Cheshire Constabulary is taking part in a national crackdown on speeding motorists as it continues to tackle a recent spike in road deaths in Cheshire.
In 2018 41 people died on the roads and motorways in Cheshire, which is more double the number of fatalities in 2017 and in the first nine days of 2019 five fatal collisions occurred in Cheshire.
The police force will be undertaking enforcement and educational activities over the course of the three week 'Speed Enforcement' campaign as it continues to tackle a recent spike in road deaths in Cheshire.
Held across the UK from Monday January 7th to Sunday January 27th, the campaign aims to:
- Reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on UK roads
- Tackle irresponsible and dangerous drivers committing speeding offences
- Increase awareness of the dangers – both to offenders and to other road users – of speeding
- Encourage motorists to drive at speeds that are safe for the road environment and to always adhere to speed limits.
Inspector Steve Griffiths, from Cheshire's Roads Policing Team, said: "Speeding can have fatal consequences – driving at an unsafe speed has been shown to be a contributory factor in nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of road deaths.
"Inappropriate speed is one of the fatal four offences that Cheshire Constabulary actively tackles all year round, with the others being drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt while driving and using a handheld mobile device while driving.
"We are placing extra emphasis on tackling speeding this month as we try to reduce the number of casualties and fatalities on Cheshire's roads and motorways.
"More than twice as many people (41) died on the county's roads and motorways last year than they did in 2017, and this year there has already been five fatal collisions in just nine days in Cheshire, which is clearly a big concern for us.
"While enquiries into the causes of many of these incidents are ongoing, they act as a reminder of the importance of road safety, which is a critical issue for all communities.
"Most people have been affected at some point by injury or death caused by a collision and it is essential that we do everything we can to reduce the number of incidents by educating drivers and enforcing speed limits.
"We will do this with support from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and our other partners."
Insp Griffiths added: "One of the comments we often hear is that we should be doing more important things with our time like catching burglars rather than catching speeding motorists. My response is that speed kills and preventing somebody from dying on the road has to be one of our priorities.
"It is important that everyone realises that speed limits are in place for a reason.
"Travelling at excess speeds on public roads does not allow a driver or rider to travel safely with time to deal with things like changes in driving conditions and actions taken by other road users.
"You may want to make up time when running late, but travelling at excess speed could be the difference between a safe journey and one that ends in a fatality.
"It doesn't matter how experienced a driver you are, it's just not worth the risk.
"These are the messages that we will be giving motorists as we support the NPCC's national campaign with local activities and increased enforcement.
"Local policing units, including Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), will be conducting initiatives on their beats on roads that communities have raised concerns about.
"Cheshire's Roads Policing Unit will be supporting these initiatives as well as proactively tackling speeding on roads which have a history of serious collisions."
If prosecuted for speeding, the minimum penalty is a £100 fine and three penalty points and you could be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of three years.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire David Keane said: "Road safety is one of my key priorities and I am committed to working with partners to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Cheshire roads and motorways.
"With an increased number of serious incidents and fatalities on our roads in recent times, it's more important than ever that the police are educating motorists about the dangers their careless actions could have.
"One death is too many and it is pleasing to see the work that Cheshire Constabulary is undertaking to help make the county's roads safer.
"But it is important that people across Cheshire support this work and campaigns like 'Speed Enforcement' as all drivers and riders have a part to play in road safety."
Comments
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In Alderley specifically the number is far lower. From a FOI request, in the three years to September 2018, of 27 accidents, speeding was only present once among 56 contributing factors. The people speeding are not the people crashing, regardless of how speeders are demonised and blamed for all traffic woes.
This is infuriating because the police, and local council, know that the greatest recorded cause of road accidents is people failing to look properly. Yet nothing is done to raise awareness of this, or to improve peoples' awareness while driving.
Until the police and local council acknowledge the true causes of the majority of accidents, our roads will not become safer because the true causes of danger are not being addressed. Though the police will continue to make quite a tidy profit from focusing only on, and financially penalising, speeders.