Yorkshire villagers catch 500 illegal motorists in just one day

Twenty groups of volunteers from across the county monitored driving in the communities they live in and detected 186 potential driving offences.

They were supported by North Yorkshire Police's mobile safety camera vans, which recorded a further 349 offences.

Villages taking part included Hutton Rudby, Ruswarp, Barlow, Carleton, Seamer and many more.

Jamie Smith, of North Yorkshire Police’s Traffic Bureau, said: “It’s disappointing that more than 500 motorists have been potentially caught speeding and committing other driving offences in a single day alone.

“Breaking the speed limit knocks seconds off the average journey but massively increases the risk of killing someone if you have a crash, especially in residential areas where there are a lot of pedestrians.

“Communities don’t like it, which is reflected in the record turn-out of Community Speed Watch groups last week.

“We’re extremely grateful to volunteers who gave up their time, and continue to do so for other Community Speed Watch activities.

During the day of action on August 20, Community Speed Watch volunteers monitored speeds and provided high-visibility deterrents, to encourage motorists to observe speed limits and drive carefully in villages, suburbs and other residential areas.

They checked the speeds of almost 3,000 vehicles and 186 drivers will be sent warning letters after they were suspected of exceeding the speed limit.

The letters warn motorists that their details have been recorded by police and they could face police action if they are detected driving in a similar manner again.

North Yorkshire Police’s safety camera vans recorded a further 349 offences at 15 locations around the county on the same day.

The deployments marked a nationwide campaign by TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network, to reduce speeding.

North Yorkshire now has 69 Community Speed Watch groups, which monitor speeds, provide a highly-visible deterrent and pass on information to the police so offenders can be dealt with.

Its main aim is to draw drivers’ attention to speed limits in areas where communities feel excessive speed is affecting their quality of life, and to educate them about the impact of their actions.

It was developed after a public consultation run by the Police and Crime Commissioner in July 2014 which showed that four out of five residents were concerned about road safety in North Yorkshire, and that 72 percent of people felt that more should be done to improve road safety through enforcement or education.

The scheme was piloted between March and September 2015 and due to positive results and a positive public response, it now forms one part of North Yorkshire Police’s approach to roads policing.