Speed Marathon: Violation Rate Up 88%
PHOTO: POLIZIA DI STATO ITALIA
Speeding violation rate increased 88%, results of ROADPOL's 2021 Speed Marathon show.
2.003.801 drivers were checked by 12.418 police officers in 16 countries during the annual 24-hour event of the European Roads Policing Network.
As a result 136.337 drivers were found in violation. 90.682 of them were pulled over to get a fine and a lecture on the risks of speeding at 7.971 checkpoints across the continent. Additional 45.655 drivers received a fine by post after violations were detected by speed camera. Numerous driving licenses were suspended or revoked. Compared to the previous Speed Marathon an 88% increase in offences was observed – from a violation rate of 3.6% in 2019 to 6.8% in 2021.
Excess
262 km/h was the notorious record of this year's campaign. It was set by a Bentley driver on a motorway in Belgium in a 120 km/h zone or 142 km/h over the limit. In Italy two cars were flashed on the autostrada at 236 and 235 km/h – more than 100 km/h over the 130 km/h limit. Cars were also detected at 209 km/h in the Netherlands, at 191 km/h in Germany and at 185 km/h in Serbia. One of the most flagrant offences was the one of a driver who sped at 74 km/h through a 30 km/h-zone with a kindergarten nearby.
Danger
“Speed itself is not dangerous, but speeding is – especially in combination with other risk factors, such as mixed traffic with cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses on the motorway or automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians in the urban areas. Speeding is the main cause of about 25.000 fatal road collisions in Europe”, ROADPOL's Operational Working Group Secretary Henk Jansen of the National Police of the Netherlands commented on the results. “And the fines are not the goal, but just the means. The goal is to make drivers aware of their dangerous behaviour”, Jansen concluded about the operation's objectives.
Speed Marathon is a 24-hour event carried out annually during ROADPOL's spring Operation Speed. This year the operation was performed in the week of 19-25 April with Speed Marathon on April 21st.
The next ROADPOL operation, Truck & Bus, is scheduled from 10th to 16th May 2021.
