Slow down to save lives – Arrive alive not dead on time.

TISPOL’S European speed campaign across Surrey and Sussex There will be enhanced enforcement activity over the next week.

Police Forces across Europe will be carrying our simultaneous speed enforcement campaigns this week.

The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) are supporting the European-wide speed enforcement week, which is coordinated by TISPOL, Europe’s traffic police network, from the 6th to the 12nd of August 2018.

Working with partners in Surrey and Sussex Police’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), the aims of the campaign are:

• To target irresponsible and dangerous drivers committing excess speed offences.
• To inform drivers of the risks – both to themselves and to other road users associated with speeding.
• To encourage drivers to obey speed limits and drive at speeds safe for the road environment.

A number of tactics are being put into action during the week, to work alongside the day to day activities that RPU will be carrying out.

The safety camera team will be using their combination of fixed and mobile cameras to enforce the law and provide support to the campaign. As well as speed, they are able to capture mobile phone and seatbelt offences. They will be working with colleagues to ensure a robust stance is taken on tackling speeding offences in the county both this and every week.

Sussex’s Community Speed watch groups (CSW) will be providing extra support in local areas with their team of volunteers. CSW is a national initiative that assists the work of the police, where members of the public use speed detection devices to capture offences, which are then referred back to the police through Operation Crackdown. If you are interested in joining or starting a group in your area, please see: www.communityspeedwatch.co.uk.

The week will also include a 24 hour speed marathon, starting at 6am on the 8th of August, running to 6am on the 9th of August. SSRP will be deploying the Operation Crackdown Strike Team in order to provide a further visible policing presence on the roads. The Strike Team, made up of special constables, will be targeting collision hot-spots in Sussex and providing advice to road users, in order to instigate behavioural change.Sergeant Badman, Partnership Sergeant for SSRP, said: “Speed is a significant contributory factor with regards to road collisions, this campaign demonstrates willingness by police forces across Europe to tackle this issue and highlight the possibility to motorists that being prosecuted whilst driving at excessive speed will be greatly increased. Speeding reduces your chances to survive any collision you may be in. You may think you’re in control of your vehicle, but you are not in control of what others are doing on the road. They could be the difference between life and death.”

We ask all road users to obey the speed limits and remember that they are a limit and not a target – slowing down could save a life.

You can keep up to date with activities by following @SussexSRP, @CommunitySpeedw and @SussexRoadsPol. And also follow Sussex Safer Roads Partnership us on Facebook.