Roads policing officers performed road checks looking out for motorists who were speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt, using their phone at the wheel or driving under the influence. They were supported by Special Constables who also carried out stop checks. Additional camera vans patrolled high harm routes.
The purpose of the campaign was to remind motorists of their responsibility to drive safely with traffic volume increasing as more people get behind the wheel after lockdown.
The action ran between 14 and 20 September 2020 and incorporated ‘Project Edward’ a one-day campaign by the European Traffic Police Network on 16 September aimed at realising the goal of a single day on the roads without a death. Project Edward began in 2016 as a Europe-wide initiative focusing on road safety and this year is aimed at motorists driving for work and urging them to drive safely.
During the week 51 people were arrested on suspicion of driving offences:
- 17 people were arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
- 9 people were attested on suspicion of driving whilst under the influence of drugs.
- 17 people were arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs.
- 6 people were attested on suspicion of failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis.
A further 170 motorists were stopped by the roads policing officers. Of these 89 were given tickets for speeding, four were found to be on their phone, 12 were not wearing a seatbelt and 16 were giving warnings about their driving standards.
The camera vans detected 1,888 speeding motorists, 64 people not wearing a seatbelt and one person using their mobile phone at the wheel.
The road safety effort comes after the county experienced a significant increase in fatal collisions during August with 13 people killed on the roads. In 2019 the figure was seven and in 2018 three.
Chief Inspector Rhiannan Pepper of the Roads Policing Unit said: ‘Our officers are out every day with the intention to make our roads safer and this initiative helped us to highlight the importance of safe motoring.
‘A life lost on the road is a tragic waste and our message is simple, slow down, don’t drink and drive and don’t use a phone at the wheel. A car in the wrong hands can be a deadly weapon and the consequences of dangerous driving can be devastating.’
