Monday August 21st 2023
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A police crackdown on speeding drivers saw the number of people injured on the roads in Midlothian fall by more than 30 per cent over three months.
Police Scotland said community officers worked with Midlothian Community Action Team (MCAT) to target roads where residents had reported concerns about speeding.
And they said additional speed camera van patrols of trouble hotspots between April and June saw the fall in casualties on the road and no fatalities during the period.
A report on the first quarter of the year’s operations to Midlothian Police, Fire and Rescue Board, said:
“Local community officers together with MCAT have undertaken hand held radar checks at areas identified as problematic.
“This has led to good results and positive feedback from our local communities.
“Importantly, this action has also resulted in a 31.03% reduction in the total number of casualties on Midlothian roads, compared to the same period last year.”
As well as speeding drivers, patrols carried out crackdowns on other driving offences by everyone from car enthusiasts to school run parents.
The report revealed that road checks were being carried out at Sherrifhall Park and Ride in evenings following reports of ‘car enthusiasts driving in an anti-social manner which impacted nearby residents’
And it said concerns over parking around Lasswade Primary School and King’s Park Primary in Dalkeith, saw patrols carried out during school drop off and pick up times.
It added that during the school run checks three cars were seized after they were found to be uninsured or drive by unlicensed drivers.
The report said: “This road safety commitment is reflected in the significant increase in penalties issued for speeding (up 122%), use of mobile phones (up 92%), and seat belt (533%) offences, compared to the 5 year average.”
The work of officers was welcomed by members of the board..
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