Efforts continue to reduce road casualties in North Yorkshire

The vans are used to target speeding motorists, which for many rural communities, is one of the biggest issues that they face. North Yorkshire’s road network, which covers 5,000 miles and criss-crosses stunning countryside including the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, is a huge draw for bikers from across the nation.

By the beginning of August this year officers from North Yorkshire Police had had to deal with 11 fatalities on the county’s roads, compared to just two deaths in the first seven-and-a-half months of 2012.

Now the Force has announced its mobile safety camera vans are to be even more visible on the county’s roads, with each of the three vans now bearing the same livery as other vehicles in the police fleet.

The new look resulted from feedback made by a member of the public who contributed to a recent webchat hosted by Chief Constable Dave Jones.

Paul Kennedy, North Yorkshire Police’s assistant chief constable, said: “The Mobile Safety Camera vans mean that we have the flexibility to locate the cameras in the right place at the right time, reacting to the latest intelligence about driver and rider behaviour and feedback from the public.

“Speed has been shown to be a significant contributory factor in collisions where people are killed or seriously injured. Excessive and inappropriate speeding not only raises the risk of you being involved in a collision, but also the severity of injury you, and others involved, would suffer. Ultimately, it can be a matter of life or death.”

Since the three mobile camera vans started to operate in April this year, the team has issued 23,595 tickets. Of the tickets issued, more than 19,600 drivers have opted to take a speed awareness course, over 2,600 have been given fixed penalties and almost 440 more being reported for summons to court.