Sussex police launch speeding crackdown

From today, officers will be running speed checks at locations across the area.The aim is to remind drivers of the danger of speeding.

More than 68,000 people were caught speeding in Sussex last year.

Inspector Steve Grace, of Sussex’s road policing unit, said: “The message still has not got through to some people that speeding can kill.

“The chance of you avoiding a collision is reduced if you are speeding because you have less time to react to other vehicles.

“If you do crash you are likely to suffer - and cause - more serious injuries than if you had been sticking to the speed limit. The limits are there for a reason.”

The campaign runs from 6am today until midnight on Sunday, August 35.

The cost of a fine for speeding rose from £60 to £100 on August 16.

All of the money from speeding fines in the county goes to the Government, not Sussex Police.

It is estimated that speeding contributes to as many as a third of all crashes resulting in death, and is the most important contributory factor to road deaths and serious injuries.

A survey of motorists by the Department for Transport revealed that half claimed to speed. Just under a third (31%) said they drove at 90mph on a motorway when there was no traffic and 26% admitted driving too fast for the conditions at times.

The campaign is being organised across Europe by TISPOL, the international body set up by traffic policing teams from across the continent to improve road safety.

TISPOL president Koen Ricour said: “We urge all drivers to challenge their own attitude to speeding.

“Anyone who still believes that speeding is a trivial offence needs to think again. Excessive or inappropriate speed has a singularly devastating impact on the safety of road users, increasing both the risk of a crash and the severity of the consequences.”

You can get involved in the operation using #Fatal4 on Twitter.