Young speed demons face police blitz

Published on Friday 16 May 2008 10:32

YOUNG drivers who speed on rural roads in the Lothians are being targeted by police in a four-day campaign to help cut the number of road deaths.

Officers will be going after drivers speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt and using mobile phones behind the wheel in the crackdown.

Mobile speed cameras will also be deployed at various locations across the force area.

The blitz is part of the national Rural Roads Awareness Weekend.

There were 43 road fatalities in the force area last year, 18 of which involved drivers aged 17 to 25.

Superintendent Alan Duncan, from the force's road policing unit, said: "While this initiative is primarily geared towards warning all drivers to curb their speed on rural roads, we want to make sure that young and inexperienced drivers get this message loud and clear.

"Our statistics show that a large proportion of drivers between the ages of 17 and 25 are involved in fatalities, and that many of these have occurred on rural roads, where inappropriate speed for the road or road conditions has been a contributory factor."