Furness police to crack down on speeding drivers in Barrow (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Furness police to crack down on speeding drivers in Barrow

3:53pm Thursday 21st March 2013 in News

FURNESS police will be cracking down on speeding drivers in Barrow next week.

Neighbourhood Policing Officers together with Roads Policing officers will team up with Safety Camera Partnership staff to target areas where local residents say it's a problem.

Last year, 1,671 people were caught speeding in the town, with some drivers clocked at more than 50mph in 30mph zones.

In August, 49 speeding motorists were caught in one hour, all within the same area.

Inspector David Bosson, of South Cumbria Roads Policing Unit, said: “A lot of the concerns raised by the community relate to speeding and anti-social driving.

“In Barrow we are working to reduce these problems by high visibility work.

“We will target specific hot spots in the town to reduce the level of speeding in these areas, many of which are subject to a 30mph speeding restriction, which is being ignored by many.

“Excessive speed leads to increased risk of injuries, excessive noise and anti-social driving.

“We do not believe that it is a lot to ask drivers to pay attention to the speed limits of the town and simply comply with them.

“Speeding is one of the significant ‘fatal four’ collisions, with drugs/alcohol, distractions such as using a mobile phone and not wearing a seat belt being the other three.

“Reducing your speed will not only prevent you running the risk of being prosecuted but could also save a life.”

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Richard Rhodes, added: “In the recent public consultations held across the county, it became clear that speeding vehicles and careless driving were uppermost in the minds of many people when talking about effective policing.

“This initiative is a very timely response to public concerns about these things.”