Speeders count for eight in 10 road crimes - with more than 127,000 tickets issued in a year

Home Office data reveals motorists were caught driving too fast 92,335 times by West Mercia Police in 2018-19. It means 94 per cent of the 98,161 motoring offences recorded over the period were for speeding.

In Wales, motorists were caught driving too fast 35,005 times by the Gwent, Dyfed-Powys and South Wales Police forces in 2018-19 – which means 70 per cent of the 49,934 motoring offences recorded over the period were for speeding.

Steve Gooding of the RAC Foundation, which collated the figures, said motorists needed to take responsibility – but also called for speed limits to be realistic, adding: “Highway authorities have a responsibility to make sure the limits they set are appropriate and to avoid instances where the limit repeatedly bounces up and down along a single stretch.”

The figures show more than 250 tickets are issued every day on average in the West Mercia area alone. The number of speeding offences detected in West Mercia in 2018-19 was 38 per cent higher than during the previous year, while in Wales it was 17 per cent lower.

In West Mercia, 48 per cent of speeding offences were dealt with by sending the driver on a speed awareness course, with 34 per cent dealt with by fines, 10 per cent of offences being cancelled and seven per cent of offenders winding up in court.

In Wales, 70 per cent of speeding offences were dealt with by fines, with 24 per cent of offenders going to court and five per cent of offences being cancelled.

In England and Wales as a whole, 84 per cent of the 2.8 million motoring offences were down to speeding.

Don’t come whinging to us if you are caught speeding, say police

‘Speed kills, slow down’ was the old slogan aimed at drilling home the message to stop motorists putting lives in danger.

And no end of television campaigns have been shown over the years displaying crumpled metal and the devastating impact on victims.

But none of it seems to have hit home for many people in Shropshire, Mid Wales, Staffordshire and the West Midlands.

More than 227,000 speeding tickets have been issued in the last year across the entire patch according to Home Office figures emerging today – with speeding accounting for the vast majority of all motoring offences.

Many of us will have nudged over the limit in a rush when we’ve been late for work, and some strongly believe that speed cameras are designed purely to be cash cows rather than to keep people safe.

But the harsh reality, say police leaders, is that road collisions cause death, destruction, pain and heartbreak. And many accidents are caused by excess speed.

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham from West Mercia Police is the National Police Chief’s Council lead for road policing and has been one of the leading campaigners on speeding.

He has no sympathy for those who are caught, adding: “I acknowledge we have seen an increase in motorists caught speeding. In simple terms that’s because more motorists are choosing to ignore the speed limit but speed enforcement remains a priority for the force.

“In reality, I am afraid to say the true scale of speeding offences far outstrips the capacity for police forces to deal with them. We have yet to win over the court of public opinion with regards to the risk and harm caused by speeding motorists.”

Campaign group Brake has revealed that 67 people died on the roads in Shropshire, Mid Wales, Staffordshire and the West Midlands in 2018.

Unapologetic

Mr Bangham has been a strong advocate for law-flouting drivers to face punishment for their actions, and previously insisted that even motorists driving 3mph over the limit should feel the full force of the law.

Speaking in 2018, he said he wanted people to be embarrassed when they got caught – and said they should “not come whinging to us” when they are apprehended. During a speech at the Police Federation roads policing conference, the officer was also unapologetic that even those caught just a few miles an hour over the speed limit were being given fines and points on their licence.

He said: “I think there is a tendency to think consequences only apply to drivers who are excessively exceeding the speed limit. Unfortunately the reality of driving just a few miles an hour above the speed limit can and does have disastrous consequences for many families in our region every year. I want to have the safest roads in the UK, we should aim to have no deaths on our roads.”

Across England and Wales, the 2.4 million offences recorded in 2018-19 represented a four per cent annual increase.

In the West Midlands, 40 per cent of speeding offences in 2018-19 were dealt with by sending the driver on a speed awareness course, while in Staffordshire it was 50 per cent. The next most common outcome for both regions was a fine.

The analysis, which was carried out with Liverpool John Moores University, found that the number of drivers caught speeding varied widely across England and Wales.

West Yorkshire detected 182,000 offences in the year. But in Wiltshire, where all speed cameras were turned off in 2010, the police caught fewer than 1,000.

Motorway drivers found watching TV and eating yoghurt

While police drill home the message against the wide-spread problem of speeding, there are some offences that officers simply cannot anticipate.

In a bizarre incident captured on the M6 going through Stafford, highways officers pulled up next to a car where the driver was watching television on his mobile phone.

Police took footage of the driver as he caught up on a show while driving along the motorway.

Central Motorway Police Group, which patrols the Midlands’ highways, shared the incident on social media and the officer, who tweeted the footage, used the hand-on-forehead emoji to sum up their thoughts. “Lane one of the M6 at Stafford in the roadworks section is not an acceptable place to catch up on the TV! Driver reported,” tweeted CMPG.

It emerged the driver, a 38-year-old man from Stoke, received a “telling off” and a £100 fine, revealed Staffordshire Police.

The incident took place just before the afternoon rush hour just south of Stafford.

“Not the greatest idea to catch up on the TV whilst behind the wheel,” a force spokesman said.

The long-running roadworks on the M6, and the 50mph limit that comes with them appears to bring out the worst in motorists.

Exasperated traffic officers from the Central Motorway Police Group tweeted: “At the M6 through the roadworks this morning at Stafford. A driver has been stopped and reported for eating a yoghurt while driving – he wasn’t even using a spoon. Not acceptable!”