Police officers continue to tackle speeding on Northamptonshire’s roads

Police officers tackling speeding on Northamptonshire’s roads are asking motorists – “is it worth it?”

As part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) speed enforcement operation, officers will be out in force from Monday, May 25, to make sure anyone speeding is caught and brought to justice.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, despite the significantly reduced number of vehicles on the roads, Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team were detecting similar levels of offending to that of normal traffic conditions as many people were using the empty roads as a race track. In some cases, vehicles were travelling at more than double the speed limit.

The aims of the campaign starting next week will be to:

• Keep all road users safe
• Reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads
• Tackle irresponsible and dangerous drivers committing speeding offences
• Educate drivers of the risks, both to themselves and to other road users associated with inappropriate speed
• Encourage drivers to drive at speeds safe for the road environment and to obey speed limits at all times
• Support new road users, in particular pedal cyclists, to keep safe on the roads 

Safer Roads Operations Manager, Matt O’Connell, said: “Speeding kills – it is as simple as that. And it leaves families and loved ones devastated.

“It amazes me how much contempt there often is for our speed vans when they exist solely to keep our road users safe. We will never make any apologies for them being out there as they do a really important job.

“The COVID-19 lockdown measures have recently been relaxed and so we are seeing greater traffic levels as a result. Many drivers will be getting back into their cars for the first time in weeks so it is important to be mindful of your speed when getting behind the wheel for the first time in a while.

“Whenever you get the temptation to press a little bit harder on that accelerator, please ask yourself – is it really worth it when the consequences of getting it wrong are so extreme?"