Officers support week-long campaign targeting speeding drivers.

Officers in Kent will be checking for speeding drivers, among other things, in a week long campaign this week.

Officers from Kent Police have joined forces with the Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership and Kent County Council in an effort to curb the number of speeding motorists in the county. The action forms part of a Europe-wide road safety campaign by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL).

Between Monday 16 and Sunday 22 April 2018police will be targeting speeding drivers in a bid to make the roads safer and raise awareness of the dangers of excessive speed. In addition to speed checks the officers will also be testing for drivers under the influence of drink or drugs when they think an offence may have been committed.

Fatal four

Speeding is one of the offences dubbed the ‘fatal four’ as it is one of the biggest contributing factors to fatal and serious injury collisions. The other factors are using a phone, failing to wear a seat belt and driving under the influence.

Sergeant Ben Brennan of the Roads Policing Unit said: ‘Our main aim is to educate motorists and encourage them to drive safely.

‘It can be easy to forget why there are limits in place and for motorists to slip into bad habits. However the consequence of excessive speed can be dire and life lost on the road is a tragic waste.

‘Speeding affects a driver’s perception, their reaction and significantly increases the braking distance.

‘The risk of death is around four times higher when a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle travelling at 40mph rather than 30mph.

‘I would ask motorists to take this opportunity to think about how they drive, consider the conditions around them and the impact that their behaviour can have on other road users.’

Week of action supported by partners

Tara O’Shea, Project Manager for Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership said: ‘It is vital that death and injury on Kent roads continues to be tackled as effectively as possible by all agencies involved. We need to recognise that the way we drive plays a huge part in whether we or our dependents become a road casualty. Excessive or inappropriate speed increases both the risk of crashing and the severity of the consequences.

‘The Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership remains committed to helping road users make good decisions, however, an average of one person a week died on the roads of Kent and Medway last year and around a third of those involved somebody simply going too fast.  We all need to play our part, so we would urge motorists to slow down, make sure they wear their seatbelts, and to leave their mobile phones alone while behind the wheel.’

‘Limit not a target’

Kent County Council Road Safety Team Leader Vicky Harvey said: ‘Excessive or inappropriate speed is a significant contributory factor in many crashes and that’s something all drivers should be thinking if they’re speeding.

‘Exceeding the limit – and it is a limit, not a target – even by just a few miles an hour, can have a dramatic effect on the severity of a crash.

‘The most important thing drivers should be aware of is if you get your speed wrong and have crash, the faster you are travelling the harder you will hit.

‘Sticking to the limit is the start, and making sure you have enough time and space to be able to stop is what determines whether your speed is appropriate.

‘You create space and time from good speed management.’

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