penalty points and a fine of £200.
>
> If you are a newly qualified driver, this could result in an immediate ban from driving as you are allowed to obtain no more than 6 penalty points in your first two years of driving.
>
> Don’t risk it. Put your phone away when driving or set it to silent to stop you getting distracted.
>
> It is the law that everyone must wear their seatbelt. By wearing one it decreases your risk of injury if involved in a collision.
>
> If you are stopped and found not to be wearing your seatbelt you will receive three penalty points and a fine of £60.
>
> If you speed, it gives you less time to react to the conditions and obstacles you face while driving.
>
> Speed limits are in place to keep you and others around you safe. If caught speeding there are multiple ways it can be dealt with.
>
> Speed awareness.
> Fixed penalty notice – incurring three penalty points and a fine of £60.
> In court – here you can face a substantial fine, penalty points or a driving ban depending on the speed.
>
> Careless driving is one of the most significant causes of road traffic collisions. Just a moment of inattention can cause cost lives.
>
> If you drive with without due care and attention, you could receive a fixed penalty notice, incurring three penalty points and a fine of £100.
>
> Some of the side effects of alcohol or drugs on your body include:
>
> Making you drowsy
> Changes in your hearing, vision and perception
> Affects your co-ordination
>
> Impaired driving increases your chances of being involved in a collision. If you are detected drink driving at court there is a possibility you could be handed a ban from driving for at least 12 months.

Tell us about the many offences committed hourly by chavs such as
yourself while on chav-cycles like yours.

More than twice the number of people died on Cheshire’s roads in 2018 in comparison to the previous year – and the majority of those deaths could have been avoided.
46 people lost their lives in road traffic collisions in 2018 and already, in 2019, there have been 23 fatalities on our roads – that’s more than one per week.
Investigations into these collisions show that some of the fatalities could have been prevented and that there are five main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions. These are known as the 'Fatal Five'..
The Fatal Five

Careless driving
Drink and drug driving
Not wearing a seatbelt
Using a mobile phone
Speeding

Road users who commit one of the Fatal Five offences are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than those who do not.
People are dying on our roads as a result of motorists’ poor driving, reckless decisions and momentary lapses in concentration. Fatal collisions are heart-breaking – for the family, for the community, and for the responding emergency services staff who have to witness the tragedy and subsequent aftermath. Stopping any more deaths from occurring as a result of something unnecessary and totally avoidable is a top priority for us.

On 17/02/2024 02:43, Simon Mason wrote:
>
>
> More than twice the number of people died on Cheshire’s roads in 2018 in comparison to the previous year – and the majority of those deaths could have been avoided.
>
> 46 people lost their lives in road traffic collisions in 2018 and already, in 2019, there have been 23 fatalities on our roads – that’s more than one per week.
>
> Investigations into these collisions show that some of the fatalities could have been prevented and that there are five main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions. These are known as the 'Fatal One'.

> The Fatal One
>
> Chav-cycling on a chav-bike (ignoring ssignage, especially Stop and Give Way lines and traffic lights, chav=cycling along FOOTwayss, ignoring one-way working, etc, etc)
>
> Road users who commit one of the Fatal One offences are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than those who do not. But commiting the Fatal One offence is entirely something those chavs have chosen to do.
>

59 people lost their lives on Lancashire’s roads in just one year. Investigations into these collisions show that some of the fatalities could have been prevented and that there are five main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions. These are known as the ‘Fatal 5’.

What are the Fatal 5?

Speeding
Using a mobile phone
Drink and drug driving
Not wearing a seat belt
Careless driving

Road users who commit one of the Fatal 5 offences are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than those who do not. As a road safety partnership we are committed to preventing any more deaths occurring as a result of actions that are so unnecessary. To do this we will work in partnership across communities to deliver road safety education, engineering, engagement and, where necessary, enforcement.

Human error is by far the biggest contributory factor to fatal and serious collisions and despite improvements in vehicle safety all road users need to take extra care.

Some examples of careless driving include:

Inappropriate speed – e.g. in poor weather
Not paying attention
Driving whilst tired
Lack of concentration
Under taking
Failing to signal
Making an improper turn
Distractions such as eating, drinking, passengers
Driving too close to the vehicle in front
Risk taking behaviour – e.g. inappropriate overtaking

What are the consequences?

Lancashire Constabulary will enforce the law and anyone detected committing an offence will be dealt with accordingly. Lancashire officers can and do test drivers for the presence of alcohol and drugs at the road side.

A careless driving offence carries a penalty of:

Between 3 and 9 penalty points
A fine of up to £5000
A driving ban
A prison sentence

On 17/02/2024 14:10, Simon Mason wrote:
>
> 59 people lost their lives on Lancashire’s roads in just one year. Investigations into these collisions show that some of the fatalities could have been prevented'''

Too true.

