West Dorset: Motorists warned of two-week road safety blitz

10:13am Wednesday 20th June 2012

By James Tourgout

POLICE are to swoop on motorists in a two-week blitz to cut deaths and serious injuries on the roads in Bridport and West Dorset.

Officers from Bridport Police will be bolstered by colleagues from the No Excuse campaign team for the operation on the A35 as well as town centres and residential streets.

But they are also set to use an undercover car and latest Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) vehicles to crackdown on dangerous drivers. The move comes as the No Excuse road safety campaign continues in Dorset and amid the force’s annual summer drink drive clampdown.

PC Brian Puttock, who is leading the operation at Bridport Police station, said: “We are not out to persecute motorists.

“If we can reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured by at least one it would have been worthwhile.”

PC Puttock said that the response team officers are leading the operation with support from officers in the Safer Neighbourhood team as well as the No Excuses team officers, an unmarked car and ANPR vehicle.

Officers will be patrolling around the clock, seven days a week in town centres as well as on the main roads.

The campaign will cover the Bridport section area, including Lyme Regis, Beaminster, Burton Bradstock, Charmouth and surrounding villages.

The idea is to focus on the fatal four which causes most deaths and serious injuries as well as drinking alcohol and driving: • not wearing a seatbelt • using a mobile phone or device • careless and dangerous driving • speeding.

PC Puttock said: “The No Excuses campaign has been running for a couple years now.

“There has been a big publicity campaign and there have been lots of signs up.

Police say that anyone suspects someone is going to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they should dial 999 immediately and report the details to the police so that we can intercept that vehicle.

With other information about regular drink or drug driver or traffic offenders, call the non-emergency 101.

52 CAUGHT WITHIN FORTNIGHT

A TOTAL of 52 motorists have been arrested during the first fortnight of the summer drink and drug driving campaign – up 12 on the same period last year.

The month-long campaign runs throughout June, with every driver involved in a collision being breath tested – irrespective of whether they are suspected of drink driving or not.

Of the 52 people arrested, 21 were under the age of 30 – and 18 of these were men.

During last year’s campaign, a total of 40 drivers had been arrested between June 1-15.

Chief Insp Matt Butler, head of Dorset Police’s traffic unit, said: “It is disappointing to see that more motorists are risking their lives by drink driving this summer compared to last year. I would like to remind drivers that drinking any amount of alcohol and then driving is dangerous.