North Yorkshire Police out in force to cut collisions on A64 and other key routes

North Yorkshire Police has today launched a campaign to reduce speeding and dangerous driving on three routes, including the A64, that see the most serious collisions.
Traffic on the A64Traffic on the A64
Traffic on the A64

Roads policing officers and safety camera vans will also be out in force on the A65 and A1(M).

Surrounding routes, including residential areas and B-roads, will also be covered.

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It’s part of a two-week nationwide speed reduction campaign by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC).

Named Operation Vis, the first week of the campaign will involve higher than normal police visibility on the roads with the most serious and fatal collisions.

Mobile safety cameras will be deployed to 55 sites on the A64, A65 and A1(M) alone, including 11 safety camera vans and one safety camera bike.

The second week of the campaign will involve county-wide enforcement specifically in residential and community areas.

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Community Speed Watch groups from across North Yorkshire will be deploying to support the campaign.

Andy Tooke, of North Yorkshire Police’s Traffic Bureau, said: “Excessive and inappropriate speed is consistently one of the common factors in the fatal and serious injury collisions we deal with.

“We see the devastating collisions and horrific injuries it causes.

“And often speed-related collisions are entirely preventable.

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“The safety cameras we use have been independently proven to reduce casualties by 20% when deployed to a site. That site may be a high-speed road like the A1(M) or it may be a small rural village, but either way we want to have a strong presence and high visibility to ensure motorists drive carefully and stick to the rules of the road.

“We won’t just be enforcing speed though.

“As ever, we’ll be using our cameras to enforce other offences too, including drivers using mobile phones, not wearing seatbelts or crossing solid white lines.”

North Yorkshire Police recently revealed the highest speeds recorded by mobile safety cameras in 30mph community areas. The highest was 82mph in a 30mph zone on Wetherby Road, Harrogate.

Andy added: “Residents constantly tell us they don’t like people speeding through their communities, and Op Vis is one of the ways we can address these concerns head-on, with very high visibility and enforcement activities around housing, schools, parks and other community areas where speed poses a real threat to people’s safety.”

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Insp Jeremy Bartley, who investigates major collisions, said: “If you saw what I saw when investigating serious and fatal road traffic collisions, you’d know that a common factor to the cause of the collision is the conditions the driver faces and their capability to deal with those conditions.

“Speed is one of the main factors in regards to capability. Reducing speed greatly enhances reaction and braking times, allowing the driver to be able to safely deal with the conditions. The speed limit is just that, a limit, driving to the conditions is the priority. Please slow and give yourselves more control and time to react.”