Just ban all chav-cyclists from riding their chav-bikes on any poart of
the highway (especially FOOTways, but also the carriageways and verges_
and the number of accidents, fatal or otherwise, will fall.

Win / win.

Fixed the post for you, BTW. There is now a chav-cycling aspect to it.

We will be widening our focus from the Fatal 4 to the Fatal 5 with the important addition of carelessness.

To reflect the numbers of people killed or seriously injured on our roads due to careless driving we will now be focusing on five behaviours that cause harm on our roads.

In 2022, 21 of the total 48 fatalities had “careless, reckless, in a hurry” recorded as a contributory factor. This is 44% of all fatalities and was the top contributory factor recorded. This was followed by “failed to look properly” which was indicated in 10 of the 48 fatalities (21%).

Inspector Jason Baxter, of Lincolnshire Police Specialist Operations, said, “The message is clear. Take care on our roads. The consequences of not doing so are potentially deadly to you, your passengers and other road users. Most of us use the roads on a near daily basis. As drivers we all need to recognise we are in charge of a lethal machine, and treat that responsibility with the seriousness it deserves. Taking care, wearing a seatbelt, not being impaired through drink or drugs, not speeding and not being distracted – these are the fundamental prerequisites to driving. In 2022, 48 people did not make their destination in Lincolnshire. They will never get to go home. We have seen the devastation caused and we will make no apology for stopping drivers who are committing a fatal 5 offence.”

The #Fatal5 are:

Careless driving
Drink/drug driving
Not wearing a seatbelt
Excessive speed
Distracted driving (including mobile phones)

We will continue to target these offences at key times in key locations under days of action such as Operation Excess. You can support us by making sure you never commit a fatal 5 offence and sharing our #Fatal5 posts on social media. You can also use Op Snap – an online portal where you can upload footage of suspected driving offences. Every single submission is viewed and where the footage shows a traffic offence, action is taken.

In memory of those 48 people who lost their lives in 2022, this Sunday 19 November, World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims, Sgt Mike Templeman will be running a 48 mile ultra marathon at Yarborough running tack in Lincoln. Join us on the day where we will be raising awareness of the fatal 5 and aiming to raise money for the road safety charity Brake, and RoadPeace - the national charity for road crash victims.

On 18/02/2024 02:25, Simon Mason wrote:
>
> We will be widening our focus from the Fatal 4 to the Fatal 6 with the important addition of carelessness and the use of chav-bikes on the highway (especially on FOOTways).

Devon & Cornwall Police is highlighting some of the extraordinary excuses they hear from motorists who are stopped on suspicion of committing one of the ‘fatal five’ offences, in an effort to demonstrate that there are #NoExcuses when it comes to road safety.

Our officers have heard all the excuses going, but there are no excuses for breaking the law, that is the core message of this campaign.

A series called #NoExcuses has been developed to highlight some of the most unbelievable reasons given for committing one of the ‘fatal five’ offences by motorists travelling on the roads of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

There are five main causes of serious injuries and deaths on the region’s roads – known as the ‘fatal five’:

Excess or inappropriate speed
Not wearing a seatbelt
Driving using your mobile phone
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Careless or inconsiderate driving

Around 98 per cent of collisions are caused by human error, with only two per cent caused by unavoidable issues, such as mechanical failure. Devon & Cornwall Police’s Roads Policing team work hard to educate road users and patrol the roads of the counties to prevent avoidable heartache.

Alliance Operations Commander, Devon & Cornwall, and Dorset Police, Jim Gale said: “There are no excuses for taking risks on the roads. Our aim, every day, is to keep the roads of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as safe as possible by targeting those who fail to abide by the law.

“The ‘fatal five’ are statistically proven to contribute to death and serious injury on the roads. If you commit one of these offences you are not only putting your life at risk, but also the lives of any passengers you are carrying as well as other road users and pedestrians..”

In this series entitled #NoExcuses, will be run on the Devon & Cornwall Police social media channels. Devon & Cornwall Police Roads Policing officers have recalled some of the most farfetched excuses they have been given for each of the ‘fatal five’ behaviours.

