Thames Valley PCC focused on tackling dangerous driving after “shocking” statistics
48% of police forces caught drivers exceeding 90mph on 30mph zones
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) says he is focused on tackling dangerous driving, with road safety being one of his priorities.
It follows new data showing drivers were caught exceeding 90mph in 30mph zones in nearly half of UK police forces.
‘We've seen incidents which have resulted in tragic deaths of young people’
Matthew Barber, PCC, described statistics as “shocking”, saying “there will always be outliers”.
The Police and Crime said: “It's obviously incredibly dangerous. Clearly in a 30mph stretch of road, you would expect to be in a built-up area. There's clearly risk to other road users and indeed themselves.
“Sadly, in the Thames Valley we've seen incidents of those sorts of speed in those circumstances which have resulted in tragic deaths of young people.”
He added: "Road safety is absolutely a priority. It's an area that we're looking to do more from the police, but also with local authorities who can support by making sure that roads are safer, and we design out risk as far as possible.
“Of course, speed is a part of that, but equally we can sometimes become overly obsessed with speed because it's the easy bit to measure. I'm just as concerned about those people who are using mobile phones, taking drink and drugs, and certainly the use of drugs behind the wheel, as we've seen a significant rise in recent years.”
Mr Barber also highlights the important work of community speedwatch, who volunteer their time to help improve road safety.
He said: “I'm really grateful, I think it shows that real concern from the Community. This isn't just about enforcement, it's not just about the police coming in and enforcing some rules, it just shows there is real concern in the community around road safety.”
Speed is the leading cause of deaths on UK roads
The RAC obtained the figures through Freedom of Information requests to 45 police forces relating to the period from the start of January 2023 to the end of August 2024.
The RAC is now urging the government to use their upcoming road safety strategy as a chance to tackle "avoidable casualties" on our roads, as it describes the figures as highlighting "incredibly dangerous actions" by drivers.
RAC road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: "Although this data is a snapshot, it shines a light on the incredibly dangerous actions of a few, that are putting law-abiding road users at serious risk. Thankfully, the police were on hand to catch these drivers.
"There is no place for the vastly excessive speeds that some people are prepared to drive.
"Speed is the leading cause of deaths on UK roads.
"We look forward to the Government's forthcoming road safety strategy understanding what can be done to reduce such avoidable casualties on the UK's roads."
Exceeding speed limit contributing to deaths
In 2023, separate Department for Transport statistics show 331 people died in crashes on Britain's roads in 2023 in which a driver exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor.
This was at least a 10-year high and represented 21% of all road fatalities.
In light of the RAC figures, the Department for Transport said there's "no excuse for those who risk the lives of others through speeding".
A spokesperson continued: "While our roads are among the safest in the world, we are committed to improving road safety and recently relaunched our Think! campaign with a focus on speeding, particularly on rural roads."