ROADPOL Nails
150,000 Speeders In 24 Hours
4 MAY - More than 150,000 speed violations were registered during ROADPOL's unique 24-hour Speed Marathon operation throughout Europe.
The enforcement action was held on April 21st as part of ROADPOL Operation Speed, which was conducted in the week of 17-23 April with 29 European Roads Policing Network member countries participating.
Results
During this Speed Marathon the police officers found more than 150.000 speed violations in just 24 hours. Large part of the drivers were pulled over to receive a fine and an explanation why speeding is dangerous. The other speeding drivers received a fine by post because the violations were discovered by technical means. The driving license of more than 2000 drivers were confiscated because of the excessive speed. Most drivers licenses were seized in France (1.162) and Romania (591).
Countries
700 police officers participated in this year's Speed Мarathon in Czech Republic and checked a total of 5,226 vehicles. Inspection locations were chosen on the basis of reports by road users. Out of 7,300 dangerous spots police selected 995. The police detected a total of 2,774 traffic violations within twenty-four hours, of which 2,146 cases were violations of the established speed limits. On the spot, the police sanctioned 1,996 offenses worth almost 1.4 million crowns.
In Finland police spent approximately 3,000 working hours on controlling driving speeds throughout the country during the Speed Marathon. 67 drivers committing aggravated endangering of traffic safety were caught, as well as 97 drivers whose conduct exceeded the criteria for gross callousness in traffic. This means they exceeded the permitted driving speed by more than 30 km/h. A total of 717 fines and 267 traffic penalty fees were issued. With regard to 17-year-old drivers, a total of 15 fines were issued, while four drivers are suspected of committing aggravated endangering of traffic safety and four of gross callousness in traffic.
Marijke EskesAnalysis
„Speed in itself is not dangerous. Speeding is“, says Marijke Eskes, head of police unit traffic enforcement team in the Netherlands and Chair of ROADPOL’s Operational Working Group. “In combination with other risk factors, such as mixed traffic (passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses on the highway; freight traffic, passenger cars and agricultural traffic on provincial roads; motorized traffic, cyclists and pedestrians in the villages and cities), exits and crosswalks, trees and signs and other fixed objects along the road, street furniture on and in the roadway (traffic islands, traffic guides) the risks are great”, Eskes explains. “Drivers should realize that the number on the sign is not a speed goal, but a speed limit. And also that the Police are not out to collect the fines. The fine is not the goal, but a means of making drivers aware of their dangerous behaviour”, Eskes concludes.
Statistics
Speeding is the main cause of about 25.000 fatal accidents in Europe. The latest ETSC PIN flash report of March 2022 says that “Speeding remains a problem on the roads. Exceeding the speed limit is by far the most recorded road traffic offence.” And also: “Speed has a direct influence on collision occurrence and the severity of a collision. The number of collisions and the severity of those collisions increase exponentially as driving speeds increase. Likewise, reducing speeds by only a few km/h can significantly reduce the number and severity of collisions. ETSC estimated that 2,100 lives could be saved each year if the average speed dropped by only 1 km/h on all roads across the EU.”