To follow this series, go to the Devon & Cornwall Facebook or Twitter pages

On 18/02/2024 12:56, Simon Mason wrote:
>
> Devon & Cornwall Police is highlighting some of the extraordinary excuses they hear from chav-cyclists who are stopped on suspicion of committing one of the ‘fatal two’ offences, in an effort to demonstrate that there are #NoExcuses when it comes to road safety.
>
> Our officers have heard all the excuses going, but there are no excuses for breaking the law, that is the core message of this campaign.
>
> A series called #NoExcuses has been developed to highlight some of the most unbelievable reasons given for committing one of the ‘fatal two’ offences by chav-cyclists travelling on the roads of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
>
> There are two main causes of serious injuries and deaths on the region’s roads – known as the ‘fatal two’:
>
> 1. Careless or inconsiderate chav-cycling on the highway (carriageway)
> 2. Riding a chav-bike anywhere else on the highway, especially on the
> FOOTWAY,through a pedestrian area or the wrong way in a 1-way street
>
> Around 100 per cent of chav-bike collisions are caused by human error, with only two per cent caused by unavoidable issues, such as mechanical failure (especially since chav-bikes don't even HAVE windscreen wipers). Devon & Cornwall Police’s Roads Policing team work hard to educate road users and patrol the roads of the counties to prevent avoidable heartache.
>
> Alliance Operations Commander, Devon & Cornwall, and Dorset Police, Jim Gale said: “There are no excuses for taking risks on the roads. Our aim, every day, is to keep the roads of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as safe as possible by targeting those chav-cyclists who fail to abide by the law (in other words, all of them).
>
> “The ‘fatal two’ are statistically proven to contribute to death and serious injury on the roads and FOOTways. If you commit one of these offences you are not only putting your life at risk, but also the lives of any passengers you are carrying as well as other road users and pedestrians.”
>
> In this series entitled #NoExcuses, will be run on the Devon & Cornwall Police social media channels. Devon & Cornwall Police Roads Policing officers have recalled some of the most farfetched excuses they have been given for each of the ‘fatal two’ behaviours.
>
> To follow this series, go to the Devon & Cornwall Facebook or Twitter pages
>

Between November 2021 and March 2022, the Road Policing Group at North Yorkshire Police (NYP), along with colleagues from Response, Neighbourhood Policing Teams and specialist departments, conducted targeted activity focussing on each of the “Fatal 5” – the five main causes of fatal collisions.

The “fatal 5” are careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, excessive speed and distracted driving, including mobile phone use.

At the beginning of the campaign in November, the focus on careless driving resulted in 286 offences being recorded.

December’s Drink and Drug Drive campaign saw a significant increase in Drink Drive arrests on previous years. Between 1 December 2021 and 1 January 2022, officers made 137 arrests. Of these, 97 arrests were for drink driving and 40 were drug related.

We recorded almost 120 offences in January for people not wearing a seatbelt.

Excess speed was the focus in February and throughout the month there were almost 5,200 speeding violations. Of those violations, recorded both by officers patrolling the roads and the Safety Camera Van, more than 4,000 qualified for a Speed Awareness Course, more than 500 resulted in a Fixed Penalty Notice, and nearly 50 ended up in court. The Safety Camera Van visited more than 300 sites in February, totalling more than 1,000 hours of deployment.

The new legislation around mobile phones and driving came into effect in March, which tied in with our distracted driving campaign. Roads Policing Officers conducted an operation which included use of an HGV cab along a stretch of the A1 in the county. This targeted activity saw 69 vehicles stopped and 64 offences being recorded. The highest number of offences were for not wearing seatbelts, use of a mobile phone and not being in proper control of a vehicle.

NYP’s Road Safety Officers also undertook engagement and enforcement activity to target distracted drivers during March.

In Scarborough on 22 March, officers issued 20 Traffic Offence Reports for offences such as using a mobile phone whilst driving, and not being in proper control of a vehicle. Eight warnings were given for other offences and one vehicle was seized for having no insurance.

In Harrogate on 25 March, officers teamed up with the safety camera van resulting in 222 traffic offences being identified during the safety operation..

In the five months prior to the start of the Fatal 5 campaign (1 June 2021 – 31 October 2021), there were 20 fatal collisions on our roads.

Between 1 November 2021 and 31 March 2022, there were 18 fatal collisions – a 10% reduction on the previous five months.

Roads Policing Inspector Mick Roffe, said:

“Road Safety is one of North Yorkshire Police’s strategic priorities and we are absolutely committed to reducing the number of serious injury and fatal collisions across our road network.

“The fatal 5 campaign is just part of our targeted activity which aims to make sure all road users are as safe as possible.

“We engage with different road users to educate them about the dangers on the roads and about the critical importance of vehicle safety and driving laws.

“The enforcement activity is to take action against those users who disregard the responsibility of driving safely.

“The figures from the campaign are alarming because it shows just how many people are willing to take serious risks on our roads and break the laws that are there to protect them.

“As police officers, we see too much devastation on our roads first-hand. That’s why we do what we do – we want to prevent road users losing their lives or costing the life of someone else.”

The Fatal 5 campaign is a significant part of the York and North Yorkshire’s Road Safety Partnership’s Safer Roads strategy. The joint strategy, launched at the end of last year, brings together key organisations from across the city and the county to focus on four areas – safer road users, safer vehicles, safer roads and learning lessons post-crashes.

The aim of the strategy is to identify those most at risk and ensure everyone works together to do everything possible to keep those vulnerable road users as safe as possible.