Police target speeding motorists hotspot on A1 Boroughbridge

North Yorkshire Police this week announced the move for the Fatal 5 Campaign which aims to highlight and tackle the five most common causes of road deaths.

“Between January 1 and December 31 2021, there were 85,610 speed violations captured by the Safety Camera Vans and Safety Camera Bike across the county,” said a North Yorkshire Police spokesman.

“Of those, more than 72,000 were offered Speed Awareness Courses and more than 9,000 were handed a Fixed Penalty Notice.

“More than 100 drivers were unable to be offered an Out of Court Disposal due to their excessive speed being over the threshold.”

In addition to the Safety Camera Van and Bike figures, Traffic Officers issued more than 460 Traffic Offence reports for speeding offences in 2021.

Traffic Sergeant Pete Stringer added: “These figures show just how much of an issue speeding is here for us in North Yorkshire and this is not a huge surprise as we have a vast road network across the county including hundreds of miles of rural roads.

“There are so many dangers associated with excessive speeding, not least because it’s a major cause of fatal road traffic collisions.

“Driving too fast for the road you are on prevents you from foreseeing dangerous hazards such as blind bends, stationary vehicles, and pedestrians or animals on the road.

“By slowing down and making sure you drive to the conditions of the road, you have more time to react to other drivers and hazards.

“On top of that, if you are involved in a collision, the slower the impact speed, the higher chance of survival.”

The Safety Camera Van and Bike spend time at many different locations across the county including the motorway, rural roads, and village streets.

Known locations with the highest speeds include: A1 Boroughbridge (Northbound and Southbound), B6268 Masham Road, Bedale, B6265 Grassington Road, Skipton.

Sgt Stringer added: “Our teams will be out across the county at all times of day and night.

“We will be out in marked and unmarked cars and bikes and we will respond to public information to target high risk offenders, making sure they face consequences for their reckless actions.”