Published at 13:12, Friday, 05 March 2010

A CRACKDOWN on speeding Millom drivers has seen 21 motorists caught breaking the law.

Sixteen have been slapped with £60 on-the-spot fines and five others made to attend courses to curb their dangerous driving.

The majority were aged between 30 and 40 and were not the “boy racers” that so many blame for speeding.

The operation kicked off on February 15 after concerns were raised by Millom residents about speed hot spots in the town.

Police leapt into action, with a series of patrols being set up in notorious speeding zones between Millom and Bootle.

Millom Inspector, Carl Patrick, said he was extremely disappointed by the high number caught, but vowed they would continue to catch those flouting road laws.

He said the operation would continue for two more weeks, with marked and unmarked cars around the town during the day and at night.

The main areas targeted by police have been Salthouse Road, the A5093 outside The Hill, The Green and on the roads leading to Haverigg and the A595 near Bootle.

Insp Patrick said: “This operation came about as a result of concerns raised by Millom residents at a Safer, Stronger Community meeting, organised by the town’s police officers.

“The Hill seemed to be the worst place for speeding, and also other roads in the town. So, as a result of community concerns, we decided to carry out enforcement patrols in the areas mentioned by residents.

“Since February 15 we have handed out 16 endorsements to speeding drivers.

“Another five, who were just slightly over the limit, have been given the chance to attend a speed awareness course instead of being given a ticket. This will educate them about the dangers they can cause on the road because of their speeding.

“This is not an operation about revenue-raising but about educating people.

“There is often a belief that the majority of speeders are young people, and use the term boy racers, but that is not the case. Speeders are predominately aged between 30 and 40 and either late for work or late dropping the kids off at school and think they can get away with driving above the speed limit.

“There are various reasons people use as to why they were speeding.

“We will have officers out every day, some in marked cars and some unmarked.

“This could be during the day or the evening.

“Obviously we will use local officers who are trained to use the radar guns but if none are available officers will be coming in from Ulverston or Workington police roads units.

“From an enforcement point of view, this has been an extremely disappointing operation, due to the amount of people caught.

“At least 21 people have not heeded our warnings.

“It at least shows that we have been in the right places at the right times to catch them after the information given by local residents.

“Our job is to make Millom a safer place for everyone to live and visit, and we will continue to make that happen with operations like this.”

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk