SPEEDING motorists in the Scarborough area came under the spotlight as part of an ongoing road safety campaign.
The multi-agency operation targeted offending drivers on the A165 Reighton Bypass.
Officers from North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire County Council, Scarborough Council, North Yorkshire Ambulance Service and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and
paramedics were involved in the latest part of Operation Siren.
And drivers who were caught going faster than 60mph were given the option of a hard-hitting educational presentation by road safety officers instead of getting an endorsable fixed penalty notice.
In total, 11 drivers opted for the anti-speeding presentation and five of these were transit van drivers who were all surprised to learn that their vehicles were only permitted to do 50mph and not 60mph.
Three drivers were handed endorsable fixed penalty notices for greatly exceeding the speed limit and one motorist who was driving at 82mph and overtaking on double white lines being reported for summons.
TC Dave Burlingham, who co-ordinated Thursday's operation, said: "All the partners involved in Operation Siren believe this is an effective way of highlighting the true dangers of speeding and getting the message across that speed limits are in place purely for safety reasons.
"The five transit van drivers learnt a valuable lesson from the operation and I hope other van drivers consult their highway code manual to ensure they understand the speed restrictions in place when driving a vehicle of this type."
As well as speeding, officers handed out a fine for a hand-held mobile phone offence and one motorist who was stopped had no insurance or driving licence and was reported for summons with the vehicle being seized.
Summons were also issued to five motorists who overtook on the double white lines.
Operation Siren activities are staged locally throughout the county during the year. It directly links in with the 95 Alive York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership, as well as North Yorkshire Police's ongoing road safety enforcement campaign Operation Anvil.
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