A CONCENTRATED effort by Wiltshire Police saw more than 100 drivers caught speeding in just 24 hours around Salisbury.
Project Zero is a road safety campaign that aims to eliminate road deaths in the county.
This saw speed enforcement sessions take place in South Newton, Wilton and in Harnham – with 107 drivers in total caught speeding.
Some drivers were caught travelling more than 50mph in a 30mph zone.
27 drivers were caught speeding opposite Manor Farm in South Newton last Thursday (May 29) in an hour, with the highest speed recorded at 52mph on what is essentially a blind bend.
On the same day, 27 drivers were caught speeding on The Avenue in Wilton in just 30 minutes – with the highest speed recorded at 51mph.
On Friday (May 30) 33 drivers were caught speeding in Harnham on Coombe Road in 45 minutes. The highest recorded speed was a shocking 58 mph.
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Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, said that road safety is a key community concern that is often raised with him by residents.
Since his election in 2022, he has worked with the police and partners to ensure that proactive steps are taken to make our roads safer.
This has included driver education, cycle and pedestrian safety and supporting awareness campaigns such as Project Edward and the Fatal Five, speeding, the wearing of seatbelts, drink and drugs, driver distraction and careless driving.
He said: “Speeding is dangerous, it can kill and leave others seriously injured and Wiltshire’s communities are rightly concerned about the risks this poses to them and their loved ones.
“Proactive policing targeting those drivers who take unnecessary risks on our roads such as Project Zero have my full support and these results from recent enforcement sessions in the south highlight just how needed this enforcement is and road safety continues to be a priority in my police and crime plan.
“There will be people who say that initiatives like this unfairly target motorists and that the police should focus on ‘real crime’.
“My challenge to them would be the hundreds of individuals killed or injured on our roads each year and the devastation that causes – speed will have been a factor in many of these collisions and not always from those most seriously injured.”
The PCC overhauled the Community Speedwatch scheme in 2022, and it now has over 86 teams operating in 536 sites across Wiltshire and Swindon, with increased support from Wiltshire Police to enable greater enforcement.
Detective chief inspector Andy Lemon said: “Our dedicated community speed enforcement officers, working in collaboration with our Roads Policing Unit, target areas where we know there are issues with speeding.
“These officers have specialist video equipment which then allow us to prosecute offenders, resulting in speed awareness courses, fines, and, for persistent or high-harm offenders, visits to court.
“Where these officers operate is based on the information and intelligence we receive from the public, as well as the many hours of work that our teams of Community Speed Watch volunteers put in across Swindon and Wiltshire.
“Even one speeder is too many. As we have seen all too often, speed kills.
“Not only that, but it causes a significant amount of concern and frustration for pedestrians and other road users when people speed recklessly on the road.
“We are determined to clamp down on speeding and make our roads as safe as possible for everyone.”
If people’s safety is really the top priority and concern then why not invest in traffic management measures like speed bumps in these areas?
It’s not like they can’t afford to with all the fines they have issued lately.