36,000 motorists caught speeding in Cambridgeshire, police reveal
But the force's casualty reduction officer feels more can be done
More than 36,000 speeding tickets were issued in Cambridgeshire last year, with less road deaths and serious injuries caused.
The statistics come as an analysis of government data by Churchill Motor Insurance found the number of convictions for speeding in England and Wales reached an eight-year high in 2022.
However, PC Nick Southern, casualty reduction officer at Cambridgeshire Police, believes more work can be done to keep tackling the issue on the county’s roads.
“Throughout the year, we’ve got topical things we talk about and some community events as well, but education will only go so far,” he said.
“There was no doubt more people were speeding but these (figures) are for the ones that have been caught, so that would be seen as a negative.
“As a positive, it’s an increase in the proportion of speeders that are being caught so we’re actually catching more people.”
Drop in serious and fatal crash figures is room for optimism
It is unclear how many speeding convictions were made in Cambridgeshire last year, but the number of road accidents that either killed or seriously injured someone has dropped.
Figures from the county’s police force found between April 2022 and the same month this year, there were 388 road incidents that involved a death and/or serious injury.
That is a drop from 426 for the previous 12-month period, with 13 incidents involving a road death or serious injury recorded in April.
"I think the majority of people are getting it right"
And due to these figures, PC Southern feels positive steps like more enforcement through average speed cameras are being taken towards tackling issues such as speeding.
“I do think that the vast majority of people are getting it right; they are driving safely and there are a minority of drivers that are speeding,” he said.
“If we’re getting more people caught speeding and seeing a reduction in those that are being killed on our roads, I see that as a positive and encouraging direction.”