Road Policing officers in North East stop over 800 vehicles in support of National Fatal 5 campaign

Road Policing officers in the North East have been supporting the National Fatal 5 campaign which is running throughout April. The campaign highlights the dangers of the five leading factors that contribute to road traffic fatalities.

These are speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, distractions such as mobile phones, drink/drug driving and careless driving.

Officers have stopped over 800 vehicles in the first 15 days of the campaign and detected a variety of offences.

These include 272 drivers speeding, 19 driving dangerously, 63 driving carelessly, 22 driving under the influence of drink or drugs, 15 people not wearing seatbelts and 8 drivers using their phones while driving.

Inspector Steve Manson said: “Most people in the North East area are aware of the frequent coverage of fatal collisions in the area over the last year.

“These incidents cause devastation to families of all those involved as well as the witnesses and emergency services who attend.

“Over 75% of the fatal collisions in the area last year were on single carriageway, national speed limit roads, with the fatal 5 offences being the leading the causes.

“Telling families that their loved ones have died in collisions, often through no fault of their own, is not an easy task and our Road Policing officers, local officers and the Safety Camera Units will continue to target motorists who put others at risk by their irresponsible driving.

“We make use of marked and unmarked cars and will continue to deploy our resources proactively to reduce the number of casualties on the road and ensure dangerous drivers are dealt with appropriately.

“Many of the drivers stopped were issued with fix penalties resulting in fines and points on their licence, with the more serious offences being reported to the Court, where drivers face higher fines and possible driving bans.”