2nd February 2012

WEYMOUTH: Speeding, no seat belts and chatting on the phone - 150 drivers caught

NEARLY 150 drivers were caught committing motoring offences in Weymouth during the latest Surround a Town event.

More than half the offences were dealt with by uniformed police officers with the rest being speeding drivers detected by safety camera vans.

Forty per cent of offences dealt with by officers were drivers not wearing a seatbelt and nearly all of them opted to attend a free seatbelt awareness course held at the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service Community Safety Centre on Radipole Lane.

The majority of drivers that committed other offences were offered Driver Awareness Scheme courses at a later date rather than receiving points, fines or court appearances.

Other offences detected during the day included 28 speeding offences, seven motorists driving while using a mobile phone, three vehicles being driven with no MOT and one driver given a prohibition notice for having an unsafe vehicle.

The event, which was run by Dorset Road Safe partners, formed part of the ‘no excuse’ project whose manager Brian Austin said: “The Surround a Town events support our priority to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Dorset’s roads through enforcement, education and publicity.

“Even after warnings were published in the local press and broadcast on the radio, and even though a large quantity of ‘no excuse’ signage was displayed across the town, nearly 150 drivers in Weymouth were still caught committing motoring offences.

“One male was caught using his mobile whilst driving. Ironically, he was answering a call from his friend warning him to watch out for the police.”

County road safety team manager Robert Smith said it was “worrying and disappointing” to still see drivers risking lives by using their phones at the wheel.

He added: “You are four times more likely to crash and be seriously injured if you use a mobile to answer or make a call, or to compose or read a text message while driving.”

As part of the day’s events, Dorset Fire & Rescue Service and other partner staff delivered the high impact ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ presentation to sixth form students from Budmouth Technology College. This emotive presentation shows the consequences of a serious collision and it had a clear and noticeable impact on the students.

Other staff worked with over 700 very enthusiastic children at Holy Trinity School on Cross Road to deliver education and advice on cycle safety while staff from Cycle Sporting Group repaired and serviced free many bicycles brought in by children.

Mr Austin said: “We will continue to seek reductions in casualties in Weymouth and across the whole of Dorset. Statistics comparing the 18 months before the ‘no excuse’ project launched to the 18 months after show a 40 per cent drop in the number of people killed or serious injured in the Weymouth and Portland area.”

WEYMOUTH: Speeding, no seat belts and chatting on the phone - 150 drivers caught

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