Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland carried out vehicle check points, speed checks and proactively patrolling as part of a service wide proactive roads policing operation focusing on speeding (Operation Lifesaver) and pedestrian safety (Operation Safer Steps).
Last Thursday, January 25th, officers and Road Safety Camera Vans conducted over 220 speeding operations across Northern Ireland, during which over 635 fixed penalty notices were issued, 25 people were reported to the Public Prosecution Service and six people were arrested.
Officers also engaged with 301 pedestrians to educate and ensure their safety on the roads.
Superintendent Gary Busch said:
“The collective aim was to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding and trying to get drivers across Northern Ireland to slow down. We have called this OP Lifesaver as slowing down saves lives.
“Officers from each district took part and with 635 fixed penalty notices being issued shows that far too many drivers are putting their lives and other roads users lives at risk.
“All motorists should drive in a responsible way, but if they don’t, then we have a duty to detect and deal with any offences.
“Enforcing speeding regulations is just one part of making our roads safer. The greatest contribution each road user can make towards that is to pay more attention to their surroundings and reduce their speed.
“Speeding is not just a low-level crime, it’s dangerous. It is a serious threat to other road users. Speeding causes crashes. In a crash the most vulnerable thing on the road is you.
“Removing excess speed from the road safety equation should be the easiest thing that every road user can do.
“If we all stop speeding, more people live. If we all stop speeding, fewer people have to contend with life-changing injuries.
“Last year 20 pedestrians were killed on our roads, this compares with 16 in 2022 and eight in 2021. We must reverse this trend. Pedestrians should be aware of the risks, ensure they are clearly visible and safely positioned on the road.
“If we can combine this with drivers slowing down the roads will be safer for all of us.”